Thirteen Weddings - Paige Toon

Thirteen Weddings by Paige Toon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last year, Bronte left Sydney for a wedding in England, where she met newly single Alex. After a night of passion they parted ways, and Bronte returned to Australia. Now working on a picture desk for a magazine in London, Bronte is about to meet her new colleague, who turns out to be all too familiar. Although awkward at first, as Alex is now engaged to the girl he was on a break from when they met, they soon become friends. But as the two get closer, and the wedding day looms, it is clear that Alex and Bronte have unfinished business…

I love Paige Toon and ever since I read Lucy in the Sky when it was released, I knew that she would be quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

As soon as I heard that Paige was releasing her summer read, I could not wait to get my hands on it. I was so lucky when the publisher sent me a copy. When I opened the mail I did a little dance and wanted to do back flips! (Unfortunately I can't actually do back flips, so I ended up doing a strange looking movement!)

Anyway, I would not wait to start reading it and I bumped it right up my TBR pile. I was a little worried that I had built this up to be soooo huge in my head and I didn't want to be let down by it. I know what was I thinking? I could never be disappointed with a Paige Toon novel and I most definitely was not disappointed!

Bronte is Australian and had her first experience in the UK for her friends wedding after splitting from her boyfriend she jumps at the chance to be there, it's just what she needs. When she returns to Australia she works as a picture editor at a magazine in Sydney, she has the opportunity to relocate to the UK. She already has connections from the being over there for the wedding so grabs the opportunity to return for a year.

While she is working at the magazine, one of her friends suggests she helps a friend out with her wedding photography as Bronte has a keen interest in photography and the assistant photographer is sick. Bronte hates weddings, she doesn't believe in them at all, however she loves photography and agrees to help out. This wedding turns into more than one and it fast becomes one of Bronte's hobbies attending weddings almost every other weekend of the season!

The way Paige writes is fantastic, she captures you right from the first page and your eager to continue reading as you can't help yourself, however at the same time you have the feeling of not wanting to keep reading as soon the book will be over and you know you have to wait a whole year to get another fix from Paige.

The characters are always believable in Paige's books and I particularly liked this book as it had reference to another one of Paige's book where we met Lily and Ben arghhhhhh I fricking loved this!! I also loved that we got to know more about them and how their lives continued, only a snap shop but it was enough!!

All the characters were well developed and I felt that I could have been one of Bronte's friends. I really liked Lachie's character, I was a little unsure about him to begin with but he grew on me and by the end I loved him.

The story line was really good, I thought I was going to be able to predict it, I was pleasantly surprised and I am so glad it ended the way it did. There are serious elements in the book, however Paige has a way of adding humor to her books in the right places and it makes them such enjoyable reads.

This is another Paige Toon novel that I absolutely adored and would urge all fans of Paige Toon to add this to your TBR pile and bump it right to the top! This has got a firm place on by bookshelf and I am just sad I have to wait so long for another. This is a perfect book to sneak into your beach bag for the summer holidays, I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Thanks so much to the publisher for sending me this in exchange for a honest review.

The Time of Our Lives - Jane Costello

The Time of Our Lives by Jane Costello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Three best friends. One five-star hotel. Will it be the holiday of a lifetime . . .? 

Imogen and her friends Meredith and Nicola have had their fill of budget holidays, cattle-class flights and 6 a.m. offensives for a space by the pool.

So when Meredith wins a VIP holiday at Barcelona's hippest new hotel, they plan to sip champagne with the jet set, party with the glitterati and switch off in unapologetic luxury.

But when the worst crisis of her working life erupts back home, Imogen has to juggle her BlackBerry with a Manhattan, while soothing a hysterical boss and hunting down an AWOL assistant. 

Between a robbery, a run-in with hotel security staff and an encounter on a nudist beach that they'd all rather forget, the friends stumble from one disaster to the next. At least Imogen has a distraction in the form of the gorgeous guy who's always in the right place at the very worst time. Until, that is, his motives start to arouse a few suspicions . . . 

Hilarious and heart-warming by turns, The Time of Our Lives is Jane Costello at her romantic best.'



Jane Costello is a lovely fluid writer, the words just glide seamlessly over the pages making reading her novels a truly effortless experience. She has a good sense of wit and ingenuity making all her characters believable and identifiable. Love her humour; one of the best writers for me of enjoyable funny novels is Sophie Kinsella and having read all her novels I truly believed no one would come close to the connection she has with readers; Jane Costello is the exception.

I managed to read this book in record time given that I am not on holiday sitting by a pool I read it in 3 days which is by my standards of evenings and weekends quite a feat. The story is basically about three friends, very different and individual; they have holidayed in the past together on budget cheap holidays, had to rough it but had fun together
so when one of the trio wins a competition for a luxury holiday in Barcelona they jump at the chance to have a week of luxury together. Since their last holiday together years previously the girls lives have moved on, Imogen has a daughter Florence who is just about to start school, Meredith is 7 months pregnant with her first child and Nicky is battling her own problems of getting her parents to accept her partner Jessica is in her life for good. Add to the mix a very sexy Journalist Harry, a boss with impossibly hilarious situations like when Imogen goes into a pharmacist and buys what she thinks is foot cream and it turns out to be Thrush cream and you begin to get a flavour of this wacky funny read.

There are some really poignant parts to this novel, deeper insights into the sometimes sad character of Imogen and all she has had to go through in her life but it is essentially a celebration of friendship, new beginnings and happy endings. Like all chick lit novels this is predictable in that it always works out well in the end for all the characters and you know that this will happen but it is such fun getting to that part and I was genuinely sad that I had come to the end.

I did laugh out loud with this novel; there are some really great one liners and Imogen's character shines through all the way, I found myself wanting it all to come right for her and for her to get what she deserved.

I could easily see this book being turned into a very successful film, engaging, funny, endearing characters, so many laughs that it leaves you with tears in your eyes and a feel good factor - lovely anytime read and thoroughly recommended.

This ranks with the best chick lits and I would easily give this novel a 4.5 stars - read it you won't be disappointed!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this wonderful book to read.