Poppy Does Paris- Nicola Doherty

 

 

The Blurb

 

The first instalment in this hilarious, romantic and unputdownable five-part series. Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk's I Heart... novels.
Paris. City of love, city of romance. The last place you want to go to on a work trip when you're in the middle of an epic dry spell. But that's where Poppy is headed, along with her colleague Charlie, who's shallow and annoying but very, very good-looking. During a white-wine-fuelled session with her friend Alice, Poppy concocts the perfect plan: work by day, and have some no-strings fun with Charlie by night. Of course, it might prove a little more complicated than that, but it's nothing Poppy can't handle - or is it?

Girls on Tour is an irresistible series of interlinked stories about four friends, ordinary girls who have extraordinary fun in faraway places. Expect the unexpected, the utterly hilarious and unforgettable, on this rollercoaster ride of love, laughs, surprises and sparks. You have a VIP pass to join each girl's adventure, so pack your bags and buckle your seatbelts, because just about anything is possible...

The Review

Poppy Does Paris is book one of the Girls on Tour series and I have to say that since reading it I'm gagging for more!  It's laugh-out-loud funny.  It's snappy.  It's sassy.  But most of all it feels relevant and relatable.

When the book opened with Poppy's dating profile I wasn't sure if it was my kind of thing.  I've been with the same man for sixteen years, heck, online dating wasn't even a thing back when I was single (although I did meet my husband online.  Maybe, for once in my life, I was a pioneer of sorts).  Anyway, it didn't take long for me to be won over by the chatty, conversational writing style and beautifully descriptive writing.  I literally said 'YES!' out loud on a crowded bus when I read the descriptions of the Paris.  And European undergrounds do have that 'almost flowery [smell] with base notes of hot metal.'  I was there.  I didn't just feel like I was there, I am convinced, for the time it took to read the book, I WAS THERE.

Poppy was a likable character, a bit unsure but determined.  And I found the 'who will she choose?' plot fun and engaging.  Publicist Charlie, who seems a bit of a lad or classy winer-and-diner author Jonathan?  They are polar opposites, and for a while I really couldn't decide which team I was on.  But by the end?  Let's just say I had a definite favourite and was delighted with the ending!

The only fault, if you can call it that, is that it was over far too quickly.  I wanted more than this novella length read! 

Nicola Doherty needs to be talked about.  There is absolutely no reason why she can't be one of the leading voices in contemporary women's fiction, and I for one am rooting for her.  And downloading the rest of the series pronto to boot.

Poppy Does Paris is out now, published by Headline Review. 

With thanks to the publisher who provided me with a galley copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas series- Lisa Dickenson *Blog Tour post including author guest post*

The Twelve Dates of Christmas series is a wonderfully entertaining, festive romp.  There are six 'episodes', each comprising two dates. 

We are introduced to Claudia as she separates from her unreliable, inattentive boyfriend Seth and throws herself back into the world of dating.  Each of the dates are perfect bitesized chunks of humour, romance and drama and the overall story gains momentum as the series progresses.  Can Claudia put herself back 'out there' and find someone who appreciates her?

Claudia and her ballerina friend Penny will be easy characters for many readers to relate to.  They are young women trying to find out what they want from life- learning about relationships, making decisions about their career and weighing up whether they want children of their own.

I also really loved the London setting.  Top sights such as St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and the Shard feature heavily, and as a huge fan of everything London I revelled in reading about places I have visited.

Lisa Dickenson has written a perfect festive read-heart-warming, laugh out loud funny (honestly, date four will stay with me for a LONG time to come!  I snorted!) and absolutely, totally, utterly Christmassy.  I feel ready to crack out the eggnog and mince pieces now!

Dates 1-10 are available to read now, with the final episode, dates 11-12 released on December 16th.

9/10

With thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

 

Lisa very kindly agreed to write an exclusive piece about her best ever Christmas present for Books with Bunny.  Here it is...

 

The best present I ever had…

The best Christmas present I have ever had was my engagement ring.  She came twinkling out of a little black box on a cold December night of 2010, one week before Christmas.  We met each other on a rooftop terrace bar in New York City, surrounding by heaters and fairy lights.  While everyone else was keeping warm inside, my future husband I wanted to be out there, with a view of the Empire State Building and with the yellow taxis whooshing past below. 

                It turned out my ring had been by my side for the past three months, ever since my partner and I jetted to the US to finish the final leg of our year round the world.  She’d been chosen in Tiffany’s and been safely snuggled in his bag, enjoying the sunshine of LA, the canyons of Arizona, the coffee of Seattle, the snow and waterfalls of Canada, the monuments of Washington D.C – but always desperate to get to the Big Apple. 

                Then there we were, looking at each other, on the last night of the trip.  And behind my lovely ring was my lovely Phil, smiling, nervous, apologizing in case she didn’t fit, a bit glassy-eyed from the cocktail he’d practically gulped moments before.  She did fit, just perfectly.

                And now we’re two years on, and she’s here with me spangling away among the smudgy red taillights of winter commuter traffic.  So I love my engagement ring.  She was my favourite present.   But not just because of the diamonds, but because of the memories she reflects back at me.

Merry Christmas, all xxx