The cover of the book and the romantically-themed byline - "As summer turns to autumn, will friendship blossom into love ?" - scream chicklit at you so you know exactly what you'll be getting when you pick this up off the shelf. It delivers exactly what it says on the tin, err cover, and gives you a heart-warming tale of friendship and romance, with a bit of heartache along the way to keep things interesting.
The four central characters - lovable loudmouth Juliet ; her twin brother Guy, the hardworking chef ; his best mate and part-time wrestler, Steve; and Juliet's new flatmate, the vulnerable Floz with a heart-wrenching secret (or two) - are all realistic and multi-faceted. You can't help but feel for Floz through all her dramas, past and present, and roll your eyes at the bumbling Guy who would win a gold medal if "putting your foot in it" became an Olympic sport !
The book has an autumn setting but for me, it nevertheless had the merest hint of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with the lead characters going out on dates with the wrong people and bumbling about in the dark before working out who their perfect match is. The only character who annoyed me a bit was Coco, the gay best friend, because he seemed superfluous and too much of a stereotype.
What really appealed to me was that the characters are in their mid-thirties/forties, have broken marriages behind them and are interested in the really grown-up things like marriage, mortgages and kids. It makes a nice contrast to a lot of chicklit which focuses on footloose and fancy-free twenty-somethings whose party/shopping/girlie weekend away lifestyles bear no resemblance to my life any more ! I used the term "hen-lit" (chick lit for the slightly older generation !) in another of my reviews and this is another book that fits the bill.
It's predictable but will give you a lovey warm feeling inside which is perfect for beating the autumn chill in the air. Snuggle under your duvet for an extra hour with a copy for the perfect Sunday morning (if you can ignore the kids jumping all over you) !
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £6.99
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