BOOK NEWS: Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams by Sue Watson

Fans of Sue Watson, author of Love, Lies and Lemon Cake (and festive novel Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake), will be excited about her next book, Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams, which will be released in early July.

Laura Watkin’s heart isn’t broken, she’s just forgotten how to use it. 

After years on her own, the highlight of single mum Laura’s week is watching Strictly Come Dancing with a glass of Pinot Grigio and a large helping of imagination. 

With her daughter Sophie going travelling, Laura knows the time is right to do something for herself for a change. One disastrous Zumba class later and Laura ends up at the feet (literally) of gorgeous dance instructor Tony Hernandez. 

A natural dancer and inspiring teacher, Tony rekindles in Laura a passion she inherited from her ballroom dancer father – and with it comes a dream… to make him proud. 

But when Tony enters them to perform at the National Dance Festival, can Laura’s new-found confidence survive the test? And with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn Flamenco in Spain, could Laura truly learn to dance like nobody’s watching… and love like she’ll never get hurt? 

BOOK NEWS: If You Don't Know Me By Now by A L Michael

Barista Imogen has dreams of becoming a writer in the upcoming novel from A L Michael (author of The Last Word and My So-Called Love Life). Imogen starts an anonymous blog about her customers which starts to become particularly popular...

If You Don't Know Me By Now will be available from Carina in early July.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

Imogen has come to London to make it as a writer. At least, that was the plan. Finding herself in a dead-end job serving coffee to hipsters was not on her to-do list. And even if gorgeous colleague Declan does give her more of a buzz than a triple-shot cappuccino, Imogen can feel her dreams evaporating faster than the steam from an extra-hot latte.

Until her anonymous tell-all blog about London’s rudest customers goes viral – and suddenly, Imogen realises that landing the worst job in the world might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to her! As long as she can keep her identity to herself...

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five June Releases!

Chick Lit Uncovered has returned! (Did you miss me?) Anyway, I'm back after a short blog break
and just in time for some of the wonderful new reads being published throughout June. So, on with this month's five picks!

Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher
Sarah is doing just fine. Sure she's been single for the last five years, and has to spend an uncomfortable amount of time around her ex-boyfriend and their mutual friends, and the rest at her tediously mundane job, but it's fine. She's happy(ish).

But it's not surprising that when Sarah starts dreaming about a handsome stranger, she begins looking forward to falling asleep at night. Reality isn't nearly as exciting. That is until her dream-stranger makes an unexpected real-life appearance, leaving Sarah questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Because people never really find the person of their dreams... do they?

Career Game by Louise Mensch
Topaz Rossi and Rowena Krebs are live and kicking. In more ways than one.

Music wonder Rowena Krebs is so huge she's now in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Right at the top of Musica Records. Her old rival, now best friend, Topaz Rossi is a magazine guru in New York, heading up American Magazines. Bright and energetic as the city itself.

But things are changing: Rowena senses a shift both in business and on the home front. And Topaz can't work out why the circulation figures are dropping. Something's up. Paradise is a place that can bring trouble...

Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe by Milly Johnson
Her marriage is all washed up. It's time for a clean start…

Connie Diamond has always been her husband Jimmy's 'best girl' - or so she thought. But then she discovers that he's been playing away for the past twenty-four years, and that the chocolates she believed he bought her as a sign of his love were just a cover-up, and she is determined to get revenge.

Along with Della Frostick, Jimmy's right-hand woman at his cleaning firm, Diamond Shine, Connie decides to destroy Jimmy's life from the inside. Together they will set up a rival business called Lady Muck, and along with the cleaning ladies who meet at the Sunflower Café, they'll make him wish he had never so much as looked at another woman.

Then Connie meets the charming Brandon Locke, a master chocolatier, whose kind chocolate-brown eyes start to melt her soul. Can the ladies of the Sunflower Café help Connie scrub away the hurt? And can Brandon cure her affliction and make her smile again…?

The Rose Girls by Victoria Connelly 
Thirty-year-old Celeste Hamilton’s life is at a crossroads: she has just left a disastrous marriage, and her estranged mother has recently died, leaving the family’s rose business in jeopardy. Reluctantly, Celeste returns to the family home, a moated manor house in Suffolk, to help her two younger sisters sort out the estate and revive the business.

Having endured the fallout from her mother’s Narcissistic Personality Disorder when she was younger, Celeste is filled with self-doubt and crippling insecurities. But she must find the strength and courage to take charge and make some tough decisions to keep the old house from falling down around them.

The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase
Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She s well on her way to having the family she s hoped for since her mother s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer and former flame Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina s life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life and in love.

Taking a short break!

Chick Lit Uncovered will be taking a short break (due to novel edits!) and will return in a month for more reviews and plenty of  new summer reads!

However, Uncovered will be taking part in International Chick Lit Month, so head on over to read posts from chick-lit authors around the world throughout the month of May.


