Could It Be You? By Katie Kirby

Could It Be You is the debut novel from Katie Kirby, and I was approached by the lady herself to see if I would be interested in reviewing this for her.... Umm yes!!

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/katiekay1002

Website: www.katie-kirby.com

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Could-Be-You-Katie-Kirby-ebook/dp/B010T03FPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435937090&sr=8-1&keywords=could+it+be+you+endeavour

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! 

The Truth About Ellen by Sarah Louise Smith

I was contacted by Sarah to see if I would like to review her new book, The Truth About Ellen and jumped at the chance to have this up on my blog. This review is brought to you by Guest Reviewer, Ellisa.

It's every girls dream to date a pop star...

When Ellen starts dating Tom, a member of the band she adored as a teenager, she can't believe how lucky she is. She neglects to mention that she's a huge fan because that just wouldn't be cool, would it?

Ellen also keeps quiet about how she once spent an evening with Tom's ex band mate / ex best friend Jasper, her long term celebrity crush. Tom doesn't need to know about that, it's all in the past.

That is until Tom and Jasper get back in touch... And the truth threatens to ruin everything Ellen has ever dreamed of...

As a teenager my celebrity crushes were Take That, 3T and Paul Nicholls, in my 20's it was McFly, well mainly Dougie. I used to have posters of all of them on my walls, folders and ceiling.

I used to imagine the day I would get to meet Paul Nichols, I would plan what I was going to say to him, and then he would fall in love with me. When I did finally get to meet him whilst I was working in a surf shop in London, I lost my power of speech when he spoke to me and actually giggled when he gave me his amazing grin, I've regretted that for along time!

Luckily for Ellen when she meets Tom who used to be in her favourite band Four ape, she's a lot better at handing meeting her teenage crush than I was!

This book is about what happens when you get to meet your teenage crush and realise that there only human and are actually real people. It's about falling in love, not just with the boy band member you grew up listening to but with the man he's become.

I love Ellen, I love her obsession with the band Four Ape, I love how accident prone she is (something I can relate to).

As soon as I started reading this I was transported into her world and couldn't put it down.
I'm now off to find out what else Sarah Louise Smith has written and read the rest of her books.

Pieces Of You by Ella Harper

Lucy I don't even know how to start this letter.

Something happened.

Something terrible....

Lucy was always sure of one thing - her cuter with husband and soul mate Luke. But after eight long, heartbreaking years of trying to have a baby, that future is crumbling before her eyes.

When a terrible accident puts Luke into a coma, Lucy is forced to reassess everything she thought she wanted.

Then a stranger arrives, with a shocking secret that will force Lucy to make the hardest decision of her life

*Contains Spoilers*

I purchased Pieces Of You recently and will confess that the front cover intrigued me. I didn't read the blurb at the time of purchase, and truthfully, if I had I probably wouldn't have brought it... I'll explain as my review goes on.

The book is fundamentally about one main character, Lucy, and a fair chunk of the chapters are written as her in the first person.

Lucy is married to Luke, the love of her life. They are completely compatible and completely besotted with each other.

Only one thing is missing. A baby to complete their family. The chapters that Lucy tells are primarily in the present and titled with her name, whilst one or two refers back to how her and Luke met, the first time they discovered she was expecting, their wedding day etc. and are titles Lucy and Luke.

I instantly took a liking to Lucy's character and I have to hand it to Ella Harper as she wrote about a sensitive subject with care and thought yet keeping it real. Having suffered miscarriages and yearning that feeling of having a baby myself, I could totally relate to Lucy and her emotions - that didn't mean that this book, for me, was an easy read and I did have to put it down and take a breather occasional.

Lucy's world is suddenly turned upside down when Luke has an accident at work which leaves him fighting for life and in a coma. With her emotions all over the place the last thing she needed was a stranger dropping a bombshell - your have to read it to discover what as I'd like to leave some element of surprise, however Lucy starts to question everything she thought she had with Luke.

Along with the Lucy & Lucy and Luke chapters, there are two other characters that tell this story. Patricia, Luke's mother, and Nell, his sister, both of who depended largely on Luke during the last few years. I particularly liked the way the chapters focussing on these two characters are in the third person, it kept you on your toes whilst reading yet flowed really well.

One thing that is clear from the start of the book is that other than Lucy and Luke, there are a lot of broken relationships between the four main characters, and as the story unfolds we get to know each of the characters well and how they deal with problems as they arise - real family issues that are relatable and believable and what's lovely about Pieces Of You is that over the course of the book we get to see this broken family build their bridges.

I'm glad I didn't read the blurb for this book as it was, despite being hard going for me personally, a truely compelling, heart warming, and heart breaking, novel that had everything from laughs to tears.... If your a fan of JoJo Moyes' Me Before You or Giovanna Fletcher Billy & Me then this is a must for you!