Book Review: Never Mind The Botox by Penny Avis and Joanna Berry

Never Mind The Botox is a series about four professional women all working on the sale of high profile cosmetic surgery business the Beau Street Group. Each book reveals how the women cope with one of the of the most glamorous but challenging deals of their careers, and the dramatic impact it has on their personal lives. With a briefcase in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, can they navigate their way through a surreal world of boob jobs by day and intrigue by night- and still keep their own love lives on track?

Alex Fisher is a high flying lawyer close to making partner and busy planning her perfect wedding to Elliott. But life suddenly becomes complicated when she's faced with a hot junior lawyer on her team and an actress threatening to jeopardise the deal by exposing her dodgy cosmetic surgery. Soon Alex is forced into a series of impossible choices that are all inextricably linked and life will never be the same again. 

Penny Avis and Joanna Berry are writing from first hand experience of working in the city as a corporate lawyer and accountant. Their experience of working in  high powered, corporate environments is clear to be seen in the book and makes it particularly realistic.
Alex is the central character in the first book of this four book series, I took to her immediately. She is extremely ambitious and about to make partner at her law firm but she is still very human and likeable. I often find that career-driven women are often portrayed as complete bitches in books so it was refreshing to read about a successful woman with a likable side.
Alex is engaged to Elliott, their marriage is in less than three months and things are already a little rocky. Elliott is in a band still trying to make it in the music industry and he doesn't seem particularly interested in helping Alex with the wedding plans, she even had to buy her own engagement ring!
Alex knows that the Beau Street Group deal could be her last hurdle to partnership. The deal would secure a huge fee for the firm and allow Alex to prove herself in the cut throat corporate world. As Alex and her team begin to investigate the firm, they come across some botched surgery complaints that threaten the whole deal, especially as they involve celebrities who aren't afraid to go running to the media.
Alex includes Dan, a young American lawyer, on her team. She regrets it immediately, her and Dan had a drunken kiss a while back and she has not been able to get him out of her mind. Alex knows that she must be professional though and focus on the deal. Her personal life needs attention too, she has a wedding to plan and thoughts of Dan to banish.
I have really enjoyed reading Never Mind The Botox and I thought that it had a very interesting feel to it. The characters are well created and there is a lot of humour injected into the book by the character of Alex's mum who is convinced that Alex needs both butterflies and unicorns at her wedding.
Penny Avis and Joanna Berry make a good writing team and I look forward to getting to know the next character in the series.

Many thanks to Troubador for sending me a copy of the book to review.

Book Review: Girl on the Run by Jane Costello

Abby Rogers has been on health kicks before- they involve eating one blueberry muffin for breakfast rather than two. But since starting her own business, after watching one too many episodes of The Apprentice, the 28 year old's waistline has taken even more of a back seat than her long-neglected love life.

When Abby is encourages to join her sporty best friend's running club- by none other than its gorgeous new captain- she finds a mysterious compulsion to exercise. Sadly, her first session doesn't go to plan. Between the obscenely unflattering pink leggings and the fact that her lungs feel as though they've been set on fire, Abby vows never to return.

Then her colleague Heidi turns up at work and makes a devastating announcement, one that will change her life- and Abby's forever.

Girl on the Run is the first book by Jane Costello that I have read and I loved it. Abby Rogers is extremely likeable and more importantly, believeable. I only started running last year so I related with her first few running experiences.
Abby is running her own business during difficult times; she wants nothing more than to be as a successful as her own entrepreneur mother. The hours she spends in the office and on the way to meetings are mounting up and she is persuaded to take up running as a hobby. Her best friend Jess is a member of the club and introduces her to the dishy single doctor, Oliver who is the captain; Abby starts to think that the running club may have a certain attraction. When one of Abby's employees is taken seriously ill, Abby decides to combine her new hobby with a good cause and signs up to run a half marathon for charity. I don't want to give the plot away by talking about the illness but I did feel that Jane Costello dealt with it admirably. The writing was particularly sensitive and well researched.
Abby loves the running club, she loves to see Oliver and also becomes very friendly with Tom who is also a member. Tom is off limits though as he has a long term girlfriend, so why is it that Abby can't get Tom out of her head when it is Oliver who is single and there for the taking?
Girl on the Run is a very up-lifting read and it definitely had me reaching for my running shoes!

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of the book to review, Girl on the Run is out now.

Book Review: Stand By Me by Sheila O'Flanagan

Dominique Brady is working as a waitress in a burger restaurant when she falls for Brendan Delahaye and his charming family. Dominique soon becomes Mrs Delahaye, and, in time, glamorous wife to an incredibly successful businessman. Through thick and thin the Dazzling Delahayes stand by each other, but when Dominique's carefully constructed world suddenly falls apart, she is faced with problems, no-one can solve, especially not the family she has come to think of as her own. It's time for Dominique to take control of her own destiny...

Stand By Me is a big read at 600 pages but it's a good one. The reader gets to know Dominique very well as we follow her from a teenager to the present day. I thought she was a little naive at times but overall I found her very likable, believable and particularly brave when her whole world falls apart. I don't want to give away the nightmare that Dominique goes though as I think it would spoil the story. It becomes clear though that Brendan completely underestimated the woman he married. I think this was one of the main reasons that I disliked him as a character. I found him cocky and arrogant and pretty selfish when it came to the feelings of his wife and family.
Sheila O'Flanagan is a brilliant story teller, the book has a fair few story lines and characters but she weaves them together effortlessly.
I thought that Stand By Me was a very engrossing read, it only took me two days to read and was the perfect start to my holiday. When it ended I felt like I wanted there to be more and I would love for there to be a sequel so that I could find out what Dominique did next.

Stand By Me is out now, many thanks to Headline for sending me a copy of the book to review.

Book Review: That Gallagher Girl by Kate Thompson

Fore free-spirited Cat Gallagher, having a roof over her head involves a spot of unofficial house sitting. Cat lands on her feet once again when she discovers a deserted villa in the village of Lissamore. But when the new owner unexpectedly arrives to take possession, Cat needs to think fast to avoid being thrown out on her ear.
Rio Kinsella is also in a predicament. When an old flame turns up on her door step, the future seems rosy, but Rio soon finds out that nothing is ever that simple- especially where love is concerned. Can both women find a way through their problems?

It took me a little while to get in to this book as there seemed to be a lot of characters and at first I wasn't entirely sure how they were all connected but once I got into it I found it very enjoyable.
Cat Gallagher is the daughter of world famous artist Hugo Gallagher and she is extremely talented in that area too. However, Cat is a bit of a drifter, she has no job or home and in the beginning of the book, no direction either. I liked the character a little more by the end of the book but I have to say that for the most part, I found her pretty annoying.
Cat ends up squatting effectively in a mansion in Lissamore. Finn, the new owner's son returns to work on the house so Cat has to come up with  something quickly in order to keep a roof over her head. Finn is actually doing the house up for his Dad, movie star Shane and so he allows Cat to stay on in return for her decorating skills.
Rio Kinsella is Finn's Mum and when her old flame Adair returns to the village she can envision a very happy future together. But she still has a place in her heart for Shane so how will she feel when she learns that he is returning too?
That Gallagher Girl is an enjoyable read. It is about friendship and love and the opportunities we take and those we decide to pass on by. I loved the Irish setting and will look out for Kate Thompson's other books in the future.

Many thanks to Avon for sending me a copy to review, it is in shops now!