Wednesday 10 June 2015

The Love Shack by Jane Costello



Life's great when you're 29 years old with a gorgeous girlfriend and a fulfilling job. Until you have to move back in with your mum...

Dan and Gemma have found their dream first home, but the asking price is the stuff of nightmares. The only way they'll ever save enough for the deposit is by moving in, rent free, with Dan's mum.

It's a desperate solution, but it's only for six months. And Gemma's determined to make it work, no matter how bad things get.

But between Dan's mums kitchen karaoke, her constant innuendos, irrepressible argumentative streak and - worst of all - her ham and pineapple curries, life back at home would test the patience of two saints. Which Dan and Gemma most definitely are not.

Then, as they're trying to convince themselves it will all be worth it, Gemma's past comes back to haunt her. And suddenly the foundations of their entire relationship are shaken to their core...

I'm new to reading a Jane Costello novel but when looking at my TBR list The Love Shack grabbed my attention.

I was sceptical when I started reading this as I'm not usually a fan of books where chapters are based from characters point of views (POV's), mainly because I find they don't flow particularly well.
In this case however,  the POV's were only from the two main  characters, Dan and Gemma, and therefore told the story perfectly as each chapter linked.

The couple are obviously madly in love despite Gemma always replying no to Dans wedding proposals... A standing joke between the pair that runs throughout the book.
They've had their ups and downs as most couples do, and throughout various chapters or POV's they highlight their journey on how hey eventually became a couple.
Deciding to take their relationship to the next level, after searching tirelessly, they set their hearts on buying their first home - Pebble Cottage.
Only one thing stands in their way, lack of deposit.

Moving in with  Dans mum is obviously the right choice financially but as we meet Belinda its clear to see why Dan didn't want this outcome... His mother is nothing short of a nightmare - her telling them to "go at it like rabbits" was enough to put me off them getting physical and I was only reading their story!!!

As the sale of Pebble Cottage moves forwards it promotes it's own set of troubles and adds pressure to their relationship with Gemma on edge and fretting about every single detail.

Things go from bad to worse when she bumps into Alex one day.
Alex was her first love and as she meets him on several occasions it's clear he's still crazy about Gemma and she questions her feelings for him vs those to Dan.

The Love Shack had me gripped as I was eager to find out how this couple would survive a very real life problem of getting on the property ladder whilst battling the pressure of mothers/in - laws and ex's.

A thoroughly enjoyable read from Jane Costello and I look forward to diverging into more of her books over the summer!


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