Review: Breakfast at Darcy's

When Darcy McCall loses her beloved Aunt Molly, she doesn't expect any sort of inheritance - let alone a small island.

Located off the west coast of Ireland, Tara hasn't been lived on for years, but according to Molly's will Darcy must stay there for twelve months in order to fully inherit, and she needs to persuade a village full of people to settle there, too. Darcy has to leave behind her independent city life and swap stylish heels for muddy wellies. Between sorting everything from the plumbing to the pub, Darcy meets confident Conor and ever-grumpy Dermot - but who will make her feel really at home?

Title: Breakfast at Darcy's
Author: Ali McNamara | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: November 24 2011
Length: Paperback 448 Pages / Audiobook 11 hours 37 minutes
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Narrated by: Beth Chalmers
Cover Love: Cute, fits the story.
Point of View: 1st person, following Darcy

My Rating: 4 Stars

Ali McNamara has quickly become one of my favorite chick lit authors.  Her stories never cease to keep me laughing, romanced and entertained.  Thankfully, Breakfast at Darcy's was no exception.

I will admit that I had to warm to Darcy, but this is kind of the point of the story.  At the start, she is a self-absorbed, label obsessed, glory hunter... and I didn't really care for her very much.  That is until she goes to live on Tara, the Irish island that has been left to her in her Aunt Molly's will.  It is on Tara where Darcy truly starts to come into her own.  Taken out of the big city and put in charge of other people's well beings, she quickly becomes a character that you can care and root for.

There is a bit of a love triangle... no wait, don't run away that quickly.  There is Conor, who is handsome, sweet, and has a love of travelling.  Then there is Dermot, who always seems grumpy, uptight and a bit of a know-it-all.  However... I was never in any doubt as to who Darcy would end up with in the end.  I don't think this is meant to be any real secret to be honest.  I was surprised though with a few of the secrets that are uncovered about one of them.  I won't post any spoilers, but I really didn't see that coming.

However, my true love for Breakfast at Darcy's comes from Tara itself.  I have never wanted pack in my job, and go live on an isolated island as much as I do right now.  To say I was jealous of the life that Darcy and the other residents of Tara have been able to live, is an understatement.  I would give pretty much anything to be able to live as simple of a life.  As long as I had a roof over my head, there is electricity and a bit of Internet access so that I can buy by Kindle and Audible books... I would be in heaven.  Absolute heaven.

I do think the only let down to this story would be the ending.  It wasn't really bad, it's just that I would have liked there to be a bit more build up to the happily ever after.  It seemed a bit rushed, however this could be from me not feeling like I was ready to say goodbye to these characters.  I really would love to read more about Darcy, the island's residents, and of Tara itself.

Because I listened to this in Audiobook, I should mention that I have also become a huge fan of Beth Chalmers.  This is not the first Audiobook I have listened to her as the narrator, and I hope it will not be my last.  She does a superb job, and I think she has an amazing talent with the multiple accents that are used in this book.

Review: From Notting Hill to New York... Actually

Scarlett O’Brien, utterly addicted to romantic films, has found her leading man. She’s convinced Sean is Mr Right, but the day-to-day reality of a relationship isn’t quite like the movies. With Sean constantly away on business, Scarlett and her new best friend Oscar decide to head to New York for the holiday of a lifetime. From one famous landmark to the next, Scarlett and Oscar make many new friends during their adventure - including sailors in town for Fleet Week, a famous film star, and Jamie & Max, a TV reporter and cameraman. Scarlett finds herself strangely drawn to Jamie, they appear to have much in common: a love of films and Jamie’s search for a parent he never knew. But Scarlett has to ask herself why she is reacting like this to another man when she’s so in love with Sean …

Title: From Notting Hill to New York... Actually (Actually ~ Book 2)
Author: Ali McNamara | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: November 22 2012
Publisher: Hachette Digital
Length: Paperback 449 pages / Audiobook 9 hours
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Audiobook via Audible)
Narrated by:: Finty Williams
Cover Love: Fits with the series.
Point of View: 1st person, following Scarlett

My Rating: 4 Stars

I fell in love with Scarlett O'Brien in From Notting Hill with Love... Actually.  She so easily made me laugh, and I adored her love of all things movie related.  I was excited to see that there was going to be a sequel, even though we had to wait quite a long time between book one and two.

This story picks up shortly after book one.  We find Scarlett and Sean settled into the routine of normal life.  You get the impression that things are just that, normal.  When a book ends and the characters get their happily ever after, you don't think about how their life is going to now carry on the same way your life does.  Work, cooking dinner, taking out the garbage, etc... I wouldn't say Scarlett and Sean are tired of each other or want to move on, it's nothing like that.  It's just that you get the idea that Scarlett is a bit.. bored.  So Sean suggests that she go to New York to visit her father.

I will be honest to say that at first, I was nervous when Scarlett meets Jamie in New York.  I did NOT want this to turn into a love triangle.  I couldn't stand the thought of Scarlett being confused over her feelings for Sean, he is so sweet and lovely, I just wanted them happy.  However, I was thrilled that it took me no time at all to realize that Scarlett just didn't have those types of feelings for Jamie.  Thankfully.

