Review: 'That's What Friends Are For' by Marcie Steele (2015)

Best friends tell each other everything… right?  Sam and Louise have been best friends since they hung their coats side by side on the first day of primary school. Now in their thirties, they’re just as close, but life is a little bit more complicated… 
On the outside, thirty-something Sam seems to have it all; the gorgeous husband, the beautiful home and the flourishing business. But things are not quite as rosy as they seem. So when handsome stranger, Dan, walks into her life, Sam finds his attentions hard to resist. 
Louise might seem like life and soul of the party, but her outgoing exterior hides her sadness about the heartbreak in her past. She just wants someone to love – but all Louise gets left with is a quick fumble with an ex at the end of the night. 
When a glamorous face from the past returns to shake things up, things get even more complicated for Sam and Louise. And just when they need each other the most, they’ve reason to wonder whether they ever really knew each other at all.
One of the nicer things about catching up on my TBR-list is stumbling upon novels I'd somehow completely forgotten about and having a copy ready to just dive into. This was also the case with Bookouture's 2015 release 'That's What Friends Are For', which was author Mel Sherratt's first venture into the world of chick lit (she's known for her crime thrillers, so quite a change!). I've had the pleasure of reading two of Mel's other works under her pseudonym 'Marcie Steele', namely 'Stirred with Love' and 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop' (click here to read my review) which I both enjoyed. I seem to be reading these novels in a slightly weird order, so was glad to finally check out 'That's What Friends Are For' and hoped I would enjoy it as much as Marcie's other novels!
Thirty-somethings Sam Wheldon and Louise Pellington have been best friends since primary school. Even though their lives turned out slightly different from what they had planned for themselves, they are still as close as they used to be, living and working together in the town of Hedworth. Louise is a single mother taking care of her teenage daughter Charley, but just like Charley has her own problems, Louise is struggling in her seemingly never-ending search to find someone to love and to share her life with. To the outside world Sam seems to have a pretty good life, but behind doors her marriage is falling apart and she is having difficulty resisting the charms of another man. Hiding secrets from one another doesn't do any good for Sam and Louise's friendship, but will their bond be strong enough to even get through the most challenging of times?
Marcie Steele is a pseudonym for author Mel Sherratt who decided to trade her usual genre, crime thrillers, for chick lit for a while. An interesting change, but with her two other novels 'Stirred with Love' and 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop' she already proved it was a wise choice! 'That's What Friends Are For' was Mel's first chick lit novel and even though I enjoyed reading it, I didn't love it as much as her next two reads. Perhaps she was still finding her way around the genre with this one, I'm not sure, but it just didn't really click with me. The book focuses on the lives of best friends Sam and Louise, with a separate storyline for Louise's teenage daughter Charley as well; different female characters dealing with their own different issues, which often is a good basis for an enjoyable read, in my opinion.
I really liked the setting of the novel; Sam and Louise both live in the small town of Hedworth and work together in an indoor market place, where they've made a lot of friends over the years. I always love that feeling of small towns where everyone knows each other, and that was also the case in this novel. While the story was interesting, I felt it was a bit too slow-paced at times and not enough was going on. Next to that I just didn't really click with any of the characters, even though I think that's just me because I'm sure numerous readers will be able to relate to Sam, Louise or Charley in different ways. I am definitely a fan of Marcie Steele, but I enjoyed her more recent work a lot more than this read. That doesn't mean this wasn't an enjoyable chick lit read, because it was, it just wasn't my Marcie Steele favourite.

Rating:7,5/10

  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: 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop' by Marcie Steele (2016)

