Blast From The Past Book Review Plus Giveaway: The Dating Game by Susan Buchanan

Available on: Amazon, Amazon UK

Blurb: Workaholic recruitment consultant, Gill McFadden, is sick of her friends trying to match-make for her. Up until now her love life has been a disaster and she’s going through a drier spell than the Sahara desert.

She realises she has to act, as work keeps piling up and at this rate she will have retired before she has time for a relationship.

Seeing an ad on a bus one day, she decides to visit Happy Ever After dating agency. She quickly discovers men are like buses. They all come along at once. Unsure what her type is, Gill decides to keep her options open. Soon she has problems juggling her social life as well as her work diary. Will she ever strike the right balance?

Before long she is experiencing laughs, lust and… could it be love? But like everything in Gill’s life, nothing is straightforward and she ends up wondering exactly who she can trust.

Dating has never been this variegated and fun, thanks to Susan Buchanan. It's the one book that would get you back in the game!

For Gill it's all about work. More work. Much more work. Running her own recruitment agency, her only social life might just be meeting with the girls for drinks. No time in her schedule for herself. No time for her parents. No time for Dating.

Mundane. In one word that's how you would describe her life (unless, her life it's a carbon copy of yours then you'd get touchy). Sex-deprived. In one compound word (for fancy's sakes) that's how you would describe her girly bits. Think back when you too been out of the game (I don't mean dating) for long, and you have Gill: unnerved, less relaxed, frantic. Then one day, you are strutting down the street, feeling all Carrie Bradshaw after nailing some major paperwork, all of a sudden a bus hustles by, then you have that Sex and The City moment you've been longing for. Of course, what were you thinking! You don't see yourself on the bus (unless you own a sex column), you run a recruitment agency for fucks sake! What you see is a poster advertising a Dating Agency for professionals like you. You jump at it because it beats OKCupid (and even Facebook, you desperate ladies out there. I don't judge, the best lovers are first friends), say bye bye to all those weirdos that have come your way to try something with very refined people.

Until the profiles keep piling from the agency. Then you are going on dates that are interfering with your professional life. Karaoke, bowling, free dinners, free drinks, free lunch, art galleries, a Scottish wedding. For you it's all worth it because the hefty subscription fee could cater for a new wardrobe spilling with designer labels. For your friends it's all fun because you get to have more time discussing suitable profiles and not so suitable ones over drinks and dinner, noting down the red flags and the brownie points.

Then shit! You find out the world's biggest assholes hide in suits. By then you are in too deep, wondering why that guy isn't calling. Didn't he have as much fun as you did? When he doesn't call you hit rock bottom, struggle to pick yourself up. Finally you do. After all, these profiles don't date themselves!

That's just The Dating Game. You freshen up, strap on your Louboutins and move on.

This book was amazing! So true to life! It's one of those books both the storyline and the main character are relatable. I mean 9.5 out of ten women have dated. A lot of women past thirty are single (please, I do mean it in a good way. Cheers women! Who needs men anyway!). Anyway, we all know the Dating Game is hard. All the fretting over what outfit to wear, 'Oh, will this guy love it if I touch up with too much makeup?', the 'Is he enjoying this as much as I am?', "No, kissing on the first date", "Oh, why didn't he kiss me? Did I have something stuck between my teeth? Or do I have BMO?—" *smell check* "—No, I don't!". So fun how Susan Buchanan captures it all, not leaving a snippet.—★ Oh, and lest I forget, "Does my purchasing a new set of lingerie mean we might be getting it on tonight?"

Gill was just a plus character. You know, I just found out Susan names her chicklit, 'Chicklit without the fluff." . Yeah, the genre is prone to many airheads we chicklit lovers know, but Gill's got the brains, the looks, the boobs. She's about the only chicklit character who'd agree she's hotter than a close friend. And as if that isn't enough, she's independent! Just like you when you were thirty-seven!—★★

Don't you love just UK chicklit?—★★★ Anyway, that's not the point here.

