BOOK NEWS: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

Sally Hepworth's novel The Things We Keep, tackles the issue of dementia at an early age. When Anna is diagnosed, she is taken to an assisted living facility, where she unexpectedly meets Luke. The Things We Keep will be published in January.

Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one another resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.

When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind House. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them. 

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five More Festive Reads!

With only a matter of weeks until Christmas and plenty of books to read, here’s Chick Lit Uncovered’s second selection of festive reads (check out the first here!), including novels and novellas from Holly Martin, Judy Astley and Jenny Oliver.

For the Love of Christmas by Kate Forster
Rebecca’s so called splendid life isn’t so wonderful. She is fresh out of rehab, her husband and children aren’t home for the holiday, and her Christmas tree has alopecia.

Days from Christmas, Rebecca has to explore her grief about a loss so huge, it tipped her over the edge, and imagine a future that maybe spent alone.

But she learns that, while Christmas for one is possible, it’s just a lot nicer when there’s family to share it with.

Love, loss and forgiveness come together to make a Christmas that Rebecca will never forget, and one that will unwrap a joyous future, even if it’s not at all like what she imagined was waiting for her under the Christmas tree.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage by Holly Martin
Penny Meadows loves her home – a cosy cottage decorated with pretty twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay. She also loves her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen.

When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded.

As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore…

While the spirit of the season sprinkles its magic over the seaside town and preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas eve ball are in full swing, can Penny melt the ice and allow love in her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she’s been dreaming of?

The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver
Christmas at the Davenports’ house was always about one thing: food!

But when sisters Ella and Maddy were split up, Ella to live in London with their Dad, and Maddy staying in Greece with their Mum, mince pies lost their magic.

Now, a cheating husband has thrown Ella a curved snowball…and for the first time in years, all she wants is her mum. So she heads back to Greece, where her family’s taverna holds all the promise of home. Meanwhile, waitress Maddy’s dreams of a white Christmas lead her back to London…and her Dad.

But a big fat festive life-swap isn’t as easy as it sounds! And as the sisters trade one kitchen for another, it suddenly seems that among the cinnamon, cranberries and icing sugar, their recipes for a perfect Christmas might be missing a crucial ingredient: each other.

Make a Christmas Wish by Julia Williams
Last Christmas, when Livvy was knocked down in the supermarket car park she certainly wasn’t ready to actually be dead! For months now she’s floated on the edge of the afterlife, generally making a nuisance of herself.

And she’s not ready to go just yet! She’s furious about the new woman in her husband’s life and she’s worried about her beloved son who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to life without her at all.

This Christmas, Livvy is given one last magical chance to make everything right. Will she take it and give her family the perfect Christmas?

A Merry Mistletoe Wedding by Judy Astley
It is almost a year since Sean and Thea met and it's been a roller-coaster ride: they're getting married on Christmas Day!

Neither Thea or Sean want a big fuss - a simple wedding, with Christmas lights and just a few sprigs of mistletoe for decoration is all they need. But before they know it, things begin to get complicated. Trying to manage a long-distance relationship in the build-up to their Christmas wedding is one thing, but as one challenge after another comes their way, the happy couple begin to wonder if they'll ever make it down the aisle...

BOOK NEWS: The Stylist by Rosie Nixon

The Stylist is the debut novel from Rosie Nixon, joint editor of HELLO! Magazine. Drawing from her glamorous experiences in the celebrity-filled world of magazines, Rosie's first novel follows boutique worker Amber Green, who is mistakenly given the job of a top celebrity stylist. The Stylist will be published in February.

When fashion boutique worker Amber Green is mistakenly offered a job as assistant to infamous, jet-setting 'stylist to the stars' Mona Armstrong, she hits the ground running, helping to style some of Hollywood's hottest (and craziest) starlets. When fashion boutique worker Amber Green is mistakenly offered a job as assistant to infamous, jet-setting 'stylist to the stars' Mona Armstrong, she hits the ground running, helping to style some of Hollywood's hottest (and craziest) starlets. As awards season spins into action Mona is in hot demand and Amber's life turned upside down. Suddenly she catching the attention of two very different suitors, TV producer Rob and Hollywood bad boy rising star Liam. How will Amber keep her head? And what the hell will everyone wear? The Stylist is a fast-paced, fun-packed rummage through the ultimate dressing up box. 

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five November Releases

A new month means new books, so here’s a selection of November’s just-published (and upcoming) novels…

A Girl's Best Friend by Lindsey Kelk
After the crazy six months she’s had, if there was a ‘clear history’ button for your life, Tess Brookes would be the first in line to press it.

When the opportunity arises to join her best friend, Amy, in New York for Christmas, Tess jumps at the chance. The only slight hitch is that Nick, the man who broke her heart, lives there. And Charlie, the man she turned down, has just started talking to her again. And she has just four days to take a photo for a competition that could save her career.

But aside from that, everything is going to be great: it’ll be the best Christmas ever. Won’t it?

House of Dreams by Fanny Blake
Only a weekend in Spain - what could possibly go wrong?

At their family hilltop villa, Lucy awaits the arrival of her brother and sister for their mother's annual birthday party. Although this time, their mother won't be there.

Struggling at Malaga airport with her fractious four year old, Jo has already lost her case and is dreading arriving without its precious contents.

For Tom, returning to Casa de Sueños stirs up all sorts of memories - then a beautiful face from his past appears...

My Big Fat Christmas Wedding by Samantha Tonge
Things don’t always run smoothly in the game of love…

Former hot shot city girl Pippa Pattinson loves her new life of rustic simplicity, running a quaint teashop on a sleepy Greek island with her hot fiancé, Niko. But it’s been a quick change to slow living – and you can’t blame a girl for wondering, ‘how did I get here?’

