Delilah Rafferty has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the full glare of the media spotlight. Now, from the luxurious comfort of her beautiful kitchen, Delilah is planning her birthday party, a night that will see a star-studded gathering of friends and family celebrate in traditional Rafferty style. But she has more on her mind than just invitations… Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can’t refuse. But will that mean he’ll succumb to the temptations he’s struggled so hard to resist for the last ten years – beautiful women and too much wine? And Delilah’s three daughters, Coco, Violet and Tyger, are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For although the Rafferty girls might look like angels, they are only human. As with all families, there are secrets and rivalries bubbling away, and on one gloriously starry night, it’s all going to come spilling out This is your invitation to a birthday party of the year…

I treated myself to the hardback of this book when it came out and thought it was a cracking read. I really loved the purple sparkly cover (it as one of the main reasons I splashed out on the hardback!) so I was surprised to see such a change in style for the paperback release which is out on 21st July. On the one hand I like that the paperback cover matches that of The Beach Hut which came out last summer but I think the hardback cover goes with the story better. Either way The Birthday Party is a great summer read but which cover do you prefer?

Delilah Rafferty has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the full glare of the media spotlight. Now, from the luxurious comfort of her beautiful kitchen, Delilah is planning her birthday party, a night that will see a star-studded gathering of friends and family celebrate in traditional Rafferty style. But she has more on her mind than just invitations… Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can’t refuse. But will that mean he’ll succumb to the temptations he’s struggled so hard to resist for the last ten years – beautiful women and too much wine? And Delilah’s three daughters, Coco, Violet and Tyger, are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For although the Rafferty girls might look like angels, they are only human. As with all families, there are secrets and rivalries bubbling away, and on one gloriously starry night, it’s all going to come spilling out. This is your invitation to a birthday party of the year…

In August I read and loved Veronica Henry’s last book, The Beach Hut so I was very excited when I saw that she had a new one coming out and pre-ordered it straight away.  I thought the cover was pretty when I saw the picture to the left but in real life it is even lovelier with lots of glittery sparkles!

The Birthday Party tells the story of the Rafferty family; Mum Delilah, Dad Raf and daughters Coco, Violet and Tyger. With names like those, you might guess that the Raffertys aren’t your average family and you would be right. Delilah is a celebrity cook, Raf a fallen movie star, Coco an actress in a TV medical drama, Violet an aspiring musician and Tyger a 21 year old entrepreneur with a very successful lingerie company. Throw in a rebellious rock star, a billionaire business tycoon and young beautiful film star and you have all the ingredients needed for lashings of drama.

This is a fast paced roller coaster of a book with several interrelated story threads running at once. I liked the way that each character was set up with their own storyline and I really enjoyed how the different threads wove together to give the big picture of life as a Rafferty family member and a believable view on the lives of the rich and famous. Although Delilah is billed as the focus of the book, I felt that each of the Rafferty family members were actually equally important. Henry has created some characters that you might find yourself loving to hate here – in particular Delilah’s husband Raf who I just couldn’t make my mind up about throughout the book.

I had a lot of sympathy for Delilah as she approaches her 50th Birthday and has a crisis of confidence. Having been the one who has very successfully held her family together for many years she now has to watch as they stand on their own feet with the implication that they no longer need her, something that I’m sure many readers will identify with. Add to this that her career seems to be reaching a peak whilst her husbands is taking off again and there is a subtle but well made point about the treatment of women by the media industry.

Tyger and rock star Louis were my favourite characters because their stories and the outcome really surprised me. I also really enjoyed the supporting characters in The Birthday Party. As she did in The Beach Hut, Veronica Henry has a way of getting to the heart of even the minor characters and showing their depth even if their appearances are fleeting. I particulalry liked the downtrodden Polly and film director Dickie and found myself hoping for a happy ending for both of them.

Veronica Henry depicts a family living their life in the media spotlight and highlights the sometimes grim reality beyond the projected perfection. This book is much racier than The Beach Hut but no less enjoyable because of it. My only objection is the use of one swear word which I really hate but in the context of the character who said it, I expected nothing less. Reading the Birthday Party feels like you have been given an insider glimpse into the celebrity lifestyle and it’s an excellent book to curl up and escape with this winter.

4/5

You can find out more about Veronica Henry and her books at: http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren to highlight books bought, borrowed or received each week and is a great way to find lots of new ideas for books to read.

I had an eye infection this week and haven’t been able to read as much as I’d have liked but the three books that came through the post really cheered me up while I was feeling rubbish. I’m so excited about all of them!

Won

Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin

When I saw a Tweet earlier in the week offering the chance to win a proof of this one I was so excited. I entered straight away and couldn’t believe it when I got the message asking for my address This is the first book I’ve won which makes it all the more exciting and the fact that it is the new book in a series that I love makes it all the more special. I’ve also just purchased a ticket to go to Armistead Maupin’s London talk and signing for Mary Ann in Autumn on 22nd November – can’t wait!

