Emma by Jane Austen

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen

Published: December 1815

Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a 'heroine whom no one but myself will much like', but Emma is irresistible. 'Handsome, clever, and rich', Emma is also an 'imaginist', 'on fire with speculation and foresight'. She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective. Judgement and imagination are matched in games the reader too can enjoy, and the end is a triumph of understanding.

Rating: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed Emma, a book which gives good insight as to how society works for women in the 1800's and what their prospects are like for marriage, and which is also a very fun read. 

Set in the village of Highbury we meet a close knit society which our heroine Emma feels herself slightly above. Oh she has a great many gentlemen friends, but not many close confidantes when it comes to women. In fact she is to replace her old governess with a young girl by the name of Harriet. 

The story begins showing Emma with a great love of matchmaking, and this is what the book is centred around. For while Emma herself is determined never to marry, she attracts a great many suitors, the majority of whom at somepoint or another she has meant for her friend Harriet. And Harriet herself is in for more than her fair share of heartbreak as she falls in turn for several men, only one of whom shows the slightest interest in her. 

The characters are wonderfully developed, and we certainly have all the village people needed. We have our village gossip, our vicar and his haughty wife who really does think she's doing everyone a favour whilst being a huge hypocrite, and our local playboy who showers attention on various females and definitely knows how to flatter everyone. 

My dislikes with Emma would be that apart from a range of matchmaking and Emma being completely oblivious to the real feelings of various characters, there really isn't all that much of a storyline. I suppose however Emma is probably the closest I can get to chicklit in 1815. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes most definitely. Not only is Austen a classic author who has stood the test of time, but her writing style is easy to read and Emma is a rather enjoyable book. 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Title: Great Expectations

Author: Charles Dickens

Published: October 1861

Great Expectations traces the growth of the book's narrator, Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dickens' most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Haversham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted room-mate Herbert Pocket and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own 'great expectations' in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him towards maturity and his most important discovery of all - the truth about himself.

Rating: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed Great Expectations, much more than I originally thought I would. At first I was very intrigued by the character of Miss Havisham, a woman who really has been scorned by men, and I did wholeheartedly believe like Pip that she was his mysterious benefactor. 

However due to the language used, and that is no fault of Dickens, it is merely the fault of evolution and how our everyday language has changed since, that before getting halfway through the story I rather found myself losing interest in it. 

I am glad that I persevered though as around three quarters of the way through the novel when Dickens starts tying up his loose ends, it feels like curveball after curveball is thrown at the reader. Estella's true parentage, the identity of Pip's real benefactor and who exactly attacked Pip's sister way back when is all revealed, and all adds up. From that moment on even though I was still struggling somewhat with the language, I was completely gripped again and hastened to finish the book. 

Great Expectations shows that Dickens is very much, or should I say very much was, a part of the school of writing where everything, even things that the reader may think are of no consequence at the time are extremely important. Everything that happens in the novel has a reason for happening. No character is introduced without good reason, and everything is revealed at just the right time. 

Character wise whilst I am not entirely sure of how Dickens expects us to react to characters I found myself loving Wemmick, feeling somewhat sympathetic for Miss Havisham who in trying to protect Estella from her own heartbreak created a woman much worse, and I absolutely hated Estella. Yes admittedly she may have warned Pip of her nature, even in the early days, but that doesn't really redeem her in my eyes. 

Would I recommend this book? Having finally finished Great Expectations (and I would have finished it a lot sooner if I hadn't needed an emergency csection and spent every day since up the hospital with my beautiful daughter) I would definitely say that you have to read it. Take your time to make sense of the language, and you will be well rewarded with a gripping tale.   

I Heart Vegas by Lindsey Kelk

Title: I Heart Vegas

Author: Lindsey Kelk

Published: December 2011

Angela Clark loves her life in New York. She a Brit who’s conquered the Big Apple. Unfortunately, she’s also a Brit who’s lost her job. And when, just a couple of weeks before Christmas, the immigration department gets wind of this, Angela needs to find a new job urgently. Or a husband. And she doesn’t think her boyfriend Alex will be keen.

A girls’ weekend in Vegas with her best friend Jenny seems the perfect way to forget her troubles. From the minute they arrive Angela is swept up in a whirl of cocktails, outrageous outfits, late nights and brushes with the chapel of love. But rather than escaping trouble, Angela is up to her neck in it….

But what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – right?

Rating: 3 Stars

So this wasn't my favourite book of the series, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a bad book. Once again we follow Angela to another city, this time a girls' weekend in Vegas. However as always with Angela, trouble is abroad and not just in the form of her visa having been revoked. No instead we also have to contend with the girls' weekend just happening on the strip at the exact same time as Jeff's bachelor party. 

