Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

Review - Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR

All she has left is hope. When Kaz Elmore is told her five-year-old daughter Jamie has died in a car crash, she struggles to accept that she’ll never see her little girl again. Then a stranger comes into her life offering the most dangerous substance in the world: hope. Devlin, security consultant and witness to the terrible accident scene, inadvertently reveals that Kaz’s daughter might not have been the girl in the car after all. What if Jamie is still alive? With no evidence, the police aren’t interested, so Devlin and Kaz have little choice but to investigate themselves. Devlin never gets involved with a client. Never. But the more time he spends with Kaz, the more he desires her – and the more his carefully constructed ice-man persona starts to unravel. The desperate search for Jamie leads down dangerous paths – to a murderous acquaintance from Devlin’s dark past, and all across Europe, to Italy, where deadly secrets await. But as long as Kaz has hope, she can’t stop looking…

Devlin and Kaz can’t help their mutual attraction for each other. There is so much about him he can’t tell her and the more she discovers the less she seems to know. His past is not something he discusses with people and as Kaz slowly learns more about the man she’s trusting to help her, she has to decide if she can hold this knowledge against him. She also has secrets from her past that quickly catch up with them both and as the two realize just how much danger they’re in, each has to make decisions about their own lives and what they’re getting into.

Devlin is a darker character than usual for Choc Lit heroes, but exciting, exuding danger and very attractive. Despite his need to protect Kaz, he also wants to be as honest with her as he can possibly allow himself to be. What starts out as a problem she’s paying him resolve, turns into a cat and mouse chase across Europe and USA where no one seems to be safe from the underworld the threatens to swallow them whole.

I began the novel thinking it was an enjoyable romantic tale, only to quickly discover that this story gets darker and more tense as you read on. It’s violent, but realistic and thoroughly satisfying. Devlin is everything you want in a hero, flawed, but tough, resilient and above all, sexy. Loved it.

8/10

Never Coming Home is published by Choc Lit Publishers and as this review is part of the 'Wispa It ...' blog tour they're offering a free copy of the book together with a Wispa to one lucky winner. Please leave a 'Pick Me' comment below to be in with a chance of winning. Winners will be announced next Thursday.

You can find out more about Evonne Wareham on her blog and follow her on Twitter @evonnewareham

Review - Chance (A Strictly Come Dancing Novel) by Alex Hines

 

REVIEWED BY KIRA SLAUGHTER

Close your eyes. We’re in a town square in 1950’s Cuba. You’re going to have to use dance to get the attention of the one you want. Now dance!’

Ava Dunne dreams of a different life. Her job is stressful, her boyfriend unromantic. It’s time for a change- in fact, its way overdue. But shaking some glamour into her hum-drum life isn’t easy.

But then Ava meets Viv, the dress designer for Strictly Come Dancing, who sparks her interest in dance. As passions begin to run high, Ava’s eyes suddenly open to the world of chances around her. Especially the tall, dark handsome one she’s been trying not to dream about...

Can Ava find enough courage to take her chance when it comes? Can one moment really change your life?

When I received this book I was excited to read it; I am a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing. I love the drama, the costumes and of course, the dancing. However, when I eventually got into the book (which in itself is not a good sign) I found the initial plot to be lacking and it just seemed to plod along. Now, I’m the kind of person who, if a book doesn’t grab me straight away, will carry on reading just to give it the benefit of the doubt. Yet with this one I found that I didn’t want to carry on reading because it just wasn’t taking hold like I expected it to.

Lots of Marian Keyes Baking Videos!

There are four new Marian videos online now, which you can find at Penguin's Book Boutique Youtube channel. She's so brilliant. I especially love this one about the Drawer of Dreams; prepare to gasp along with Marian!

 

Saved By Cake is out now

5 Tips for a Great Book Opening from Avon Commissioning Editor Caroline Hogg

We've just launched our fabulous Novelicious Undiscovered writing competition and in it we ask for entries of the first 3000 words of your novel.  Caroline Hogg, Commissioning Editor at Avon (HarperCollins) AND one of our lovely prize-givers, tells us her must-haves for a great book opening...

Try and make the reader blink

Caroline Hogg, Avon Editor

An agent or editor has likely read hundreds upon hundreds of opening chapters. What's going to surprise them in yours? Is it a razor-sharp sense of humour? Powerful emotions? The hint of secrets about to unfurl? Make them blink in surprise and go back to reread something and you'll have hooked them.

Proffread like crazy

Agents and editors also have a sharp eye for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Make sure you check your work several times before submitting and ask a trusted friend to read it too. Fresh eyes are always good at catching simple but telling mistakes.   