Twenty years have passed since Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York.Now, a pair of personal calamities has driven her back to the city of her youth and into the arms of her oldest friend, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gay gardener happily ensconced with his much-younger husband. Mary Ann finds temporary refuge in the couple’s backyard cottage, where, at the unnerving age of 57, she licks her wounds and takes stock of her mistakes.Soon, with the help of Facebook and a few old friends, she begins to reengage with life, only to confront fresh terrors when her speckled past comes back to haunt her in a way she could never have imagined. Among those caught in Mary Ann’s orbit are her estranged daughter, Shawna, a popular sex blogger; Jake Greenleaf, Michael’s transgendered gardening assistant; socialite DeDe Halcyon-Wilson; and the indefatigable Anna Madrigal, Mary Ann’s former landlady at 28 Barbary Lane. Over three decades in the making, Armistead Maupin’s legendary Tales of the City series rolls into a new age, still sassy, irreverent and curious, and still exploring the boundaries of the human experience with insight, compassion and mordant wit.

Mary Ann in Autumn will be released on 11th November by Doubleday (Transworld)

Bought

Two books that I’d pre-ordered from Amazon arrived this week and they both have gorgeous sparkly covers!

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

I’ll be reading and reviewing this one as part of my Christmas month in December – look out for more news of that coming soon.

What would we do without one another? It was a statement, not a question. Each of us knew the answer for herself. Every year on the first Monday of December, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dish and a bottle of wine and, as they eat, they take turns telling the story of the cookies they have baked. Stories that, somehow, are always emblematic of the year that has just passed. This year, the stories are especially important. Marnie’s oldest daughter has a risky pregnancy. Will she find out tonight how that story will end? Jeannie’s father is having an affair with her best friend. Who else knew about the betrayal? Rosie’s husband doesn’t want children, but can she live with his decision? Each woman, each friend has a story to tell. The Cookie Club is about the passion and hopefulness of a new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, and above all, it’s a celebration of the friendships between women.

The Birthday Party by Veronica Henry

I really enjoyed Veronica’s last book, The Beach Hut which came out over the summer so I’m very much looking forward to reading her new one.

Delilah Rafferty has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the full glare of the media spotlight. Now, from the luxurious comfort of her beautiful kitchen, Delilah is planning her birthday party, a night that will see a star-studded gathering of friends and family celebrate in traditional Rafferty style. But she has more on her mind than just invitations…

Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can’t refuse. But will that mean he’ll succumb to the temptations he’s struggled so hard to resist for the last ten years – beautiful women and too much wine?

And Delilah’s three daughters, Coco, Violet and Tyger, are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For although the Rafferty girls might look like angels, they are only human.

As with all families, there are secrets and rivalries bubbling away, and on one gloriously starry night, it’s all going to come spilling out…

As regular readers will know, I imposed a book buying ban on myself for most of September and I have been very good but the result has been a very full wishlist for October.

I’ve whittled it down to six books that I really, really want that are released next month and here they are:

Angel by L.A. Weatherly
Released 1st October
Published by Usborne
Website: http://www.usborne.com/angel/

I’ve been hearing so many good things about this book that I’m now dying to read it!

Willow knows she’s different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from…

But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Released 4th October
Published by Bloomsbury
Website: http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/

I thought ‘A Gathering Light’ by Jennifer was brilliant and her new book sounds just as good.

Andi lives in New York and is dealing with the emotional turmoil of her younger brother’s accidental death. Alex lives in Paris and is a maid to the royal family as the French Revolution rages. They’re both struggling with their responsibilities and their places in the world. When Andi is sent to Paris to get her out of the trouble she’s so easily enveloped by in New York, their two stories collide, and Andi finds a way to reconcile herself not only to her past but also to her future. This is a wonderful and evocative portrait of lives torn apart by grief and mended by love.

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
Released 14th October
Published by Simon and Schuster (Pocket Books)
Website: http://www.christmascookieclub.com/thenovel.html

I absolutely love Christmas and each year I like to have a collection of Christmassy reads to take me through December and this book sounds like it will do the trick!

What would we do without one another? It was a statement, not a question. Each of us knew the answer for herself. Every year on the first Monday of December, Marnie and her twelve closest girlfriends gather with batches of beautifully wrapped homemade cookies. Everyone has to bring a dish and a bottle of wine and, as they eat, they take turns telling the story of the cookies they have baked. Stories that, somehow, are always emblematic of the year that has just passed. This year, the stories are especially important. Marnie’s oldest daughter has a risky pregnancy. Will she find out tonight how that story will end? Jeannie’s father is having an affair with her best friend. Who else knew about the betrayal? Rosie’s husband doesn’t want children, but can she live with his decision? Each woman, each friend has a story to tell. The Cookie Club is about the passion and hopefulness of a new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, and above all, it’s a celebration of the friendships between women.

