Never Mind The Botox Rachel by Penny Avis and Joanna Berry

Never Mind the Botox is a series about four professional women all working on the sale of high profile cosmetics surgery business the Beau Street Group. Each book reveals how the women cope with one of the most glamorous but challenging deals of their careers, and the dramatic impact it has on their personal lives. With a briefcase in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, can they navigate their way through a surreal world of boob jobs by day and intrigue by night - and still keep their own love lives on track?

Rachel Altmanis a corporate financier with a prestigious accounting firm who's desperately trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Hopelessly led astray by her bar diving boyfriend, she gets the chance to turn things round when her boss gives her the break she's been waiting for. But when the deal doesn't go as planned Rachel panics, sparking off a chain of betrayal and lies that threaten to ruin bith her love life and her career.

My thoughts: The setting for this story was interesting, I don't know a lot about corporate finance and how businesses are sold, so it was a bit hard to understand some of that side of things, but it was all kind of explained throughout the story as Rachel talked about her job to friends throughout the book.

The main character, Rachel, seemed quite realistic in that she has quite a few flaws, for example staying out late when she has work the next day, I can totally relate to that!  But I didn't feel like I got to know her very well and when she makes decisions there was no explanation about why she made those decisions.

I also had trouble believing some of the unrealistic relationships in the story. For example, there's a nurse who is having an affair with at least three men at once, which I guess could happen, but it seemed a bit hard to believe for me.

Overall it's a fun read and I'd recommend it if you're looking for something a bit more intelligent than your average chick-lit.

Book received in exchange for an honest review. 

Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon

If your boss was the hottest rock star on the planet, would you mix business with pleasure?

I'm Meg Stiles. This is my leaving party. And that song we're making a mockery of? That'swritten by one of the biggest rock stars in the world. And I'm moving in with him tomorrow.

Seriously! I am not even joking. Well, maybe I'm misleading you a little bit. You see, I haven't actually met him yet...

No, I'm not a stalker. I'm his new PA. His Personal Assistant. And I am off to La-La Land. Los Angeles. The City of Angels - whatever you want to call it - and I can't bloody believe it!

Celebrity PA to wild boy of rock Johnny Jefferson, Meg's glam new life in sun-drenched LA is a whirlwind of showbiz parties and backstage passes. Cool, calm Christian, in town to write his famous friend's biography, helps keep Meg's feet firmly on the ground. But with Johnny's piercing green eyes and a body Brad Pitt would kill for, how long will it be before she's swept right off them again?

My thoughts: This started off as a really fun read. It reminds of band fanfics that I used to read, because it's got a wish-fulfillment "Oh my god this is awesome and would never happen in real life" thing going on. I was really enjoying it and I loved the characters who were all fun and interesting. There were some nice friendships and relationships happening throughout the story which I really loved.

The book did get a bit repetitive and boring in the middle, a lot of it seemed like unecessary filler.

The ending was quite ambiguous and I'm not sure I liked it. The book was quite long and I felt really involved in the story so for the ending to happen the way it did was so frustrating. It was the sort of cliffhanger that you'd expect at the end of a book in a series, but I have no idea if there's another book after this one.

So yeah, basically I adored this book except for the ending which was a real let down.

Moonshine by Christina Jones

Cleo Moon is starting life over again after a divorce. She lands a job as PA to Lady of the Manor - Mimi - having settled herself in a caravan in the sleepy little village of Lovers' Knot. But the trouble starts when the most beautiful boy in the world - Dylan - turns up on her doorstep drunk one night.

My thoughts: When Cleo finds some old recipes for homemade wine, her and Dylan have a go at making the wine, planning to serve it at the Harvest Home festival. Cleo obviously fancies Dylan, and even though he's a bit of a player, I found myself really wanting her to end up with him.
In a side story Cleo's teenaged friend Elvi is falling in love with Zeb, a rich kid who she knows her father will hate.

The Harvest Home festival is what the whole book leads up to, and it doesn't disappoint. When the wine is served for the first time it turns out to have magical effects on anyone who drinks it. This made for some really funny scenes, but it also revealed the secrets of some of the characters, which brought everything together nicely.

I really loved this book. I felt really involved with the characters and I enjoyed reading about the developing romances. I thought the story was a really original idea and I will definitely be seeking out more books by Christina Jones.

Divas Don't Knit by Gil McNeil

Jo Mackenzie needs a new start. Newly widowed with two young sons and a perilous bank balance, she has to leave London to take over her grandmother's wool shop. They arrive in the pouring rain and Broadgate Bay is the kind of Kentish seaside town where the tide went out a long time ago and the dusty old shop is full of peach four-ply. Marmalade mohair, an A-list actress moving into the local mansion and a 'Stitch and Bitch' group will help, but it's not going to be easy. Very Large dogs, celebrity, small town intrigues, packed lunches and romance all loom large in Gil McNeil's funny and uplifting novel. "Divas Don't Knit" turns prejudices and assumptions upside down and tells it how it really is in the world of knit-one, purl-one. Knitting has never been so much fun.

This is one of those books that I want to live in. I loved everything about it; the people, the seaside town, the wool shop, it was all wonderful. This book was really enjoyable and funny, I didn't want it to end!

My favourite characters were definitely the two boys, Archie and Jack; they were so funny at times, and just adorable.

I’m definitely going to be reading the next book in the series, Needles and Pearls.

The Cradle Snatcher by Tess Stimson

Clare Elias has always known the risks of being married to a rich, handsome younger man like Marc. But when she gives birth to two gorgeous babies, she discovers motherhood isn't quite the cinch she'd expected, and Marc is better with them than she is. Desperate to regain her independence running a successful chain of boutique flower shops, Clare hires Jenna, a confident, efficient nanny keen to escape a relationship that is going horribly wrong.

Before too long, a deadly rivalry emerges, and as events spiral out of control, Clare finds herself forced to make wrenching decisions about love, loyalty and motherhood.

My thoughts: The Cradle Snatcher is about Clare and how her life changes after she gives birth to twins.

We see the story from several different points of view (Clare, the nanny, Clare’s husband, etc), which would be interesting if it wasn’t so repetitive. I hated seeing the same event from three different points of view.

There are some fun characters in this book, I especially liked Clare’s mum and brother who both made me laugh whenever they were around.

Overall it was a typical chick-lit book, a bit funny but a bit clichéd too. As usual with this sort of book I got really annoyed with the ending. A good relaxing read if you like chick-lit, but really nothing special.