Before I give my view on Could It Be You, I was also lucky enough to have a Q&A with Katie..
Katie, thank you for taking the time to chat, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself please?
Sure, I am originally from Dublin, Ireland, although I spent my younger years in the States. I trained as an actor in the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and fortunately have worked a lot in theatre as well as film and television at home ever since graduating.
Have you always had a love of books? What's your earliest reading memory?
I have always been a huge lover of books and when I was younger, I remember voraciously reading The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High series. Judy Blumes novels have also really resonated with me.
Aha, I remember the SVH books myself! So how did you come about writing Could It Be You?
I've always written as it's something I could do in my spare time alongside the acting. I wrote a poetry book several years ago entitled Pink Moon, so when it came to this novel it was more about what I wanted to write about. I really wanted this novel to be fun and somewhat light, however Rachel's character is going through a real rocky patch so I wanted to stay true to that.
It's your debut novel, can you tell us where the inspiration for the book came from?
Looking back on the last ten years of my own life, I've had some extraordinary friendships so I was inspired to write about that.
Do you have a favourite chapter you particularly enjoyed writing?
I really enjoyed writing the party scenes as I had the opportunity to introduce really amusing supporting characters.
How are you similar, or not so, to the characters?
There are elements of Rachel that are similar to myself but she is altogether a lot more cynical than I am! I would say I'm somewhere between Rachel and Kara.
If you were locked for 24 hours in a room with one character, who would you pick and why?
Probably Nick because he would keep me laughing!
Do you have any guilty pleasures? What 3 things couldn't you live without?
I am a pretty healthy eater however my vice is salt and vinegar crisps! Three things I couldn't live without are my husband and two baby girls - they are my Everything!
Who are your top three authors?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Sylvia Plath
Christopher Hitchins
Katie, thank you so much for allowing me to read and review Could It Be You and for taking the time to answer the questions, how can readers get hold of the book and stay in touch with you?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Website: www.katie-kirby.com
Could It Be You centres around Rachel Kane, a woman in her late twenties and an entrepreneur who owns her own soap and beauty range. She is desperately trying to navigate her way through life since the very sudden and heart wrenching split from her husband.
Join Rachel as her story takes us on her first holiday as a singleton to the south of France where she is maid of honour at her best friends wedding and a journey where Rachel has to face who and what is most important to her.
I found Could It Be You an easy, feel good read, in fact I finished it in one sitting.
Rachel is at a loss after her marriage has broken down, she back living with her parents and lives her life daily by floating from market to market trying to make ends meet with her homemade soap and beauty supplies. From the outset Rachel was a loveable character with a personality everyone would get on with.
Going away for the weekend for her best friends wedding, she quickly finds herself battling her emotions after divorce papers land on her doorstep, trying to keep upbeat is no easy task, so finding herself in a love triangle situations with Nick and Tom is the last thing she needs.
She manages to pull herself together to keep up her maid of honour duties, including keeping control on her friends and hunting out a wandering groom... It's safe to say, a lot can happen in one weekend!
I particularly liked that this novel was based over a short period of time, Wednesday to Sunday to be exact, and each chapter was titled with a time ( Saturday Morning - 10:35ish for example) giving a real timescale and the feeling of being away yourself in the build up to the wedding. The only exception to this is the final chapter being set a few months down the line.
There were both humorous and emotional parts to this story which is everything I look for in a book, and as far as debuts go this ticked all the books.
I genuinely hope that this book does well for Katie and can't wait to see what she has in store next!
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