The Birthday Party by Veronica Henry
Released 21st October
Published by Orion
Website: http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/

Veronica Henry’s last book, The Beach Hut was one of my favourite books of the summer so I’m really looking forward to reading her new one.

Delilah Rafferty has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the full glare of the media spotlight. Now, from the luxurious comfort of her beautiful kitchen, Delilah is planning her birthday party, a night that will see a star-studded gathering of friends and family celebrate in traditional Rafferty style. But she has more on her mind than just invitations… Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can’t refuse. But will that mean he’ll succumb to the temptations he’s struggled so hard to resist for the last ten years – beautiful women and too much wine? And Delilah’s three daughters, Coco, Violet and Tyger, are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For although the Rafferty girls might look like angels, they are only human. As with all families, there are secrets and rivalries bubbling away, and on one gloriously starry night, it’s all going to come spilling out This is your invitation to a birthday party of the year…

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz
Released 26th October
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.atombooks.net/

This is the fifth book in the Blue Bloods series and I’m seriously addicted to the adventures of Schuyler and the gang so very excited about this one!

After inheriting the complicated Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with Jack, risking both of their lives for love. The two of them embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the remaining five gates that guard Earth from Lucifer, Prince of Hell and lord of the Silver Bloods. As the Blue Blood coven weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler closer to a terrifying crossroads?and a choice that will determine the destiny of all vampires.

The Fledgling Handbook (House of Night) by P.C. Cast and Kim Doner
Released 26th October
Published by Atom
Website: http://www.houseofnightseries.co.uk/

I’ve now read the first two books in the House of Night series and this sounds like the perfect accompaniment as the series progresses.

Merry meet, fledgling. I trust this guide will serve you well…Every vampyre fledgling who arrives at the House of Night receives a copy of The Fledgling Handbook 101, and now, fans can have one, too, with this gorgeous must-have edition. Inside you’ll find original stories, the complete vampyre history, inside info into rituals, vamp biology, and the Change, and much more.

So that’s my shortlist – what are you looking forward to reading in October?

Jane Milton doesn’t want to sell her beloved beach hut, which has been the heart of so many family holidays and holds so many happy memories. But when her husband dies, leaving her with an overwhelming string of debts, she has no choice but to sell.

THE BEACH HUT follows the stories of the people who own the beach huts, families who come to Everdene each year, people who fall in – or out of – love, remembering their pasts, or trying to forget them…

When I was on holiday in Bournemouth last month I fell in love with a beach hut that we walked past every day. I’d love to own my own beach hut one day so this book really caught my attention when I saw it in the shop. I’ve not read anything by Veronica Henry before and thought it looked like a lovely escapist summer read.

I’d heard the book described as a short story collection but it is actually much more than that and I loved the way it was written. It starts by introducing Jane Milton, owner of The Shack, who has been coming to Everdene since she was a young girl. Jane is being forced to sell The Shack to pay off the debts her husband left her, but is going to have one last summer at Everdene with her extended family to say goodbye to her beach hut in style. The chapters very cleverly focus in on different members of Jane’s family and their lives, with the beach huts and Everdene as the point around which everyone revolves. There are also chapters that focus on the other beach hut owners or visitors to Everdene and seem very much like standalone stories until a small twist creates a clever linkage between them and the Milton family. The book hangs together beautifully and really kept me interested with the variety of stories and characters involved. There is something here for everyone; tales of first love, illicit affairs, weddings, children, friends and even a dramatic funeral!

Veronica Henry is a really talented writer and there is a huge variety of characters and voices in this book. She gets right into the emotions and feelings of each character – even the more minor ones like the perennial bridesmaid Jenna and overprotective mother Janet. My favourite characters  were surfer couple Dan and Kirsty and I thought the ending of their story was perfect and even bought a little (happy) tear to my eye! I really hope that there is a sequel to this book at some point in the future as I really want to know what happens to everyone next.

This is a brilliant summer read and I’d highly recommend it.

You can find out more about Veronica Henry and her books at: http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/

5/5

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren to highlight new books bought or received each week and is a great way to find lots of new ideas for books to read.

I’ve been very good this week and only bought one book which is:

The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry

(From the back cover)

For Sale: A rare opportunity to purchase a beach hut on the spectacular Everdene Sands.

The Beach Hut follows the stories of the families who come to Everdene each year, people who fall in – or out – of love, remembering their pasts or trying to forget them…

There’s Jane Milton, left only debts by her husband, and forced to sell the beloved beach hut that holds so many happy memories; Sarah, for whom fidelity has lost its appeal; and Harry, suffering from all the anguish of first love when he falls for Florence – who has grown up to be far more alluring than she ever used to be.

I’d love my own beach hut so this really appealed to me and it is WH Smith’s half price book of the week at the moment so I thought I’d treat myself. I’m halfway through it already and really enjoying it. Look out for my review soon!