Book review and giveaway: Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt

Lou Hubbard, modern-day heiress to a billion pound fortune, is determined not to marry aristocratic playboy Harry Stomeworth in an arranged marriage. In order to extricate herself, she decides to become as undesirable as possible, with hilarious results.

In many ways, Marrying Out of Money is an ‘anti-romantic’ comedy; main character Lou Hubbard goes to extreme lengths to put off the man her Mum wants her to marry (Harry Stomeworth) in a strategic alliance to gain an aristocratic title.  Lou is certainly the most ‘normal’ character in this book which is full of larger than life depictions of the rich, famous (sometimes infamous) and titled.

Marrying Out of Money is a tongue in cheek comedy from the very start as Lou literally chases her current boyfriend, the brilliantly named Hedge McCaffery, lead singer of band 4BY4, around her parents million pound estate. Lou’s mother, Victoria has taken an instant dislike to Hedge and is determined to make a more auspicious match for her only daughter. Lou on the other hand loves Hedge all the more because he is the absolute opposite of everything her mother stands for.

Lou is heir to her father’s billion pound coffee empire. The fun really starts when Lou’s mother joins forces with  Harry’s mother, Morphia to unite their offspring. The characters are vividly written and will make readers smile. Occasionally, I found some of them a little too over the top but the exaggerated aspects of the rich and famous lifestyle help Schmidt firmly make the point that money isn’t everything.

I enjoyed the surprisingly romantic ending and the way that Schmidt balanced the outrageous behaviour of Lou with a more serious storyline involving Lou’s neighbour Fin. If you are looking for a lighthearted, fun chick lit read with over the top characters and quirky comedy, this is the book for you!

Marrying Out of Money is released in paperback at the end of the month but the ebook is already available and publisher Prospera is very kindly providing five copies for me to give away in Kindle or any other ebook format via Smashwords!! To be in with a chance of winning, leave a comment in the box below and I’ll pick five names using random.org after the closing date. This  giveaway is open internationally and will close at midnight on Monday 7th March.

Good luck!