BOOK REVIEW: Married by Midnight, a Christmas Story by Talli Roland

Christmas is coming...and so is the biggest day of Kate's life.
While choosing a vintage dress for her Christmas Eve wedding, Kate finds a cryptic note pinned to the inside of a 1930's gown. As doubts about her own ceremony loom, Kate is determined to track down the dress owner and determine what became of her and the marriage.
Will Kate find the answers she's seeking to propel her down the aisle, or will her discovery prompt her to call off the wedding for good?

I hardly ever read short stories but Talli Roland has opened my eyes to how enjoyable they can be. I read Married by Midnight in just over 40 minutes and it put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day.
Kate has had a bit of a whirlwind engagement an
d is due to get married on Christmas Eve. When trying on her vintage wedding dress she finds a mysterious note pinned in it and it leads her to search for the previous owner of the dress. In doing so she raises questions about her forthcoming marriage and it is not clear whether she will be walking down the aisle or not.
The story had an excellent pace and I loved the mystery element to it. The festive setting made it a perfect story for this time of year and I really liked the characters created by Talli Roland too. I do love getting involved in a full length book but I will definitely be reading more short stories from now on; they're great for this time of year when we're all so busy.

Many thanks to Talli Roland for sending me a copy of Married by Midnight, it's available now!

Book Review: Build A Man by Talli Roland

How far would you go to create the perfect partner?
Slave to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every pitch she sends out disappears like her clients' liposuctioned fat, never to be seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie- the hang-dog man determined to be Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in-between, giving Serenity a story no editor could resist.
With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy's life. But when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her dream job.

Talli Roland has done it again! This is the third book that I have read by this author and I think she just gets better and better. Build A Man is very different from The Hating Game and Watching Willow Watts but you always know that you will get an entertaining story with this author.
Serenity is so determined to succeed as a journalist; she cannot believe her luck when Jeremy comes along; he is the perfect subject to write about. Yet as the story develops and Serenity gets to know Jeremy, she begins to question just how far she will go for success but the problem is, she may have already gone too far.
I really enjoyed the cosmetic surgery setting in this book, the clients that Serenity encountered brought a lot of humour to the story. I think that Talli Roland is extremely witty as a writer but I also enjoyed the fact that Build A Man felt a little bit deeper than Talli's previous books. I was really interested in the relationship that develops between Serenity and Jeremy and the way in which it makes her question what she is doing. .
If you have read any of Talli's other books then you already know that you're in for a treat. If not then I recommend that you give Build A Man a go, I don't think you will be disappointed!

Dot Scribbles Rating 4.5/5

Many thanks to Talli for sending me a copy of Build A Man, it is available for download on Amazon now!

Book Review: Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland

For twenty-five year old Willow Watts, life has settled into a predictably dull routine: days behind the counter at her father's antique shop; nights watching fuzzy telly whilst the elderly residents of Britain's Ugliest Village bed down for yet another early night. But everything changes when Willow's especially embarrassing Marilyn Monroe impersonation is uploaded to YouTube. A canny viewer spots Marilyn's ghostly image hidden in the film and Willow becomes an international sensation. Her dire little town is suddenly overrun with fans proclaiming her to the the 'new Marilyn'. Egged on by the villagers- whose shops and businesses are cashing in- Willow eagerly embraces her new identity, dying her hair platinum and scoffing cakes to achieve Marilyn's legendary curves. But when the only man she has ever truly loved returns; seeking the old Willow, it's decision time. Should she risk stardom and the village's new-found fortune on love? Or is being Marilyn Willow's real ticket to happiness?

I found Talli Roland's last book The Hating Game very entertaining and I was not disappointed with her latest book, Watching Willow Watts which in my humble opinion is even better.
I love Talli Roland's ability to come up with a really quirky idea and then to create a great story and characters around it. In this case we have the lovely Willow Watts who had been living in London and enjoying her dream occupation as a florist and a relationship with the gorgeous Alex. However, when Willow's mum died, she decided to move back home to look after her dad. As if things aren't bad enough, Willow discovers that her dad's antiques business is in serious debt so she sets about trying to pay it off without her father knowing as she doesn't want him to have any more stress.
It is Willow's best mate Paula who gets her to dress up as Marilyn at the village fete and before she knows it a video has been uploaded to YouTube and she is an Internet sensation. People seem to believe that she has been chosen by the real Marilyn Monroe to continue her legacy and people start travelling hundreds of miles to catch just a glimpse of Willow or Marilyn as they believe her to be.
Initially Willow is mortified but when Jay turns up in the village offering to be her agent and talking about all the money she could earn, Willow begins to think that this could be the answer to all of her problems. Soon Jay is completely in charge, he dyes Willow's hair, force feeds her sausage rolls and has her constantly pretending to be Marilyn. At first Willow focuses solely on the money but soon she begins to wonder about where the real Willow has gone, does she really want to be Marilyn forever and is Jay really looking out for her or is he exploiting her new-found fame for his own wallet? When Alex turns up, Willow can't help but look to the past, how does she get back to her old life, will Alex want her back and what about the contract that she signed with Jay?
I read Watching Willow Watts in one weekend, the story flows really easily and I was completely taken with the character of Willow. She is just trying to do the right thing and look after her dad; I think that Talli Roland really showed how the fame game often takes advantage of people. The story was really entertaining and i was willing Willow to find the happiness that she clearly deserved. As I said, I think this book is even better than Talli Roland's first so I can't wait to see what she does next!

Many thanks to Talli for sending me a review copy of her fabulous book, it is published on September 14th.

If you want to know more then check out Talli's blog here or follow her on Twitter where she is @talliroland

Dot Scribbles rating 4/5

Book Review: The Hating Game by Talli Roland

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £50,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end. Who will win The Hating Game?

I was very lucky to receive an ARC from the lovely Talli Roland, I really liked the sound of The Hating Game and I've very much enjoyed reading it.
Mattie Johns is not a particularly nice character and I think this is what gave the book quite an original edge. She gets slightly more likable as the book goes on but I wouldn't want to go for a drink with her.
I think Talli really explores the terrifying world of reality TV within the book. Mattie only gets involved because she is desperate for the money. Once she has signed the contract, there is no going back and it becomes clear very quickly that the program makers are only interested in rating figures rather than Mattie's well-being and happiness. I loved the cut-throat way that Talli portrayed the TV people as I really do think that is how they are. I had a lot of sympathy for Mattie on that instance as it is though she has stepped on a roller coaster that she has no way of getting off.
The actual idea behind the TV show is also very good, it makes the reader think about what they would do if confronted with ex-boyfriends who they were hoping never to see again.
The Hating Game is a highly original and witty  book. I really enjoyed the writing and I thought it was so relevant to current times where we are bombarded with reality TV shows.
The paperback version of the book is out on 3rd March 2001 but if you can't wait that long then you can get the Kindle version on Amazon for just £1.90, a complete bargain!