As her Christmas wedding approaches, a trip back to snowy England for her ex’s engagement party makes her wonder if those are wedding bells she’s hearing in her mind, or warning bells. She longs for the excitement of her old London life – the glamour, the regular pedicures. Can she really give that all up to be…a fishwife?

There’s nothing for it but to throw herself into bringing a little Christmas magic to the struggling village in the form of a Christmas fair. Somewhere in amidst the sparkly bauble cakes and stollen scones, she’s hoping she’ll come to the right decision about where she belongs…fingers crossed in time for the wedding…

A Night In With Marilyn Monroe by Lucy Holliday
The hilarious follow-up to A Night in With Audrey Hepburn from you favourite new author. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond and Sophie Kinsella.

After dating the hottest man on the planet, Dillon O’Hara, Libby Lomax has come back down to earth with a bump. Now she’s throwing herself into a new relationship and is determined to be a better friend to best pal, Ollie, as he launches his new restaurant.

Despite good intentions, Libby is hugely distracted when a newly reformed Dillon arrives back on the scene, more irresistible than ever. And when another unwelcome guest turns up on her battered sofa in the form of Marilyn Monroe, Libby would willingly bite her own arm off for a return to normality.

The Winter Wedding by Abby Clements
Hazel never set out to be a wedding planner. She was just helping her stressed sister Lila with cakes and décor for her big day. But when Lila and Ollie's summer ceremony is a runaway success, with guests raving about the food and styling at the pretty venue, word about Hazel's expertise soon spreads.  

But Hazel's clients expect the very best - she's promised lawyers Gemma and Eliot a snow-covered castle in the Scottish Highlands, and laidback couple Josh and Sarah a bohemian beach wedding in a Caribbean paradise. But as weather, in-laws and wilful brides conspire against her, can Hazel get two very different couples to walk up two very different aisles to say 'I do'? And will she find her own happy ending if she does?

BOOK REVIEW: My Everything by Katie Marsh

What would you do if the husband you're about to leave has a stroke?

In Katie Marsh's new novel, My Everything, Hannah is faced with that very question. The day before Tom suffers from a stroke, Hannah has made her decision to leave him. After five and a half years of marriage; of seeing the worst of Tom, of living in fear of his anger and disappointment on an almost daily basis, Hannah has finally made up her mind to move on with her life. However, one night is about to change it all.

With her husband in hospital, life has dramatically changed for teacher Hannah. The plans she had made now seem unreachable, in return replaced with a future of caring for Tom - who is only thirty-two - a man she has seemingly grown apart from. A fact practically proved by Hannah's recent one night stand with infatuated colleague Raj, a secret that Tom has no idea about.

Now, Hannah can't leave. She can't run away - not when Tom has to face so much rehabilitation and recovery.

Having to be there for her husband makes Hannah consider her options, and of course, the past. What made Tom change from the handsome, fun student she once knew into someone so disconnected? Could she leave him now? Has her life changed forever?

Meanwhile, Tom is also faced with the reality of his future, and the love for his wife that has seemingly become non-existent. Being unable to walk or carry out the simplest of daily tasks, let alone work, is almost unbearable for successful Tom, and he too begins to question just went wrong between them.

My Everything is a wonderful novel. It's thought-provoking, moving, beautifully written and thoroughly addictive, and what's more, this is Katie's debut. This is not only a book that's impossible to put down, but it's also a book that really makes you think about life and the choices you make. Can lost love be salvaged, or is it gone for good? It really made me contemplate what I would have done in Hannah's situation, and it's truly difficult to put oneself in her place.

Throughout the book were chapters focusing on memories from Tom and Hannah's past; tickets and trinkets which slowly told the story of their relationship, which is something I loved about this book.
Katie Marsh is a highly talented writer and I'm already looking forward to her future novels.

Rating: 5/5

FESTIVE READS: Wish Upon a Christmas Cake by Darcie Boleyn

Darcie Boleyn's new novel, Wish Upon a Christmas Cake, was released earlier this month by UKCarina, and follows Katie, who has an unexpected Christmas visit that could change her life...

The most wonderful time of the year?

Katie Warham has just one wish this year…to have the best Christmas ever!

If only she could lock herself away in a cloud of flour and sugar at her cosy little tearoom, Crumbtious Cakes, instead of spending the festive season trapped with her judgemental mother, crazy Aunt Gina and loved-up celebrity brother Carl...

But Katie never expected her ex-boyfriend, widower Sam – and his two adorable children – to turn up on her doorstep. She didn’t think that any man could tempt her under the mistletoe this year, but Sam might just prove the exception! And as the snow begins to fall and Katie puts the final touches to her famous Christmas cake, she begins to wonder, could her Christmas wish actually come true?

BOOK NEWS: The Assistants by Camille Perri

Finding out about next year's releases is exciting, especially when new books by debut authors are on the list. The Assistants is the first novel of Camille Perri, in which a bored executive assistant is faced with the opportunity to solve her financial problems - even if it does mean stealing from her boss. The Assistants is due to be published in May 2016.

Tina Fontana is the hapless but brazen thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the all-powerful and commanding CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She’s excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss—but after six years of making his reservations for restaurants she’d never get into on her own and pouring his drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, she’s bored, broke, and just a bit over it all.

When a technical error with Robert’s travel-and-expenses report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life-changer...

The Assistants speaks directly to a new generation of women who feel stuck and unable to get ahead playing by the rules. It will appeal to all of those who have ever asked themselves, “How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”