Phoebe Smith’s Private Blog by Lynda Renham #WeekendBlogShare @Lyndarenham

About this book…

Fashion conscious Phoebe Smith wants only one thing: a date for the works party in six weeks’ time. She embarks on a journey to find her man and keeps a private blog of all her disastrous encounters. But when her four-year-old nephew gets into her account, Phoebe’s problems only just begin. With Tinder calamities, a male escort and a pork pie addiction, Phoebe tackles her biggest problem: the just too irritating Harry Bloom. Come with Phoebe on her search for the perfect man and see who will accompany her to the party in this hilarious romantic comedy novel.

My review…

This has to be my favourite book by Lynda Renham to date. It has got such a captivating plot and you’re left with oodles of that “feelgood” feeling that readers have come to expect from her books.  I’ve just finished it and have been left with such a big smile on my face! I usually do most of my reading in bed at night but had to give up last night as apparently my hubby couldn’t sleep because of my “incessant snorting and chuckling”.  But that’s what I loved about Phoebe Smith and her (not so) private blog-you just never knew what she would come out with next!

Phoebe has split up from boyfriend Ashby (fab name!) and so she is now dateless for the Guildhall Ball. But her friends Mak and Imogen are there to advise her on the next steps to take to get back into the dating game…unfortunately it looks like they have a few problems of their own too. Her sisters husband is ready to help out but surely Phoebe can find her own date for the night?

I just loved Phoebe right from when we met her on New Years Eve and her friend Imogen (plus much alcohol) convinces her to start a blog. Phoebe was like a Bridget Jones for the blogging and YouTube generation where Tinder is no longer an embarrassing way of finding a relationship but a very commonplace way to find your next partner! Her friends and family also had some great comedy lines and I loved the way some of the characters behaved in a not quite politically correct manner at times! The one liners just kept on coming and Phoebes journey to find love was filled with hilarious mishaps. I adored Harry Bloom as soon as he appeared (sigh!) and was willing Phoebe to look further than his connections to Bloom Properties.

As a blogger it was fabulous to see a blog playing a HUGE role here in changing Phoebes life. And the reactions to her blog posts lead to some of the funniest moments for me during her rise to unexpected fame. Honesty, I was giggling so much at some of the situations she found herself in. Despite all her little foibles, she was a engaging heroine whom I was cheering on to succeed in life and love.

Lynda Renham has a wonderfully warm and witty writing style that you sink into as soon as you start to read, leading to many pages being turned before you come up for air again. She has written a delightful modern rom-com that will have you laughing out loud and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy of Phoebe Smith’s Private Blog.

Phoebe Smith’s Private Blog: A Romantic Comedy was published by Raucous publishing in e-book on 10th November with the paperback available from 25th November.

Meet the author…

Lynda Renham is famous for her romantic comedy novels. She has been called A Comedian in a Book, Chicklit Royalty and A Comic Genius. Her writing style has been likened to Sophie Kinsella but is refreshingly down to earth with characters that become your friends. Lynda is a prolific writer, blogger and when not writing can usually be found wasting her time on Facebook.

Lynda lives in Oxfordshire with her second husband and cat. Her web page: http://www.renham.co.uk and Twitter: @lyndarenham

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Lost in Static by Christina Philippou **Blog Tour**

About this book…

Sometimes growing up is seeing someone else’s side of the story.
Four stories. One truth. Whom do you believe? Callum has a family secret. Yasmine wants to know it. Juliette thinks nobody knows hers. All Ruby wants is to reinvent herself. They are brought together by circumstance, torn apart by misunderstanding. As new relationships are forged and confidences are broken, each person’s version of events is coloured by their background, beliefs and prejudices. And so the ingredients are in place for a year shaped by lust, betrayal, and violence… Lost in Static is the gripping debut from author Christina Philippou. Whom will you trust?

My review…

I was really excited when I heard that Christina had written her debut novel as her blog has been one that I have enjoyed following for about 6 months now ever since I started blogging myself. I’ve included the link below so you can check it out yourselves. When she sent me a copy to review I was over the moon and very keen to see which direction her debut novel took.

At the start of this book there is a terrible tragedy that sees one of the main characters rushed to hospital in an ambulance. The action then heads back in time to the start of a new year at a University and we meet Callum, Ruby, Yasmine and Juliette. Their lives are about to become entangled over the next year leading to the dramatic incident in the opening chapter. Callum tells his story via a series of emails. He has a secret he is hiding and its a while before we find out the recipient of those emails. He makes an instant connection with football mad Ruby (who drove ME mad with the fact she constantly called everyone “mate”)but is himself being watched and converted by self obsessed Yasmine. Juliette is struggling with her own personal turmoil and I found her parts of the story quite frustrating  as I could see how she was trying to hide her true feelings. Callum was my favourite of them all, probably due to the quick witted and easy way he had when he was using his email as i felt this was when we saw the real Callum and not the one Ruby or Yasmine interacted with. Yasmine was just so determined to get her own way that she was blinkered to everyone else’s feelings and this meant I really did not take to her at all but throughout the book my feelings towards her and all the characters changed slightly depending on who’s version of events I was reading. But it all fitted in perfectly with what I remember of those first few months in Halls away from friends and family. It’s a tough year  mainly as its their first time away from home, meeting others from different backgrounds and there is a kind of transition from dependent child to the adult they will become. Overall the book reminded me in a way of the tv show “The Affair” where the same story is told through different eyes and each person sees things in a totally different light. And that ending! Totally unexpected! The author has done a brilliant job of keeping the reader in a state of suspense until the plot starts unravelling.

This would be a great book for 16+ especially those taking that leap into higher education, as well as the adult market. It’s perfectly thought out and so well written that it’s a fabulous achievement for a debut novel. I can’t wait to see where Christina goes from here and I will be following her journey as an author as avidly as I did her first novel.

Lost in Static: Four friends, one secret – will you guess the truth? is available to buy here at Amazon UK or from the publisher Urbane Publications

 

About the author…

Christina Philippou’s writing career has been a varied one, from populating the short-story notebook that lived under her desk at school to penning reports on corruption and terrorist finance. When not reading or writing, she can be found engaging in sport or undertaking some form of nature appreciation. Christina has three passports to go with her three children, but is not a spy. Lost in Static is her first novel.

Christina is also the founder of the contemporary fiction author initiative, Britfic.

You can connect with Christina on Twitter and Facebook or on her Blog