Blog Tour: 'Catch Me If You Cannes' by Lisa Dickenson!

Today I'm really excited to be part of the blog tour for the amazing Lisa Dickenson's latest novel 'Catch Me If You Cannes'! I've been a big fan of Lisa's novels ever since I got the chance to read and review her Christmas-themed book 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas' several years ago, and I can highly recommend any of her novels to any chick lit fans out there. Be sure to scroll down to read my review of 'Catch Me If You Cannes', and also to check out the blog tour poster so you can visit some of the other book blogs taking part in this tour!
Jess and Bryony have been best friends since they were little girls; back then it was them against the world and that still seems to be the case. Jess owns her own cafe but feels it's time to do something to spice up her life a bit. Bryony works as a journalist for a gossip magazine and is sent to France to find some juicy stories at the Cannes Film Festival. Jess immediately spots a chance for an adventure and decides to go with Bryony. However, their hopes for a glamorous holiday are quickly shattered; their average hotel is far away from all the action and they don't have anywhere near enough money to be able to party with all the celebrities. Jess and Bryony decide they will make the best of things, they're in Cannes after all! So, telling a few lies here and there won't hurt anyone and will help them have a good time... Or not?
It's relatively easy to write a review of one of Lisa Dickenson's novels because I just seem to love every sentence that she gets onto paper, and 'Catch Me If You Cannes' is no exception to that! It has an entertaining storyline, great characters, a fabulous setting, and it's really funny. Lisa Dickenson really has her own distinctive writing style; a style that's easy to get lost in and one that even seems to be a bit addictive, because I didn't want to put the book down (but also didn't want it to end!). It's also perfect for the chick lit genre and I dare to say that anyone who is a chick lit fan will love this e-book series. 
Bryony and Jess are great characters. I loved their friendship; the two are each other's opposites which is probably what makes them work together so well. From the first chapter I was already rooting for them and just wanted to jump into the novel and join them on their Cannes adventure. Of course there's also enough man-candy to swoon over and a captivating plotline that made me both laugh and wonder what was going to happen next. I personally got to read this as a novel, instead of having to wait for the next part to be released, which resulted in me being really immersed in the story. Overall, 'Catch Me If You Cannes' is another chick lit hit for Lisa Dickenson; a feel-good, thoroughly funny, and amazingly entertaining romantic comedy which you need to add to your suitcase right now. Your summer holiday won't be complete without it!

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.

Review: 'Catch Me If You Cannes' by Lisa Dickenson (2015)

Jess has decided it's time to get out of her comfort zone and live a little. So when her best friend Bryony, a journalist on a gossip magazine, is sent to cover the Cannes Film Festival, Jess decides to seize the day and go along for the ride. Two weeks of glitz, glamour and exclusive entry into celeb-filled parties is just the kind of adventure Jess needs.
Reality soon bites though when Jess and Bryony find they're staying in a dingy hotel far away from all the action and Bryony's expenses budget barely covers a glass of local wine. Undeterred, the two women are determined to live like the elite and enjoy one fancy night out to begin their holiday. So what if they have to tell a few white lies along the way? It's just this once. No harm done... right?
I'm so excited about the review I have to share with all of you today! One of the best new chick lit authors of the past two years is undoubtedly Lisa Dickenson. I fell in love with her writing as soon as her first e-book series 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas' was released (click here to read my review) and fell even more in love with her second novel, 'You Had Me At Merlot' (click here to read my review). So, when I was asked to review her latest four-part romantic comedy series, 'Catch Me If You Cannes' (don't you just love the title?) I couldn't shout 'YES' quickly enough. I definitely had high hopes for this one, but I also already had a good feeling Lisa would be able to meet them!
Jess and Bryony have been best friends since they were little girls; back then it was them against the world and that still seems to be the case. Jess owns her own cafe but feels it's time to do something to spice up her life a bit. Bryony works as a journalist for a gossip magazine and is sent to France to find some juicy stories at the Cannes Film Festival. Jess immediately spots a chance for an adventure and decides to go with Bryony. However, their hopes for a glamorous holiday are quickly shattered; their average hotel is far away from all the action and they don't have anywhere near enough money to be able to party with all the celebrities. Jess and Bryony decide they will make the best of things, they're in Cannes after all! So, telling a few lies here and there won't hurt anyone and will help them have a good time... Or not?
It's relatively easy to write a review of one of Lisa Dickenson's novels because I just seem to love every sentence that she gets onto paper, and 'Catch Me If You Cannes' is no exception to that! It has an entertaining storyline, great characters, a fabulous setting, and it's really funny. Lisa Dickenson really has her own distinctive writing style; a style that's easy to get lost in and one that even seems to be a bit addictive, because I didn't want to put the book down (but also didn't want it to end!). It's also perfect for the chick lit genre and I dare to say that anyone who is a chick lit fan will love this e-book series. 
Bryony and Jess are great characters. I loved their friendship; the two are each other's opposites which is probably what makes them work together so well. From the first chapter I was already rooting for them and just wanted to jump into the novel and join them on their Cannes adventure. Of course there's also enough man-candy to swoon over and a captivating plotline that made me both laugh and wonder what was going to happen next. I personally got to read this as a novel, instead of having to wait for the next part to be released, which resulted in me being really immersed in the story. Overall, 'Catch Me If You Cannes' is another chick lit hit for Lisa Dickenson; a feel-good, thoroughly funny, and amazingly entertaining romantic comedy which you need to add to your suitcase right now. Your summer holiday won't be complete without it!