BOOK NEWS: The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood

The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance is the next novel from Kirsty Greenwood, author of Yours Truly, and the founder of fab chick-lit website Novelicious.com. (And isn't the cover gorgeous?) Party girl Jess is forced to get help from her grandmother Matilda, who's also having a hard time. Until Matilda's 1950s life-guides give them both the opportunity they need...

Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she's been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother.

Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras.
When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads - by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady.

The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda's guides still work. It's going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off . . .

BOOK NEWS: Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk

Fans of Lindsey Kelk's hilarious romantic 'I Heart' series will be thrilled to know that Lindsey's new novel will be published next month. Always the Bridesmaid will be released in May, in which perpertual bridesmaid Maddie finds herself juggling her own life with those of her friends...

Everyone loves a bridesmaid - except Maddie, who’s perpetually asked to be one.

Everyone loves a wedding - except Maddie’s best friend, who’s getting divorced.

And everyone loves the way Maddie’s so happy behind the scenes - except Maddie herself.

One best friend is in wedding countdown while the other heads for marriage meltdown. And as Maddie juggles her best chance at promotion in years with bridezilla texts and late-night counselling sessions, she starts to wonder – is it time to stop being the bridesmaid?

BLOG TOUR: Interview with Elle Field, author of Lost

Last year we spoke to the lovely Elle Field about her novels Kept and Geli Voyante's Hot or Not. And yesterday saw the release of Elle's latest book, Lost. Lost is the sequel to Kept, focusing on Arielle Lockley (and there'll be a third book in the series released later this year!) Elle has stopped by on her Lost blog tour to answer our weekly questions...

So, what have you been up to since we last spoke to you?
Working hard on getting Lost finished, the second book in the Arielle Lockley series. I've also transitioned from being an author with a day job who writes when she can, to an author who spends half the year working in a day job and half the year writing books. I'm thrilled to have more time to write.

Can you tell us more about your latest book, Lost?
Of course! Lost begins two months after the end of Kept, and Arielle is busy planning her shop launch in London, as well as her wedding to Piers. With a new-found foe interfering with her business decisions, not to mention haughty wedding planners and loved ones facing personal struggles, Arielle needs to figure out what's important before all is lost.

What are you reading at the moment?
I'm on a bit of a crime thrillers spree at the moment, and am working my way through Black Wood by S.J.I. Holliday and Prey by James Carol. Chick-lit wise, I recently read Tied Up with Love by Amelia Thorne. I really loved it!

Are there any authors who have inspired you?
It's great to see authors who were originally self-published getting traditional publishing deals or being hybrid authors. It's even better to see that they are doing so well! Rachael Lucas, Anna Bell, Talli Roland and Cathy Bramley, to name a few, are all so inspirational.

What kind of research did you do for your latest novel?
As Arielle is planning on opening a shop in London, I did lots of research into the retail rental market in London and had fun thinking up her dream shop. This involved research trips to Camden Lock, the King's Road and Covent Garden, as well as trawling through estate agent websites to get an idea of the costs involved. Some places were asking for £250,000 per year, and that was just for the rental charge! I also had to research what it would be like to plan a wedding , picking out dresses and venues for Arielle's big day to Piers, which was a lot of fun. I stuck to online research and bridal magazines as I didn't want to attend wedding fairs and boutiques, not being engaged myself!

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I really liked sharing Ob's voice - he writes the prologue and epilogue - and I also enjoyed including a new character who makes trouble for Arielle's business plans. It was lovely to catch up with the characters of Kept again, even though some of them don't have a very happy time throughout the book.

What are you working on next? 
I'll be working on the next, and (probably) final book in the Arielle Lockley series. Found will be out later on in the year, and it may share more of Ob's perspective this time round. I also want to finish writing The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose, especially since Tabitha has a big part in Lost - in fact, part of her plotline in Lost came out of The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose. I really love how my characters cross over and pop up in my other books.

Thanks, Elle!

Lost is available in paperback and Kindle format now. If you haven't yet read Kept, the first book in the Arielle Lockley series, buy it here.

You can find out more about Elle Field by visiting her blog or Facebook page, or following her on Twitter.

About Lost

"I'm starting to realise that age is just a number, but Tabitha pointed out I'm only saying that because I'm twenty-five, engaged, and have my life together. (Touch wood things stay that way.)" 

Arielle is back! OK, she's not on her way to becoming the next Coco Chanel, her childhood dream, but she is one way step closer to running her very own shop with her business partner, Felicity. 

She's also planning her perfect romantic wedding to fiancé, Piers, and Arielle is starting to believe that she's finally found her place in the world... 

Of course life is never that straightforward. 

With a new-found foe interfering with her shop decisions, not to mention haughty wedding planners and loved ones facing personal struggles, will Arielle figure out what's important before all is lost? 

About Elle 

Elle Field lives in London with her boyfriend and their cat. She enjoys exploring new places, watching musicals on the West End, and eating her way around London’s culinary delights.

Her first novel Kept was released in April 2013; Geli Voyante’s Hot or Not followed in October 2013. Lost, the sequel to Kept, is out now. Look out for the final book in the Arielle Lockley series, Found, towards the end of the year.

Giveaway!

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