This review is also posted on my book blog Captivated by Books.

When Laura Lovegrove has to move from London to rural Norfolk (due to her husband being transferred), she finds herself at a bit of a loss what to do without her busy social life. On top of feeling like she doesn’t belong, her college boyfriend’s presence adds to her confusion. Laura decides to join a sewing class to learn some skills and meet new people. When others start complimenting her on her handmade items, Laura has to make the decision whether or not to try creating her own business, selling her items.

I picked this book up as I have an interest in both Norfolk (where I was born), and sewing.

While this book was predictable in the way ‘chick lit’ usually is, I found that in other ways it deviated from the genre enough to keep me interested and wondering what would happen. I didn’t particularly connect with any of the characters, as they just didn’t seem believable to me, and I think that hindered the book massively – obviously we’d rather read about someone we can relate to in some way or other.

As you would expect in a ‘chick lit’ book, there is the other man. In this case it’s Chris, Laura’s boyfriend at Art College, and as handsome and charming as he’s always been. So Laura is juggling her family, her sewing, and her desire for Chris. Needless to say, this becomes so overwhelming that she starts to question whether they should have moved at all.

The blurb on the back of the book implies that Laura learns to sew and immediately starts making things for others. However, if I hadn’t known that before starting to read the book, I wouldn’t have realised there was anything about sewing until at least halfway through. It seemed to go from not mentioning it, to it being the only thing she focuses on. This made it difficult to know what exactly is happening when, and keeps the sewing very separate from the rest of her life, making the character seem so two dimensional that she is only capable of thinking about one thing at a time, rather than being a cohesive being.

One thing I especially liked about the book was that each chapter opened with an explanation of a type of stitch – admittedly I didn’t always follow what it was trying to say, but it was a nice touch to add in a novel about sewing.

Overall, this book wasn’t as good as I was hoping for. While there were some interesting moments, and once or twice I became invested in finding out Laura’s next choice, it was lacking in believability. The characters, as well as the setting of a rural village, didn’t really relate to the real world. It was a pleasant enough read, but there are many better books out there.

This book gives an insider's view on what it is really like to live with M.E. although it does veer into a slightly strange fantasy world towards the end. I would highly recommend this read for everyone, not just those who have/are interested in M.E/C.F.S as the character of Verity Red just makes you smile by the way she thinks and how she just jumps off the page. I was sorry to finish the book as I wanted to read more - always a good (sort of) feeling.

This review is also posted on my book blog, Captivated by Books

January Estlin is like any other woman in her twenties – lost, in love, and trying to find herself. Of course, it would help if she wasn’t so in love with the unattainable Jack (or SSF ‘Short Fat Fuck’ as she and her friends call him), that she moves back to her hometown ‘for my writing’ (at least, that’s what she tells herself). Between sleeping with Jack when he gets away from his girlfriend, a succession of men January dates, and plenty of alcohol and swearing, January’s life is confusing, chaotic, and completely relatable.

This book is not light on the profanity, sex, or drunkenness; so if that bothers you, you can move on now – but you’ll be missing out. In this ‘anti-romance’, Christy Heron is witty, unforgettable and, un-put-downable. In my mind, her writing has a contemporary female Kerouac feel to it (only more interesting). Personally, I found for once, the swearing actually amplified the story, and my only issue with it was that halfway through the book it seems to almost disappear (and not because the character has a big change of voice).

The book is told through the voice of January, and so at times doesn’t completely make sense, but let’s face it, no one’s mind makes complete sense. Somehow Heron has captured the state between desperation and complete mental break-down the character imagines herself having, without making the novel difficult to read.

January, like any other young woman, wants to be loved. The problem being that her love is unrequited to the point where it seems Jack is just using her. While obviously my life is completely different to January’s, I believe we all have thought ourselves in love with someone, when clearly they’re not interested, but that doesn’t stop us from pursuing the object of that love. And so January does. She knows it’s futile, but no matter what is going on in her life, she is always dragged back to the turbulent ‘relationship’ with Jack.

The main problem I had with this book was the use of names. January assigns everyone nicknames (B1, B2 for the boyfriends. ‘childless Brad Pitt’ for her brother, etc), which can at times make it a little confusing as to who she’s talking about, but for the most part this didn’t have too much of an impact on the story.

When I started reading I wasn’t sure what to expect, but found myself unable to put the book down. Honestly, I can say it’s one of the top, if not the top, books I’ve read this year, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Heron’s next book. No matter whether or not you know what it’s like to be a writer, cheat on your boyfriend, struggle to get up due to a hangover, Unrequited – One Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka will finally allow you to see that the craziness going on in our heads isn’t something that only happens to us (at least I hope not!). While I think this book is probably aimed at women, I’m sure men would enjoy it just as much, if for no other reason than to get a little insight to a woman’s mind. In general, my advice is go and buy this book right now and start reading, you won’t regret it.

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]