Writing (and reading) have been my happy places ever since childhood. I love being able to lose myself in the characters and storyline of a book. Life can be too serious at times, so what could be better than escaping into a fictional world and romantic comedy, especially if the hero or heroine has a pet! Books in this genre have always been my preferred choices and it felt only natural when I started writing to try stick to this ideal. When not writing, reading or walking the dog, trying out new recipes is also one of my favorite pastimes, naturally, my characters also have a favorite treat that I might just have slipped in.
Jilly Cooper is for me, a go-to author when I need to take life a little less seriously.
I discovered Rupert Campbell Black in Riders. It wasn’t love at first read. I didn’t much care for him until I started to read the second in this series. A fabulous, fun romp with laugh out loud moments (and of course animals) set again in Rutshire - Rivals.
Divorced, Rupert is now Minister for Sport. A great book; in that this is Rupert’s journey to love and his own Happy Ever After. I defy anyone not to read it and love him by the end.
Jilly Cooper is a wonderful storyteller, with a glorious sense of humour.
Alert – plenty of sex scenes, from the queen of the “bonk-buster”!
Into the cut-throat world of Corinium television comes Declan O'Hara, a mega-star of great glamour and integrity with a radiant feckless wife, a handsome son and two ravishing teenage daughters. Living rather too closely across the valley is Rupert Campbell-Black, divorced and as dissolute as ever, and now the Tory Minister for Sport.
Declan needs only a few days at Corinium to realise that the Managing Director, Lord Baddingham, is a crook who has recruited him merely to help retain the franchise for Corinium. Baddingham has also enticed Cameron Cook, a gorgeous but domineering…
I love this author, but I could have chosen any of Jennifer’s books.
She writes contemporary romantic comedies with everything I want from a romantic comedy, good plot lines great characters you can really identify with. If her hero and heroine were real, they would be people I could imagine wanting to spend time with.
A friends to lovers trope – Nick and Quinn have such a powerful connection, they absolutely must get together by the end of the book despite all the problems along their way. All Jennifer’s books are written with a light touch and great humour.
Spoiler alert Nick and Quinn get their Happy Ever After. And there is a dog! I happily go back and read this again and again.
A bored high school art teacher dumps her football-coach boyfriend and embarks on a mayhem-filled search for happiness that lands her in trouble with the law and sends her into the arms of the one man in her small Ohio town she should probably avoid
Ron Burley has a rule against messing around with married women, but lovely Lavender has convinced him to break it. Their steamy affair sets someone off, but it isn’t Lavender’s clueless husband—it’s Marta, Burley’s clingy childhood friend and ex-lover.
Who wouldn’t describe Jane as a fabulous writer of romantic comedy?
This book – often televised, for me, is frankly one of Jane’s best. It was a toss-up – it could equally have been Sense and Sensibility or Emma. In this one, both Elizabeth and Darcy have several prejudices to overcome. Their pride, of course, being one.
I love Jane’s sense of humour and writing style, sparkling dialogue, brilliant scene setting, and descriptions that all make her books as easy to read now as they would have been two hundred years ago. We follow the hero and heroine on a rocky emotional journey to true love and their Happy Ever After, in a time when reputations were so important, and a good marriage is essential in society.
Jane Austen's best-loved novel is an unforgettable story about the inaccuracy of first impressions, the power of reason, and above all the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions.
Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is illustrated by Hugh Thomson and features an afterword by author and critic, Henry Hitchings.
A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and…
This is book 4 in the series, so please don’t read it first. Richard’s four main characters, all interesting people in their own rights with complex relationships, formed “The Thursday Murder Club” in Book 1.
Okay – not a romantic comedy, more a cozy crime mystery set in an old people’s home, but you get the impression reading any of his books, that Richard really loved writing them and spending time with his characters, which makes all of them such a joy to read.
Lots of twists and turns, but the crime is solved in the end – so a Happy Ever After of sorts and the author keeps throwing in lighter moments to keep you reading and smiling through to the end. There is a dog in this one too.
A new mystery is afoot in the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman
You'd think you be allowed to relax over Christmas, but not in the world of the Thursday Murder Club.
On Boxing Day, a dangerous package is smuggled across the English coast. When it goes missing, chaos is unleashed. The body count starts to rise – including someone close to the Thursday Murder Club--as our gang face an impossible search, and their most deadly opponents yet.
With the clock ticking down and a killer heading to Cooper’s Chase, has their…
The Festival of Sin is a three-story light sci-fi arc about a young boy rescued in 6000 BCE and taken to the home planet of the Hudra. Parts two and three are exploratory excursions. It's a fish-out-of-water series. More than fish-out-of-water. Fish-on-another-planet.
I was introduced to Sue Moorcroft’s writing when she was published by my publisher, Choc Lit (part of Joffe Books Ltd now). She is another beautiful writer, who has the whole storytelling shebang down to a fine art. Her characters are realistic, believable people. Every word is carefully chosen; the plot moves on at a pace.
I wasn’t sure I’d like or even empathize with Tess or Ratty when I first started reading this. Tess bumps, quite literally, into Ratty, so not the smoothest start. They both have flaws and are definitely not sure about each other. But it wasn’t long before I found it difficult to put down.
As I began to understand the characters, I found myself willing them to get together and find their Happy Ever After.
Tess Riddell reckons her beloved Freelander is more reliable than any man - especially her ex-fiance, Olly Gray. She's moving on from her old life and into the perfect cottage in the country. Miles Rattenbury's passions? Old cars and new women! Romance? He's into fun rather than commitment.
When Tess crashes the Freelander into his breakdown truck, they find that they're nearly neighbours - yet worlds apart. Despite her overprotective parents and a suddenly attentive Olly, she discovers the joys of village life and even forms an unlikely friendship with Miles. Then, just as their relationship develops into something deeper,…
A hilarious and heartfelt story, with a sprinkle of luck and a dollop of fate ...Ruby Brooks is sceptical when her horoscope say she’s going to have a fabulous year – especially when she loses a boyfriend and a job in quick succession. Plus, her rogue fitter has run off and taken everything, including the kitchen sink!
Ruby takes luck and fate into her own hands with an unusual resolution – to enter ten competitions a day, she will win her way to happiness. But when a Valentine’s Day prize from a local restaurant results in chef Adam Finder (and his dog, Brutus) appearing in her life, is that luck or fate? And will Ruby ultimately find out that true happiness doesn’t need to be won?
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis.
His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election. Throw in a reckless fling with…
Bright but unassuming Marilyn Jones has some grown-up decisions to make, especially after Mama goes to prison for drugs and larceny. With no one to take care of them, Marilyn and her younger, mentally challenged brother, Carol, get tossed into the foster care…