The characters in this book are so, so, entertaining! You remember all the funny dating stories you relate to all your friends? Well, Gill has a lot of funny, weird, wolf in sheep's tailored suit to relate to you. There's Charlie, the nice-looking, buffed guy with a hidden agenda, Sean who gets plastered during a first date, Anton(!) the guy who'd ask whether he can kiss you, Gary who would take you from surprise to surprise yet you feel no spark, so much more! For if not Gill's friends, she would have ended up choosing the terrible profiles, so you would love Angela, Lisa (Raarr!), Debbie. All these with their discussions on who to date made this book a fun experience in the journey through dating!—★★★★

Gasp. You would, a lot! There are lots of Oh Moments of Gee, and you will be so shocked you are never going to see it coming. Frankly, you will feel sorry for Gill because sometimes you might have two choices. And all these two are incredible lovers. All these two give you the spark. So who would it be? It's a win-win with every choice. It's a lose-lose with every choice.

But I did love the ending, the whole book as a matter of fact! It was the kind that would make you sing Natasha Beddingfield's Pocket Full Of Sunshine all along.

My rating: 5/5 stars

Dating Game, your handbook through all the woes of Dating is available on Amazon and Amazon UK .

Or? Do you stand a chance of winning it?

Here?

Susan is giving out two digital copies of The Dating Game, enter now!

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I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get back into the Dating game or not! Anyone who wants something or someone they can sympathize and relate to. Anyone who wants something true to life. This book kinda reminded me of Zoe Strimpel's 'What The Hell Is He Thinking?', you know the Woman's guide to Dating/relationships/all the brouhaha. So if you've read that, Gill is simply acting out Zoe's dating horrors.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads as well as Amazon.

Book News: Blogger Girl By Meredith Schorr.

It's finally in. Meredith Schorr's finest, Blogger Girl. Available on Amazon.

Blurb:What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved?

Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out. A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all.

Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm. While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story.

Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads—and pages—across the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox—for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.

Five reasons why you wouldn't want to miss it.

#1 It's Chick-lit (and by that, I mean very hilarious.)

#2 You will adore Kimberly Long if you love...

AND

#3 Inside and actual scoop on the life of a renowned Blogger (just in case you are enamored by their lives or you want to set up a blog of your own.)

#4 If you are good in reading between the lines you will learn how to get bloggers reply to your emails (for once).

#5 You wouldn't want to feel left out WHEN it hits the Big Screen

If all the above isn't cheapskate for purchasing it in kindle format, what is? Or, you could just get the paperback if you are not the kindle kind.

Click here to see my review on Blogger Girl if you are not convinced by my shallow list up there.

Have fun reading and drop reviews on Goodreads.

Signing off,

Kobby.

Book Review: Lying To Meet You By Anna Garner.

Blurb: Does being in a relationship make you a hot commodity in the eyes of would-be suitors?

Chloe Lane is about to find out. When her childhood pal, Ethan Webster, asks her to play the part of his girlfriend in order to test this theory, she reluctantly agrees. As a work-crazed fashion designer, boutique owner and soon-to-be reality show judge, Chloe has no time for a real boyfriend, but being part of a faux pair will do just fine. Not that she has any intention of trying to attract someone else.

However…

Opportunity unexpectedly knocks when Chloe meets fellow reality judge, William Shannon. Super successful and super sexy, this high-powered entrepreneur inspires Chloe to test Ethan’s theory herself. Now, on top of keeping her fashion business productive, carving out a new role as a television personality, maintaining a fake relationship and attempting to lay the groundwork for a future relationship, she’s lying to William, lying to her friends, lying to her family and quite possibly lying to herself. Will Chloe be able to keep it all together, or are things about to explode?

“What are you doing with that Ethan, anyway?” William asks to my surprise, “I don’t mean to be offensive,” he says. “And he certainly seemed like a good guy, but he’s very Boy Next Door, isn’t he?”

Despite myself, I chuckle. “Three doors down, to be precise.”.......

This book is so(oo) New York, so(oo) Sex And The City. Only it's far more than thirty minutes. Well, unless you are a fast reader.

Anna Garner is just so funny I want to know what Libby Mercer's like! Besides writing a book with a story-line that's so Cosmo hence so Sex And The City, you'd expect this book to have the whole package: Humor, Romance, Steamy romance and all the stuff that ticks all your chick-lit boxes. And it doesn't disappoint.

Chloe Lane is a Girl in Fashion (ooh), she loves to splurge (ahhh), she's just so hilarious (hahaha!). There's nothing not to love about this Chloe, except, she hasn't had sex in two years (*crowd boos at this confession*). And the most bugging thing is, she doesn't bother, she's not been prowling for men like your average Chick-lit character should.