The plot is pretty easy to figure out, but this in no way diminished my enjoyment of the story.  I pretty much had everything figured out early on, but McNamara's writing is one that keeps you drawn into the story so knowing what was going to happen didn't bother me.

Oscar, Scarlett's best friend, is along for the trip to New York.  He is as outrageous and as funny as ever.  We get to meet a lot of new characters this time around, of course there is Jamie... but also there is Max, Peter and a very swoonworthy Bradley Cooper.  Yes, you read that correctly, THE Bradley Cooper.

As I listened to the audiobook, I would like to add a little about the narrator, Flinty Williams.  I adore her voice, and I've become quite a fan of hers.  She does an excellent job with the narration, and I couldn't have picked a better voice for Scarlett.

Now the ending... it was of course as sweet as could be.  I loved the build up to the big moment, but I have to say I was a little disappointed as it seemed to be a bit abrupt after the build up.  If this is going to be the final chapter for Scarlett and Sean, I would have loved to have an epilogue.  Something that gave us a peek into their future.  However, with that said, I could easily see there being more story to tell here.  I haven't seen any talk of there being a third book, but I for one would love to have more. 

Review: Wedding Night

Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago.

Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse.

Title: Wedding Night
Author: Sophie Kinsella | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: April 23 2013
Publisher: Bantam Press
Length: Paperback 368 pages / Audiobook 13 hours 5 minutes
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible

Source: Purchased (Audiobook via Audible)
Narrated by: Finty Williams and Beth Chalmers
Cover Love: I think this is a quite cute cover, this is the UK version and my favirote.
Point of View: Alternating 1st person between both Lottie and Fliss

My Rating: 4 Stars

First things first, I absolutely adored Wedding Night. There are so many mixed reviews about this book, and I will be honest to say I was hesitant to start it because of the negative reviews I had read. I saw so many references to how this was nothing like Kinsella's previous books, how they couldn't stand one or both of the characters, and was just overall disappointed.

I don't understand these negative reviews at all.  Was this different than previous Kinsella books?  Yes.  But that in no way made it rubbish.  I loved the alternating point of view, and I ended up loving both Lottie and Fliss.  I laughed out loud so many times, and the Kinsella storytelling was still quite evident.

“If Muhammad won't come to the mountain, the mountain has to cancel all his plans and get on a plane.”

Lottie. She was so adorable.  She wanted so much to be married to Richard and when that went down the drain she jumped at the chance to marry Ben, even though they had not seen each other for ages.  I didn't take offence to the traumas she had to go through on her honeymoon at the hands of her sister Fliss.  I thought they were quite funny.  Even though I knew she was feeling miserable, we all knew it was going to work out in the end.

“My great moment of triumph ... It's all turned to dust. I wasn't the heroine of the hour. I was the thoughtless, stupid villain.”

Fliss.  I think because Lottie's name appears first in the synopsis, a lot of people assume that this is her story.  I also think that is why a lot of people say they didn't like Fliss, because she took up a lot of the story.  I don't think this is Lottie's story at all.  This is a moment in both of their lives where one event has turned into a life changing moment for them both.  I loved Fliss.  Were the actions that she took to prevent Lottie and Ben from 'putting the sausage in the cupcake' extreme?  Absolutely yes.. but they were hilarious.  I can't even caught how many times I laughed out loud.  And seeing as how I listened to the audiobook, and a lot of times I was at lunch at work... I had quite a few people looking my way.

“You can't switch sides!" I glare at him in fury.

"I was never on your side," retorts Lorcan. "Your side is the nutty side.”

I also loved the side characters, Richard and Lorcan.  I had to warm up to Richard at first, but once I saw how much he truly cared for Lottie it was easy to love him.  And Lorcan?  I fell in love with him.  His own story touched my heart, and I adored his interactions with Noah, Fliss' son.  It was a joy to watch him and Fliss move closer together as the story went on.  Ben was just a tool for most of the book, and I think my dislike for him is what helped me find the tormented honeymoon so darn funny.

I would strongly recommend this book to any Chick Lit fan, as mentioned before it is different from other Kinsella books but it is still really great.  You will laugh, that is guaranteed.

“You fall in and out of love, but when you really love someone...it's forever.”

This is my first review for an audiobook version.  I used to be a member of Audible years ago when I had to commute a fair distance to work.  Now that I no longer have that commute I never really found myself with much time to listen to them.  But I decided that when I was doing such things as cleaning, showering and sometimes at lunch at work, instead of listening to music it would be better to be 'reading' a book.

So, I am a proud renewed member of Audible and will always have one audiobook on the go, on the side of my normal Kindle reading.  It took me about three weeks to get through these 13 hours, but the story flowed nicely and I never found myself lost when I went to restart my listening.  I loved the narrators Finty Williams and Beth Chalmers.  They were easy to listen to and I enjoyed the way they altered their voice when speaking for a male character.  So as far as the audible version is concerned, I give two big thumbs up.

MORE QUOTES FROM WEDDING NIGHT