comedy

Review: It Started at Sunset Cottage by Bella Osborne

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Fun fun fun British rom-com! Author Kate stays a while at Sunset Cottage to help translate her novel into a screenplay. While she’s there, lead actor Timothy comes to hide out from the paparazzi. They form a friendship and wend it among the challenges of celebrity: a diva lead actress, script changes, personal fears, a maniacal dog, and breaking down emotional walls.

To add to the antics, Kate’s best friend Sarah must deal with the criminal father of her young daughter. Kate’s ex-mother-in-law cracked me up… and made me grateful for my own in-laws. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sarah finding love…

Overall, I enjoyed the comedic ride, the look into making a film, the British bits, and the tender falling-in-love moments. Those melty scenes are the best. Sigh.

-calliope

buy IT STARTED AT SUNSET COTTAGE

Review: February Fever by Jess Lourey

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Holy Moly, Jess Lourey! Here I thought I was embarking on another cozy mystery, threaded with a teensy bit of romance and some humor. But no. Instead I got Murder on the Orient Express sends Valentine’s Day off its tracks, and Things Are Not What They Seem goes deeper than a good disguise.

I laughed a whole bunch at the beginning of Mira’s train ride with nutty Mrs. Berns. All the elements of a good mystery came into play, with Lourey’s usual wit causing me to chuckle. The writing rocks, too. My favorite line about being stuck in a snowstorm: “Overhead, snow fell heavy like dirt on a casket.” Foreshadowing at its finest.

After the halfway mark, however, things got serious. Murders needed to be solved, people’s safety was at risk, and any laughter was only from pure comic relief.

By the end of February Fever I was crying like a baby. Mira may have solved the mystery on the train, but she also brought full-circle some unresolved heartaches.

Writing a funny mystery that naturally turns serious takes talent. Ending same book with a funeral takes guts. And leaving me hanging about the next step for Johnny and Mira’s romance? Pretty clever. When can I read the next book?!

-calliope

buy FEBRUARY FEVER

Review: Carrots by Colleen Helme

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@@1I absolutely loved this book. Every word of it. I’ve found another series to make me laugh out loud. The characters were so much fun.

Basically you have a stay at home mom that takes a hard knock to the head and can suddenly read everyone’s thoughts. She finds herself involved in all sorts of mischief….including police investigations, murder attempts, mob bosses, and all sorts of other shady characters….including a young work associate that is trying to entice her her husband away. All the while she is trying to NOT read everyone’s thoughts….especially those of her husband’s and children’s’!

No, this isn’t a great masterpiece that will have you thinking about it for weeks after. It’s not complex and won’t keep you up pondering life late into the night…..But it will provide you some great entertainment and will let you happily escape *real life* for a few hours. It’s a quick, entertaining read…and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. From my understanding, they just continue to get better and better, and as I mentioned before…I absolutely loved every minute of this one…..

Come on….give it a try….it’s a brand new year and what better way to start then with a funny new series?

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Carrots by Colleen Helme

Review: Room for Love by Sophie Pembroke

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20140515-225338.jpg Well, I have never met a sweeter hero! Nate is the gardener, sure, but he’s also at innkeeper Carrie’s beck and call when her inheritance – The Avalon – endures some hilarious emergencies. He is just determined to do right by Carrie and her grandmother’s legacy, even if Carrie doesn’t appreciate him.

This guy figures out how to get exotic purple roses the day before a wedding! He takes care of the drunk and hungover stag party friends, the elderly friends of the inn, the gardens, and most importantly, Carrie. He doesn’t want anything in return, either. Well, he WANTS, he just doesn’t EXPECT. 🙂

Carrie is a workaholic, out trying to prove she can do anything, do it herself, and do it well. She can, of course…. but the handsome gardener decides to help. And that, my friends, is the start of something beautiful… Funny, crazy, nostalgic, and beautiful.

-Calliope
buy ROOM FOR LOVE

Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

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attachmentsWhat a totally nerdy book that I think just about anyone can love. Here you have two people destined to meet and fall in love…..or are they destined to fall in love and then meet? Of course the road that they have traveled to get there all part of the fun…..You know what the characters are doing are kinda sorta wrong on more than a few levels, but damn it all….you just don’t care. You hope they continue and yea, your secret inner nerd is mad because it’s not happening to you.

This is my ideal romantic love story. The players aren’t in each other’s pants within the first 5 chapters of the book….This book isn’t about sexual contact at all…..You totally feel like a voyeur in a non sexual way….and you LOVE it….you laugh out loud throughout the book…..your heart gets all mushy (yes, I said mushy) at times…..you’re rooting for everyone throughout the story….and you totally don’t want to put the book down at any point….

This novel was a prime example of a “just one more chapter” novel….as a matter of fact, I went through most of the book that way….and I was so reading it when I should have been doing something else more productive….say like….oh eating meals….or maybe sleeping….or….well….just about anything that didn’t involve me lounging on the couch reading and giggling to myself….

And did I mention this book was funny? Snarky funny….heartstring funny….romantic funny….inappropriate funny….bittersweet funny….and just sad funny….and let’s not forget funny funny…yep….funny in any way you could possibly want it…..