All Riley Flynn wants is to meet someone who makes her happy. But attracting the right kind of man is not easy, and with her heart still hurting from her last break-up, Riley believes she’ll never find love again.
A year ago, Sadie Stewart’s whole world was shattered when her husband, Ross, died. She has struggled to keep herself together for the sake of their young daughter, but with the anniversary of his death approaching, Sadie finds herself overwhelmed by grief.
Sadie and Riley work at Chandlers shoe shop, in the charming town of Hedworth. But when Chandlers is threatened with closure, the friends are confronted with the loss of not only their jobs, but also their support network - the glue that holds them together when they are close to breaking.
As they put together a plan to save their beloved shop, Sadie realises that she might just be learning to live again. Could it be that new beginnings are just round the corner? The campaign also finds Riley unexpectedly crossing paths with charming photographer, Ethan. Maybe her second chance at love is right under her feet …
Last year publisher Bookouture released a novel by author Marcie Steele, 'Stirred with Love', which was a great chick lit read (click here to read my review). The aspect of the novel that was most talked about, though, was the author, because who was hidden behind the name Marcie Steele? This turned out to be author Mel Sherratt, mostly known for her crime thrilers. However, Mel definitely has a good dose of romance inside of her, because she has treated us to another novel, 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop'! I couldn't wait to read this new title, which was released on April 8th, and want to thank both Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy!
Riley, Sadie and Dan have been working together at Chandlers, a shoe store in the small town of Hedworth for several years. They support each other through thick and thin, whether it's trouble with their love lives or at home. When Chandlers is suddenly threatened with closure, Riley knows she and Sadie and Dan will have to work as a team in order to come up with some great ideas to save their jobs. The troubling times ahead stir up things quite a bit, including a touch of romance in Riley's life. But will the three friends really be able to save Chandlers from closure while also dealing with everything that's going on in their own lives at the same time...?
I don't know how author Mel Sheratt manages to write both crime thrillers and romantic comedy novels, but I'm immensely glad she decided to also release novels in that last genre because 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop' is a simply wonderful read which I enjoyed a lot! The book has a great pace and plotline and I really just wanted to keep on reading, discovering what would happen next and see whether Riley and her friends would be able to save Chandlers shoe shop. I loved Riley; she had such motivation and brilliant ideas and I was definitely rooting for her to get a happy ending. The same counts for the other characters, especially Sadie and Dan, who both had their own stories that were focused on as well.
The author's writing style fit the novel really well; she managed to describe the scene setting perfectly and I definitely connected with the characters. I loved the fact there were three characters and storylines, resulting in me not getting even a bit bored. Also a small thing, but I really liked the use of social media in the book; Twitter, Facebook... It made the story relatable and it fit in with the world we live in today. Overall, I thought 'The Second Chance Shoe Shop' was a thoroughly entertaining, fun and well-written read about a group of friends, supporting each other through everything; a read that left me with a smile on my face and one that is undoubtedly worth picking up!

Rating:9,5/10

  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: 'Stirred with Love' by Marcie Steele (2015)

Sometimes the best friends can be found where you least expect them … 
Still grieving after the loss of her beloved husband, Lily Mortimer is determined to do something with the time she has left. After the end of her fairytale marriage, thirty-something Kate is trying hard to mend her broken heart. Chloe, a young woman with the world at her feet, is struggling to know what to do with her life. 
When Lily embarks on a new venture in the picturesque town of Somerley, the three women come together to open The Coffee Stop, the most charming café for miles around. But opening a coffee shop is never as simple as it seems, especially when you add neighbouring competition, local heart throbs and heartbreak to the mix. 
When tragedy strikes, can the three women pull together to make the new business fly, or will Lily’s last chance disappear down the drain along with yesterday’s coffee grinds?
I'm still making my way through my large pile of review books and last week I felt like reading a warm and trustworthy chick lit read, something to make me feel a bit better during these rainy and grey January and February days. I knew I still had a Bookouture read waiting for me in the form of Marcie Steele's 'Stirred With Love' and it seemed exactly the kind of read I was looking for. I received a review copy of this novel through NetGalley last year and I remember I straight away loved the book cover and thought the description promised a story I would definitely enjoy. I was glad to once again lay eyes on the pretty cover and hoped I would end up enjoying it as much as I hoped I would!
Thirty-something Kate knows her marriage with her husband Nick hasn't been what it used to be, but when she suddenly comes back to an empty house one day, discovering Nick has moved out, she has no idea what to do. Chloe, an 18-year-old who has just finished school, is looking for an adventure, that next step in her life before she decides what she really wants to do. Both women react to the same ad they found in a newspaper, posted by elderly lady Lily who wants to open a coffee shop in the small town of Somerley and needs some help. While at first sight, the three women might have nothing in common, soon Kate, Chloe and Lily are all working hard to make The Coffee Stop a success, with a good dose of trouble, laughter and heartbreak along the way.
'Stirred with Love' is a story about friendship and finding yourself, and another lovely read from publisher Bookouture. The book focuses on three main female characters: Kate, Chloe, and Lily. I straight away warmed to Lily; she's a sweet but determined older woman who knows what she wants, and I would have loved to have learned more about her and her past. I also liked Kate, whose world is suddenly turned upside down when her husband leaves her and she decides to make some drastic changes. However, I did find it difficult to warm to Chloe; she comes across as a rather spoiled and egocentric eighteen-year-old, and I just didn't really click with her as a character.
While the book has an entertaining storyline and a good cast with various characters, I thought the story was a bit slow-paced and just seemed to miss something. I can't put my finger on it exactly; maybe I would have liked a bit more detail, more focus on the characters' backgrounds and more in-depth dialogue. I definitely enjoyed the book, but just not as much as I had initially hoped I would based on the cover and description of the story. Yet, the novel is still a promising one and I will certainly pick up Marcie Steele's next work. Overall, 'Stirred with Love' is a light-hearted, enjoyable and easy-to-read chick lit novel; a book that didn't necessarily blow me away, but still one I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Rating:8/10

  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.