Sylvia Ashby's Blog
July 9, 2013
Chick Lit United
A great review of Pot Love in one of my favourite chick lit blogs – Chick Lit Reviews and News. Thank you, ladies!
July 3, 2013
Fantastic review of my first book
Here is what Kaitlyn Oruska at http://www.kaitlynoruska.wordpress.com said about Pot Love.
My Favorite Lines:
“It’s difficult maintaining a healthy life-style with a boyfriend and a potential lover on the side, who also happens to be my boss. I’m cracking under the pressure.”
“In a way I do have a day off. It’s just followed by more days off.”
“All I had to do was snog James, get fired, lose Simon, embarrass myself at a pub lunch with some TV people, get offered a job I can’t do and embrace the challenge of learning to cook, in order to end up here. Piece of cake, really.”
“His mum sounded like Goebbels. Do I really want Goebbels bossing me around a kitchen? I don’t think so.”
What I Thought:
I feel like exploding with how much I love this book. I almost didn’t want to read the last few chapters because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I feel like I made a new best friend and visited England, without ever leaving my house.
If this book were a movie, it would be the biggest romantic comedy of the next five years, and I’d be first in line to pay my $10 for a ticket and $20 worth of popcorn and soda.
Main character Ashley was amazing. I don’t even know a better word to describe her. She was incredibly real, and even more incredibly hilarious. She admits early on in the book that she’s clumsy, and this trait remains true throughout the novel.
How would I describe this book in a few words? Charming. Endearing. Heart-warming. Refreshing.
I want a sequel. If I thought I had power over it, I’d demand one. The ending was satisfactory, but these characters are just too great to live without. I definitely see myself reading this book over and over again, for years to come.
Characters are so crucial to me when I’m reading, and this book delivered on every single one mentioned. They were all realistic, all similar to people you probably know or have met in real life. Ashley was by far the star of the book, but best friend Anna and love (who shall remain unnamed because I don’t want to give anything away) were wonderful.
I think I could go on about this book forever, but I won’t. Read it. Seriously. It’s well worth the $2.99 it costs on Amazon. Well, well worth it.
This book delivered in every sense of the word. It’s obvious that the author puts an immense amount of work into it, and she deserves to be appreciated for that. If you love romance, romantic comedies, or just good books in general, get it now!
Great, isn’t it! Thank you, Kaitlyn!
June 27, 2013
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
I’ve read many of Ms Keyes books: Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance saloon, Sushi For Beginners, to name but a few. A lot of them touch sensitive topics like drug abuse and depression, but this one took me by surprise and shook me strong. It deals with domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and cross-dressing in a very human, light-hearted, endearing way. Apart from the domestic violence, of course, which could never be endearing or light-hearted.
To give you the gist of the plot – never easy with Ms Keyes’s books, since all of them are 600+ pages – the story evolves around four women.
Lola Daly (lovely name), lives in Dublin, is a personal stylist to the rich and powerful and goes out with a certain politician named Paddy de Courcy. Or so she thinks. The story starts with Lola finding out Paddy is getting married. To someone else. She flees Dublin in a hurry to go live in a cottage by the sea. Lola’s retreat proves anything but idyllic but the stuff that happens there is hilarious and certainly proves healing.
Journalist Grace wants the inside story on Paddy de Courcy’s engagement and thinks Lola can help her. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago because he used to be her sister’s boyfriend. Marnie – Grace’s sister still has issues with her past because of Paddy de Courcy and her memories are pushing her away from everything she loves – her husband and two beautiful daughters – into the depths of alcoholism.
Alicia Thornton is Paddy’s wife-to-be. Determined to be the perfect wife, Alicia would do anything for her fiancé. But does she know the real Paddy?
Using four different points of view, Keyes switches between characters with ease. We are constantly in the heads of the four women, taking close looks at their most intimate secrets and thoughts.
I loved Lola Daly most and found myself skipping forward, towards her entries. The cross-dressing bits – hilarious!
The chapters about Marnie – Grace’s sister, I found at times unbearable. She was a wreak: so damages, so spinning out of control and yet, there was nothing anyone could do. The helplessness of the situation was trying. Also, Ms Keyes gets the tendency to over-explain.
Overall this book gets a 9/10.
Read it, it’s worth every sleepless night I spent with it. (did I mention is 912 pages…)
The cover of my frist book Pot Love
Click on the picture and it will take you to amazon.co.uk where you can get a copy. For those of you registered on amazon.com or other amozon sub-sites you’ll have to go there to be able to get a copy. Amazon would nor redirect you automatically.
Can’t wait to hear what you think about it. Please, get in touch as soon as you finish it!
Yours,
Sylvia A.