Still not sure? Okay…..let me pull all of you fellow geeks off to one side then…..if the funny part doesn’t get you….if the romance doesn’t get you…..well…..can I say there is enough fandom in here to keep any geek happy…..Sandman….Discman….Dungeons and Dragons…..Star Wars…..The Lord of The Rings….and so many more….it’s fun just to read the book so you can find the little hidden references and random names throughout the novel…

Oh…..and you have great family interactions……oh oh…..and great friendships……oh oh oh…..I can’t forget the co-workers…..oh my…oh….let’s not forget romantic relationships as well…silly me….I’m just so excited after finishing this one…I can’t even think straight….

okay….I’m tired just trying to think of all the reasons you should read this book….so I’m just gonna go hush it for now…..I’m gonna go sit in a quiet place and smile and think about all the great characters in this novel….I’m gonna be a little sad because it’s over…and a lot of sad because I’m not one of them….but mostly I’m just going to be happy that I read this one….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Buy it now Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Review: Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon

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20140118-075431.jpgReading is a lot like eating. Sometimes you need an appetizer, something to whet your appetite for bigger things to come. Sometimes you need something more meaty and substantial, like a hearty filet of mignon. And sometimes you need something sweet and fluffy, like a delicious tiramisu. This wonderful little book by Jana DeLeon filled my craving for dessert perfectly.

Welcome to Sinful, Louisiana. Such a quaint, picturesque little town where everybody knows your name. Just the place for a CIA agent in hiding to lie low. Secret agent Fortune Redding has a price on her head after killing the brother of an international arms dealer. To make matters worse, there’s an internal leak at the CIA. When her superiors decide she needs to go into hiding until matters are resolved, Sinful is chosen as the perfect hideaway. It’s quiet, peaceful, and safe. The perfect place for her cover as a former beauty queen turned librarian. But as luck would have it, she arrives in Sinful right in the middle of decade old murder mystery. Helped by a not-so-harmless duo of grey haired ladies, she naturally attempts to help solve the mystery while at the same time not blowing her cover.

This was such a fun book to read. The characters are hilarious and had me laughing out loud. The author nailed the descriptions of small town life and southern life in particular. It’s not going to win awards for being thought-provoking or life-changing but it was a highly enjoyable read for me. I’ll definitely be reading the next two books in the series very soon!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Louisiana Longshot (A Miss Fortune Mystery)

Review – Is It Just Me? By Miranda Hart.

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15733346It’s fair to say that I probably read too many (or not enough) depressing books in my spare time. So with this in mind, I decided to go for a bit of comedy this time. Yes, comedy. No, the world hasn’t ended, well, not that I’m aware of at least.
This light-hearted read from British comedian, Miranda Hart, takes a look at her life 20 years ago, and her life now. If you were to meet yourself from 20 years ago, what would you say? What advice would you give? Well, this is the premise of the book. Told in an almost vignette style, Hart attempts to explain to her younger self such things as the Internet, emailing, mobile phones, and office shenanigans. In the chapter about technology for example, Hart tries to describe the concept of email, and with this explanation, includes several funny tales of company wide inappropriate emails, issues of miss-communication, and general hilarity. Each chapter talks about a different topic such as Dating, Technology, Early careers etc, etc…
What I found particularly great about this book was the fact that you could actually hear Hart saying the words. The humor is very British, so I would Youtube a few videos of her before you read, just so you can get her style of delivery, which is rather unique! I didn’t realise this before I purchased the e-book, but Hart has recorded an audio of her book, which is far better, in my opinion, because she is a stand up comedian by trade, and so her audio delivery is spot on. However, if you don’t want to get it on audio just yet, you can get it for a good price on the kindle
~ Pegasus.

Is It Just Me?

Review: Crazy for You by Juliet Rosetti

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20131215-124140.jpgWhat a caper! I didn’t read number one in this series, but I didn’t have to in order to laugh out loud and appreciate Mazie Maguire’s ex-con predicaments. Mazie gets herself into lots of trouble by accidentally getting mixed up in a murder investigation. And not unlike Stephanie Plum, she has a handsome hero to help her out of the tough spots.

What makes this novel especially good is that Mazie doesn’t actually need a hero to rescue her, he just happens to make things a little more interesting. She appreciates Ben’s affections and his willingness to walk beside her as she weaves her way through new jobs, bad guys, and insecurities about her looks. She also appreciates Ben’s good looks!

Sometimes cozy mysteries or caper-ridden novels depend on the dumbness of the characters. Not here. I like that Mazie and Ben are smart. The trouble that meets them doesn’t result from any mistakes or idiocy on their part…. And they intelligently put their heads together to keep each other safe.

I laughed hilariously throughout this book, loved the romantic element, and will be on the lookout for book 3. Juliet Rosetti, you’re a find!

— Calliope

Buy it now Crazy for You

Review – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach

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bestWithout a doubt, this novel is a permanent contender in my top 5 favourite read stories of the past few years. Where to even begin? Well, you can read the blurb to discover the plot, so I shall refrain from repeating it. I picked this book up purely on a boredom impulse one day when I was on a business trip, and I am so glad I did! This story is perhaps one of the best examples, since Arundhati Roy’s ‘God of Small Things’, of the complex Anglo-Indian relationship, post-independence. Whilst it doesn’t rub it in your face and whack you over the head with a stick, the story does get you thinking about the effect of colonialism, and the aftermath that it brings. Ideals are presented, and turned on their head once reality kicks in, and Deborah Moggach does this in a very stark fashion, without coming off a preachy.
The mix of characters, whilst completely over the top, are a refreshing bunch of fun, quirky, old-school (some being inherently racist/ignorant), Raj-yearning individuals. The reader to form a definite and firm opinion of each character due to Moggach’s expert character presentation and the changing shift in language and style used when writing from each perspective.
Now, the style of the novel is very “British” in regards to some of the things that happens to the characters and how they react, or in fact, how the reader acts when “witnessing” these calamities. It’s not quite as “British” as Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy (many readers this side of the pond did not like this novel), but it is definitely not what you might be used to. To say this isn’t your conventional story would be an understatement; Moggach makes you laugh in the wrong places, gasp in shock and then smile, and completely refreshes your pallet for future stories.

~ Pegasus

You can buy this relatively short story, that is bound to leave a lasting impression, here:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel (Random House Movie Tie-In Books)