Honeymoon for One - Portia MacIntosh

Title: Honeymoon for One
Author: Portia MacIntosh
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages:  344
Date read: July, 2021

As a published novelist, Lila Rose has been writing about fictional weddings all her life. But disaster strikes on her own big day when she hears her philandering fiancé, Daniel whispering sweet nothings to someone else.

With her dream day shattered, all Lila wants to do is run and hide, so she decides to fly solo on her own honeymoon.

When Daniel arrives in the resort with his new squeeze, Lila strikes up a ‘showmance’ with hot new movie star, Freddie Bianchi. Freddie is perfect for the part and Lila soon relaxes into her leading lady role.

But as truth starts to merge with fiction, could real love be in the air?


Sweet and funny. Very predictable, but that's par for the course for chick-lits usually, and it was charming enough that I didn't mind. TOTALLY made me want to go to a fancy resort though! So slightly torturous reading it during a lockdown summer vacation :-P

I adored Ali - Lila's best friend - and liked that though she was brazen and impulsive, she obviously knew Lila well enough to know exactly what would be appreciated - even if other people might find it intrusive. This one quote summed up their friendship perfectly for me:
"It speaks volumes about our relationship, that she feels as if she can – and that I’m delighted to have her here."

I didn't quite buy Daniel and Eva's actions - they seemed too self-absorbed to be real - and it bothered me that authors of chick-lits feel like they absolutely must tear the happy couple apart before the end of the book, so they can happily fall into each others' arms again at the very end. Why not just have them stay together? And - y'know - actually TALK about their issues instead of just assuming they're too big to overcome? *sigh* So that subtracted the final star in an otherwise very enjoyable book.

The Sunday Lunch Club - Juliet Ashton

Title: The Sunday Lunch Club
Author: Juliet Ashton
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 416
Date read: July, 2021

The first rule of Sunday Lunch Club is … don't make any afternoon plans.

Every few Sundays, Anna and her extended family and friends get together for lunch. They talk, they laugh, they bicker, they eat too much. Sometimes the important stuff is left unsaid, other times it's said in the wrong way.

Sitting between her ex-husband and her new lover, Anna is coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy at the age of forty. Also at the table are her ageing grandmother, her promiscuous sister, her flamboyantly gay brother and a memory too terrible to contemplate.

Until, that is, a letter arrives from the person Anna scarred all those years ago. Can Anna reconcile her painful past with her uncertain future?


A story of four siblings and their families, plus the random strays they picked up along the way. Told (mostly) through the semi-monthly lunches. While the siblings' relationships were slightly strained at times, there was no doubt that they truly cared for each other, and I liked how they kept trying to prop each other up… slightly misplaced at times, but always coming from a place of genuine affection.

In some ways the book reminded me slightly of "The Nest", although I can't quite say how. The Pipers were certainly a lot less dysfunctional. Guess it was just as a general concept.

Tempests and Slaughter - Tamora Pierce

Title: Tempests and Slaughter
Author: Tamora Pierce
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~13hrs
Date read: July, 2021

Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.


After a false start several years ago, I had no troubles finishing this the second time around. My initial impression still stands though - Tamora Pierce peaked with her "Protector of the Small" series, and her books since then haven't been as good.

That said, "Tempests and Slaughter" is closer to her old standards. She's brilliant at seeing the atmosphere in a "school" environment, and this is no exception. I enjoyed reading about Arram's classes and how he grew as a mage. It was bittersweet to read about his friendship with Ozorne though, as I know how that turns out from the "Wild Magic" quartet.