I quite enjoyed this book in that we get to see Angela coping, or should I say struggling to cope, with making the biggest decisions of her life. She needs to find herself a new job or be deported within the next thirty days, a challenge for anyone. But of course there is another way to get a visa, all she has to do is persuade Alex to marry her. 

However as we all know Angela has a great knack for putting her foot in her mouth, and she gets herself into a series of wonderful situations including having to be a pole dancer for a song or two. 

And the ending is just well .... It's a typical chick lit ending. But part of me wanted it to go the other way, even though I knew that would never really happen. 

Would I recommend this book? If you've read the rest of the I Heart series then you definitely need to pick up a copy of I Heart Vegas. If not you still need to pick it up, after reading the others of course. 

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

Title: I Heart Paris

Author: Lindsey Kelk

Published: July 2010

Angela is in the city of love – but romance is taking a nose-dive…

When Angela Clark’s boyfriend Alex suggests a trip to Paris at the same time as hip fashion mag Belle asks her to write a piece, she jumps at the chance.

But even as she’s falling for the joie de vivre of Paris, someone’s conspiring to sabotage her big break. And when she spots Alex having a tête-à-tête with his ex in a local bar, Angela’s dreams of Parisian passion all start crashing down around her.

With London and her old life only a train journey away, Angela can’t decide if should stay and face the music or run away home…

Rating: 3 Stars

Okay so I'm going to give I Heart Paris the same rating as the other books in the series so far. I have my reasons for doing this, but the main one has to be that even after three books I still haven't managed to warm to Angela as a character. 

That aside though this installment in the I Heart series is refreshingly light as yet more trouble hits Angela and Alex's relationship, and this time it really does look as if everything could be over for good between them. 

As always we get an amazing new location, but for once it isn't all about sights that can be viewed in Paris. Instead we actually focus more on Angela and a key flaw of hers; to always jump to the worst conclusion. That said I don't think I'd be too happy if I saw my boyfriend sneaking around with his very gorgeous ex girlfriend, and with her dropping hints about how they'd be getting be back together. In all honesty I'd probably deck the cow and castrate him. So I can completely understand Angela's reaction. 

However I think it was perhaps a little obvious just who exactly is trying to sabotage Angela's career. I'm sorry but there's no way that particular saboteur is going to have had a total personality transplant just like that. 

Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I think it definitely helped keep my interest as a reader that it wasn't full of cringey sex scenes. I would definitely say that Kelk's writing is growing stronger with each book in the series, and I'm actually looking forwards to the next installment.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. This has so far been my favourite book of the series, and I think if you liked the previous books then you will definitely enjoy this one. 

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk

Title: I Heart Hollywood

Author: Lindsey Kelk

Published: December 2009

Angela Clark can’t believe her luck… she’s an English girl living in New York with a dream job at hip magazine The Look and a sexy boyfriend.

Her latest assignment takes her to Hollywood to interview hot actor and fellow Brit James Jacobs.Thrown in at the deep end she heads west with best friend Jenny dreaming of Rodeo Drive and Malibu beach.

Soon Angela discovers that celebrity life in Hollywood is not all glamour, gloss and sunshine. Despite his lady-killer reputation, the only person who seems genuine is James.

Then a paparazzi snaps them in an uncompromising position and suddenly Angela is thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons…

Can she convince all those close to her – especially her boss and her boyfriend – not to believe everything they read? And will Hollywood ever win Angela’s heart?

Rating: 3 Stars

Okay so I definitely preferred I Heart Hollywood to it's predecessor I Heart New York. However I don't fully understand why the book is called I Heart Hollywood when the main character Angela hates Hollywood. 

In some respects the story was a bit samey in the fact that again we don't really see much character development as far as Angela is concerned, and did we really need to start the book with another wedding? 

However I preferred the storyline for this book much more. Firstly there were a lot less cringeworthy sex scenes, definitely one benefit of Angela and Alex spending their time apart in this book. As such I didn't feel like such a tool reading it in hospital. Well that was until I realised I was getting funny looks for reading out loud to my bump. 

I don't know whether it was just me but I felt that James' big secret was way too obvious. Seriously you'll know exactly what I mean when you pick up the book. But despite that I really did enjoy it. And I loved the grand romantic gestures near the end of the book. And I finally got my punch up that was so definitely missing from the first book. 

So in conclusion, if you can get past the merely passable I Heart New York then you'll definitely enjoy I Heart Hollywood. 

Would I recommend this book? I would, but I'm not sure that I'd be willing to be spend a lot of money on a copy. I think I'd be more likely to borrow it from the library. 

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

Title: I Heart New York

Author: Lindsey Kelk

Published: January 2009

It's official. Angela Clarke is in love – with the most fabulous city in the world.

Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination - NYC.

Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBF Jenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring them out for yourself …

Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?

Rating: 3 Stars

So after reading The Single Girl's To-Do List I thought it was about time I read some more of Lindsey Kelk's work. If I thought I was going to be in for a treat on the same level as before though I was sorely mistaken. Compared to The Single Girl's To-Do List, I Heart New York is a bit of a letdown. 

Now I don't like to start a review on a negative note but I really just didn't take to the main character, Angela, in the slightest. The only time I liked her even slightly was when she broke Tim's hand at the wedding. And that's probably only because she did it with a stiletto. The rest of the time I found Angela a little whiny and I didn't feel that she really developed much as a character. Even as she dates both Tyler and Alex whilst trying to figure out her life I didn't connect with her at all and she seemed to be very static. By the end of the book I was hoping for some drama to spice things up. But nope I don't even really get that. 

And the storyline ... Well it just seemed a little thin to me. There was great potential from reading the blurb, and I honestly thought this might be another good read. But instead I found myself dragging my way through the book, and the only thing that kept me going was the hope of a Bridget Jones' style throwdown between Tyler and Alex. But instead there's no huge drama, and to be honest the way the bedroom scenes were written, with Angela discovering that she actually was capable of having good sex, were just completely cringeworthy. Even worse for me is that I'm currently laid up in a hospital bed reading out loud to ny pregnancy bump, and I felt embarrassed to be reading this drivel. 

But if it's all so bad why did I rate I Heart New York as a three star book? Well primarily because this book is designed to be a light hearted read, and I think it certainly does that. This is definitely chick lit through and through, and everything about I Heart New York plays perfectly to the chick lit stereotype. 

Also because I quite like it when a writer can fool me, and Lindsey Kelk actually managed to do that. Maybe I was being a little obtuse, but as I started the book at first until it states that Angela is a bridesmaid, I actually thought that it was her wedding day. Somehow I think maybe that it should have been her wedding day, because that would have added a load more drama. But then again that's just me.

Would I recommend this book? If you have absolutely nothing better to do then yes, you might like I Heart New York. But I personally think that there are much better books out there, and Lindsey Kelk herself has written better material than this. Definitely one to borrow from the library, don't bother buying it from the shops. 

The Single Girl's To-Do List by Lindsey Kelk

Title: The Single Girl's To-Do List

Author: Lindsey Kelk

Published: June 2011

Rachel Summers loves a to-do list:

• Boyfriend
• Flat
• Great job

NOT on the list:

• Being dumped

Best friends Emelie and Matthew ride to her rescue with an entirely new kind of list – The Single Girl’s To-Do List. Rachel doesn’t know it, but it will take her on all kinds of wild adventures – and get her in some romantic pickles too. And then it won't be a case of what but who she decides to tick off…

• Mr. bendy yoga instructor
• Mr. teenage sweetheart
• Mr. persistent ex
• Mr. deeply unsuitable

The Single Girl’s To-Do List gives Rachel the perfect heartbreak cure – and proves love is out there if you’re willing to take a chance.

Rating: 4 Stars

So I really loved The Single Girl's To-Do List. It was a great, light-hearted read, just the perfect thing for a lazy weekend as summer draws to a close. 

If you stop any girl on the street I'm certain she'll have at least one bad break up story she could tell you, but Rachel the main character really does get the worst break up. I mean I've had bad, but I would legitimately castrate the man who did that to me. 

So of course while Rachel licks her wounds her best friends come up with the perfect idea. Let's create a single girl's to-do list, and you're not officially single until you've ticked all ten items off the list. 

The list was a little disappointing personally. I'm not exactly a serial dater myself, but neither do I spend all my time being single, and I've already completed seven out of ten items on the list. Some of them are a standard that I automatically do whenever a relationship breaks down, but I think that for Rachel's character it was quite a good list. In which she completely creates herself and is a bit like a phoenix being reborn from the ashes, bigger, stronger and better than before. 

However as we know with chicklit (oh how I hate that phrase or word or whatever) we need a few laughs. And as such Rachel's list leads her to have four potential suitors, as well as some beautiful drama at The Savoy. The ending was somewhat predictable, but then again don't we always get a similar ending with these kinds of stories? And while I would have been perfectly happy not to have that little epilogue bit at the end, I had to love that last little to-do list. It really did make me laugh out loud.

What I liked most though was that this story wasn't just about weathering a break up and learning how to be single, it was more about learning how to recognise what you want and how to make yourself happy. And most importantly it's about not settling for anything less than what you deserve. 

Would I recommend this book? Definitely. I really really enjoyed it, and will have to read more of Lindsey Kelk's work in future.