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.

Guest Post by Lisa Dickenson!

One of my favourite authors of the moment has to be Lisa Dickenson. I don't know if you have read her novels 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas' and 'You Had Me At Merlot', but if you haven't you need to go out and read them straight away, because you've been missing out on something! Lisa's novels never disappoint and always make me laugh. Her latest release 'Catch Me If You Cannes' is out now and I'm both honoured and excited to have a special guest post from Lisa herself on the blog today in which she talks about locations for her books!
***  Setting the scene By Lisa Dickenson

Why do you read?  Is it to fill in time?  To relax you before you sleep?  To brighten a dreary commute?  To keep you company on a well-deserved holiday?  Or just so you sink into the lovely feeling of being on a new journey with some with some wonderful new people?  All of these reasons have one thing in common: reading takes you somewhere.  And whether you’re reading or you’re writing, it’s all about Location, Location, Location.
I think Chick Lit does this especially well.  You walk into Waterstones, head for the rom-coms, and it’s like standing at the shelves of a travel agent.  Fancy a city break?  How about the Big Apple with I’ll Take New York (Miranda Dickinson)?  Try some luxe LA-living with Shopaholic to the Stars (Sophie Kinsella), or relax in the UK countryside with Ivy Lane (Cathy Bramley).  An ocean-view can be found in the pages of The Paradise Room (Belinda Jones) or Catch Me If You Cannes (me :)).  I could go on, and on, and on…
To truly transport you lovely readers, I like to try and evoke smells and feelings and sounds as well as the look of a place.  When writing The Twelve Dates of Christmas I wanted people to read it and feel unabashedly, categorically Christmassy.  I picked London because it’s so steeped in history you can practically hear Charles Dickens stamping his feet on the cobblestones and blowing into his fingerless gloves beneath a gas lamp.  For You Had Me at Merlot I wanted readers gagging for a glass of wine and dripping in imaginary Tuscan sun sweat!  Which is a lovely image.  For Catch Me If You Cannes I wanted everyone to see, like I did, how accessible, charming and pretty a place it was, whilst also having that air of Hollywood charm.  For this book, the holiday came first and the story after.  I needed a few days away, and had always fancied Cannes and its glamour, and by the end of the trip, and the end of several bottles of the local rosé, I’d decided I didn’t want to let this place go.  I had worked out a story based at the Cannes Film Festival, and how a couple of ‘normal girls’ may struggle to fit in.  Belinda Jones once wrote in Divas Las Vegas something that’s really stayed with me, about how sometimes a location you love can feel like another room in your house; you may not go in there for a while but when you do it still feels like home.  When I love a place I want to keep it alive and reachable in my mind; I want to live there through my characters, and I want readers to love it in just the same way I do.
I have a lot of locations in mind to write about in the future, including New York, LA, a coastal town in Devon and hopefully many more places around the world.  How about you?  Where do you want to go today?

Thanks so much, Lisa!