Thanks to her meddling friends, Isabel-the online dating guru, Veronica-the Miranda Hobbs and Julian-the overprotective gay, her single status doesn't last for long after one night of fruitless search of Mr. Right and meeting one not-single acquaintance over thirty hooking the fish who might have checked all their boxes. That's when the Does being in a relationship make you a hot commodity in the eyes of would-be suitors? comes in.

Ethan, your really cool looking guy shows up. He comes up with the suggestion and the two begin their fake relationship. The two are set on lying about how they met to arranging Holidays with whose parents and attending each other's social events, including sharing some fake kisses and snuggling beneath duvets for movie nights. All for Ethan to hook a co-worker, Lila, and Chloe just being in it to help him out and see the truth in the theory at first hand.

That's when Andrew McCarthy comes in-sorry, I mean William Shannon. Wouldn't even dare compare Andrew's billionaire character in Lipstick Jungle to William's. Though they have similar assets, Andrew McCarthy is no match for the (fictional) William Shannon. William is everything but not perfect. Looks, check. Money, check. Sexy, check. Frequently Unavailable, check. The two are set as Judges on the reality show, and Chloe knows right from the Reality show's kick-start dinner, she wants to use the fake relationship theory on him.

Poor Wily William and his wicked Willy, the two have the most vibrant sex life!

That above is just how far I can go with the spoilers.

This book created the exact, glam, fab, gorg life Sex And The City portrayed of the City that Never Sleeps. Through all the restaurants, the bars, the clubs, high-end shops, brick-wall exposed apartments, classy penthouses and busy streets, you get reeled into this fast/fab scenery Anna Garner creates.

Being a book based in New York, it's not shocking to have a tightly knitted network of friends who don't only host extravagant parties and outrageously funny gothic ones, but form a support group in case you need a shoulder to cry on. Indisputably, friendship is the key to survival in the City That Never Sleeps, and it's amazing how Anna Garner puts across the theme by presenting characters so hilarious you sometimes wish this book was written in third-person.

I totally dig the whole idea of this novel. I love books with leads who try investigating relationship phenomena, like Hilary Duff in Beauty And The Briefcase finding out How To Date A Guy In The Business World or even Carrie Bradshaw's numerous puzzling issues on... (Oh no, now you must know I am a huge fan). This even makes the story so cool when you are squinting about the phenomena in concern, thinking, 'Is this true?' No, thanks for asking, but I don't know of any real life scenarios, but Lying To Meet You just made me believe this assertion with all the reasonable explanations it brought on the table to back the theory.

Besides all the 'ooh-ha-ha', you'd love the uh, triangle in this book (My grammar teacher wasn't keen on repetition so please insert your own meaning in there). Though the millionaire-average girl-boy next door romance has been portrayed in lots of titles, the never-ending humor and the Ohemgee moments make Garner's unique! One lesson running through out this book could be, Love The One You Are With. And the most bugging thing is, you always keep asking yourself 'Why not the other guy?' no matter which guy you found yourself smitten with. Perhaps Garner's mistake of making both men have too good personalities (and a huge flaw on another I could overlook) made it easy to wish both men were Mr. Happily Ever After.

You would love Matthieu, the stylist who takes an interest in naked celeb photos, and Ethan's playful bunch of a family compared to Chloe's and the hilarious Karaoke-lovers group. Really, there's never a dull moment.

My only minute problem with this number, has to be the end. I didn't hate it, it was perfect. But I am concerned about the end of the novel not the story. Stating above that I was so into her friends including her stylist Matthieu, her mum and all the other crazies in the book, I would have wanted an epilogue. Something to inform me what happened to all the others I grew so fond of.

Due to the above this book almost had five-star.

My rating

:

Lying To Meet You is available in both Paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon on the FIFTH OF SEPTEMBER.

A perfect Holiday read. I recommend this title for anyone who wants a good laugh. Anyone who's had to deal with a shop-lifter and tried dating a billionaire. Anyone who loves their New York-y, Sex And The City, Lipstick Jungle friendship and would want a topic worth discussing during their brunch rendezvous. And most importantly, anyone who wants to find loads of ingenious ways to attract someone.

Pure entertainment, Anna Garner. Keeping this.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.