Wednesday 20 November 2013

 

Book review: Yours Truly by Kirsty Greenwood


My edition: Paperback, to be published on 21 November 2013 by Pan Macmillan, 388 pages.

Description: Newly engaged Natalie Butterworth is an easy-going girl. She'll do anything for a quiet life and if telling a few teensy white lies keeps her friends and family happy, then so what? It's not like they'll ever discover what she's really thinking...

Until one night, thanks to a pub hypnotist, Natalie's most private thoughts begin to bubble up and pop out of her mouth. Things get very messy indeed, especially when some sticky home truths offend her fiancé.

Natalie must track down the hypnotist before her wedding is officially cancelled. So along with bad influence bestie Meg, Natalie finds herself in the Yorkshire Parish of Little Trooley - a small village bursting with big secrets, nosy old folk and intriguing Wellington-wearing men.

Rating:



Natalie Butterworth is getting married in just a few weeks time and she is in the middle of making all the arrangements. She's just had a new haircut which, okay, is extremely unflattering, but she's sure the hairdresser tried her best. And at least the wedding dress is already sorted, even though she didn't get a chance to pick it out herself and she actually thinks it's dead ugly. But her fiancĂ© is gorgeous and he thinks she's "almost perfect", so what more could she possibly wish for?

However, her plans are put on hold when her best friend drags her to see hypnotist Amazing Brian at a local pub. While she doesn't notice the effects straight away, it doesn't take long for Natalie to realise that she has been hypnotised during the night and she is suddenly forced to always tell the truth, even when it may be hideously embarrassing to do so. In her desperate search for Brian, so he can undo the hypnosis, Natalie ends up in Little Trooley and she quickly falls in love with the picturesque village and its eccentric inhabitants.

Kirsty Greenwood is well-known in the online women's fiction world for her wonderful site Novelicious.com, which has grown from a review blog to an established news site for all things women's literature. Last year she self-published Yours Truly as an ebook and ever since then her name and novel have frequently popped up on other sites and social media pages I follow.

My fellow bloggers were full of praise so when I got my eager hands on a proof of the paperback (which will now be published by Pan Macmillan) I squealed in delight. And I wasn't disappointed as the novel is everything I was promised it to be; well-written, sweet and most of all very, very funny. This is one of those books where you will often find yourself snorting out loud, so you are warned when you attempt to read it in a public place!

Natalie Butterworth (fantastic name by the way!) is a very likeable main character, even if she is a bit of a pushover. Throughout the novel I kept wishing for her to become mouthier and stand up for herself, because those around her, family and friends alike, often seemed to take advantage of her soft-mannered nature not caring about Natalie's feelings in the process. Thankfully the fun plot twist of the hypnosis allowed her to grow as a character in exactly that way.

Kirsty's easy writing style is similar to that of fellow chick-lit authors Lindsey Kelk and Sophie Kinsella, and after reading this witty debut novel I'm very excited to read more books by her hand in the future.

Also, on a completely superficial note, the cover is one of the prettiest I've seen all year! I love the use of silhouettes, the bold yet girly font and the colours. It's absolutely gorgeous and screams romantic novel to me.

You can pre-order your copy of Yours Truly from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Waterstones or your own preferred retailer.



Would you like to know more about author Kirsty Greenwood? You can connect with her online at:

Website: novelicious.com/kirsty-greenwood

Twitter: @KirstyBooks

Twitter: facebook.com/KirstyGreenwoodBooks

No comments:

Post a Comment

Share Button