Romantic comedy at its finest from an author who is quickly gaining acclaim; perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Mhairi Macfarlane and Lindsey Kelk.
Jess, a 29-year-old Londoner with a Kate Beckett fringe and a tendency for dramatics, gets taken on a surprise trip by her long-term boyfriend, Pete, to attend her best friend's last minute wedding in South Africa. Jess imagines sun, sand, wine and safaris. And returning to London with an ethically mined diamond on her left hand...
But this holiday isn't set to be quite the fairy tale Jess has planned... and suddenly she finds her world tilting on its axis. And things are only set to get worse when Jess returns home...
Catherine Bennetto is back with her trademark wit and an equally hilarious cast of characters who will have you rooting for them from the first page.
Praise for Catherine Bennetto:
'A phenomenal cast of characters and some real laugh out loud moments. Brilliant!' Heidi Swain
`This superb debut is a romcom at its very best and the perfect book to chase away the winter blues. I haven't fallen so in love with a bunch of characters in a long while. Loved it' Sun
`A charming, feel-good gem of a debut novel that's guaranteed to leave you smiling... An honest narrative and a fresh voice to tell it... a great way to spend a lazy afternoon' CultureFly
'More bubbly than a big glass of champers and just as fun. How Not To Fall In Love, Actually is bright, breezy, and the perfect way to beat back the winter blues' Georgia Clark, author of The Regulars
This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free for a Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book. This is the first book I have read by Catherine but it will not be the last.
At first I found Jess quite a difficult character to get to know. She is constantly paranoid and seems to over think everything but as I got to know her, her walls seemed to break down and she became very likeable. I was really rooting for her by the end of the book.
I've never been to Cape Town, where a lot of this book is set. To be honest I've never considered it as a destination for myself but Jess' adventures there made me want to go and do all the things she does. All the things the locals do rather than the classic overpriced touristy things.
This book has ALL the emotions. I was angry, I was sad, I laughed, I cried and now it's all over and I don't know what to do with myself. There were some characters I instantly hated (Pete) and some I instantly loved (Diego). There are some absolute hilarious parts of this book. I literally laughed for 5 minutes when Jess' mum explained why they didn't grow up with a dog. Honestly one of the best conversations I have read.
I really enjoyed Catherine's writing style. It has been likened to Lindsey Kelk, who is one of my all time favourite authors and I can totally see that. The story is about more than just love. It's about family and things not always going your way. It's real and it's hard but that's why I enjoyed this book so much. I know I will be buying and reading more of Catherine's books in the future.