 

Don't blame it on the weather man

I think it’s a common temptation to open a novel with a tempestuous storm or hot sticky heatwave to get across an instant feeling of drama. Make sure you're not relying on the weather to do all the work for you though, as this can quickly turn your novel into a wet weekend. It should be your characters and storyline bringing in the drama.

 

Be yourself

If you’re writing in a genre because you think it’s in demand or the next big thing but it’s actually not your cup of tea, your voice will never ring true and make a convincing read. Write what you love and write it confidently – your readers want to start that first chapter and feel instantly they’re in good hands.

 

Show, don’t tell

Perhaps the trickiest thing to balance in the opening of a novel is making sure your readers can quickly pick up all they need to know about your characters but without explicitly telling them. Don’t be tempted to take shortcuts but redraft, redraft, redraft until you’re painting a fully formed picture subtly and evocatively.  

Avon is an imprint of HarperCollins. You can catch up with the latest from Avon at their twitter feed.

My Writing Room - Evonne Wareham

Evonne Wareham is a romantic thriller writer and the author of Never Coming Home which is out in early March.

My Writing Room by Evonne Wareham

 

I don't actually have a writing room.  Writing tends to sprawl into several parts of the house, but this is the corner of the dining room where most of the work gets done.  The comfy chair and the stool are essential, as my first draft is always written in longhand, then typed and re-drafted on an elderly computer which currently lives upstairs.  I'm very fond of it, as it doesn't sulk and throw hissy fits like the temperamental laptop in the picture.  The writing slope on the stool was made by my grandfather for my grandmother, who was a prolific letter writer.

This is a favourite place to write, because of the French windows. It has good light, and a view of my tiny courtyard garden, which is full of pots.  It’s very sheltered, so there are hyacinths just coming out and daffodils in bud.  The local moggies usually come around on a visit of inspection at some point in the day, to check that I'm working, and always seem surprised to find that I am.

The Secret Dreamworld of an Aspiring Author - What Makes a Good Synopsis?

No, really! What makes a good synopsis – I’m asking you!

I’ve got to the stage where I’ve painstakingly prepared the first few chapters from my latest novel. I’ve written a cover letter, which I hope is a vast improvement on my last cover letter (anyone who read my column a couple of weeks ago will know all about that). But I’m struggling with what goes into a synopsis.

The last synopsis I subbed, I wrote in the first person voice of one of my characters. She blushed and cringed her way through the story and used bad language with her potty mouth. I don’t necessarily think that was the way to go. For my latest synopsis I’m getting business like, telling the plot of the novel in a matter of fact style. Nothing funny and endearing. No language that would make a sailor blush. I’ve managed to get the story line down to two pages, but that's pretty much all my synopsis is - the plot.

February's Literary Adaptations

BY AMANDA KEATS

BY AMANDA KEATS

Adaptations are everywhere nowadays. Filmmakers are starting to see the brilliance in novel plots and turning them into films. But it isn't just books that are being adapted. This February, there are plays too.

RELEASE DATE: 3 February

Carnage

Based on the play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, Carnage is set almost entirely in one New York apartment. After two 11-year-old boys have a fight at school resulting in one of the boys hitting the other across the face with a stick, the boys' parents decide it would be best to meet in person and discuss it. What starts as a civil meeting of four adults quickly descends into chaos as loyalties are divided and the pretence of having it all together is shattered.

RELEASE DATE: 10 February

The Woman in Black
Based on the book by Susan Hill, this is not the only adaptation in existence. A long-running London play of the same name has terrified me and many others across the world. A simple but powerful ghost story, The Woman in Black looks at what happens when Solicitor Arthur Kipps heads to a small northern village to settle an estate but ends up unearthing a long-feared secret of who the woman in black actually is and just what she can do.

Big Miracle
Based on a true story and the book written by Tom Rose, this is the tale of how people from across the world came together to try to free a family of whales stuck in the frozen Arctic waters in Alaska. The film stars Drew Barrymore as the activist set on doing all she can to get the government to act.

RELEASE DATE: 17 February

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer, this is the adventure story of young Oskar, whose father died in the 9/11 attacks, as he hunts for meaning in a key he's found in his father's closet. The film stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

RELEASE DATE: 24 February

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Previously published as These Foolish Things, Deborah Moggach's book looks at a group of retired Brits who embark on a life-changing relocation to India to live in a run-down hotel run by an ambitious young Indian man. The film has an incredible cast including Dami Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton and stars Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire as the hotel's owner.

One for the Money
Janet Evanovich has written numerous novels in her Stephanie Plum Series, all with a consecutive number in the title. One for the Money is - quite obviously - the first in the series. Stephanie Plum is a woman who needs work and gets a job as a bounty hunter. The film stars Katherine Heigl as Plum.

So which of these adaptations take your fancy this month? Let us know in the comments below...