Blog Tour: 'You Had Me at Merlot' by Lisa Dickenson

Elle and Laurie are the last ones standing: they're single, they're not having babies any time soon and their weekends aren't filled with joyful meetings about mortgages. For Elle, this is fine - she likes her independent life, she loves her job, and she has no desire to walk down the aisle anytime soon. But Laurie wants love and she wants it now.
So when Laurie begs Elle to come with her on a singles holiday to a beautiful vineyard in Tuscany, Elle is reluctant. You Had Me at Merlot Holidays promises crisp sunshine, fun and a chance to stir up some sizzling romance. Elle has no intention of swapping her perfectly lovely life for someone else's idea of her Mr Perfect, but ten days under the Italian sun with her best friend and lashings of wine? How bad could that be?
You Had Me at Merlot is the kind of love story that will have you crying with laughter one moment and nodding your head in agreement the next. Full of sultry summer nights, hilarious moments and plenty of wine, it will warm even the most cynical of hearts and have you believing in the magic of romance (and the power of a decent glass of Merlot).
I am SO incredibly excited to be part of the blog tour for Lisa Dickenson’s second novel, ‘You Had Me at Merlot’, today! Not only is Lisa one of the loveliest authors around, her debut novel ‘The Twelve Dates of Christmas’ was one of my favourite reads of 2013 and a book I can’t recommend enough to others (click here to read my review). Lisa has a brilliant and incredibly funny writing style and I couldn’t wait to read more of her work. Thankfully, the first part of ‘You Had Me at Merlot’, which is a four-part digital romantic comedy, was released on the 14th of July and the second part is now also available! I was lucky enough to receive an early review copy (I already got incredibly excited when I heard the title, I love it) and I can’t even describe how much I looked forward to sitting down with one of Lisa’s stories again!
Elle and Laurie are two best friends who have one important thing in common: they are the only ones of their group of friends who are still single and not worrying about planning a wedding or having babies. Elle is absolutely fine with this; she loves being on her own and making her own decisions without having to worry about someone else, but Laurie needs love and she has found the perfect way to get it. With the promise of lots of sunshine and delicious wine, Laurie convinces Elle to join her on a singles holiday to Tuscany, organised by You Had Me at Merlot holidays. Elle and Laurie both know what they want and expect from their ten-day trip, but Italy has quite a lot of unexpected things in store for them...
Honestly, where do I start? I just want to say: Lisa Dickenson has done it again, what an absolutely fantastic read! I loved everything about this book. Yes... Everything. I just tried to think of something, even something small, I didn’t like, but I can’t think of anything. Elle and Laurie are fabulous characters; they make a great duo, both with their own individual personality and their own issues. There’s also a great supporting cast of characters; I particularly loved Sophia and Sebastian, the elderly couple who run You Had Me at Merlot holidays, their hunky son Jamie, and Elle’s boss Donna. 
The plotline had me entertained from the first until the last page, and it even managed to surprise me every now and again. Lisa’s writing style flows so easily; I could honestly just keep on reading and reading, and she is incredibly funny. I have to admit, there aren’t many authors who manage to make me literally laugh out loud while reading a book, but I had several moments while reading this book when other people in the train or bus looked at me because I was laughing so hard. The book is divided into four separate parts, which also makes it an easy read, for example when you don’t have that much reading time, but also works perfectly as one novel which you finish in a day. ‘You Had Me at Merlot’ is an incredibly funny, feel-good, sunny romantic comedy which is the perfect summer read. I hope publishers are standing in line to give Lisa Dickenson a book deal, because she is undoubtedly one of the most exciting new voices within the world of chick lit and I can’t wait to read more of her work in the years to come!  

Rating:

10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.