Unlike A Virgin

by Lucy-Anne Holmes

[Leah]

Lucy-Anne Holmes, before the publication of Unlike A Virgin, is the author of two previous novels. They both feature the same character, although I haven’t read either of them (although I will be now). But I really, really liked the sound of Lucy-Anne’s new novel Unlike A Virgin (the title alone had me hooked) and when I saw the cover I fell even more in love. I was thrilled to receive an early copy of the novel to read, and since my proof copy proclaimed Lucy-Anne is the “UK’s funniest rom-com writer” I was guaranteed a light novel that would have me in stitches. Right? Um, as the case may be, that’s not right. However I still thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

Unlike A Virgin is not the read I expected it to be. The title, the cover and the synopsis made me think that the novel was going to be light and fluffy and all about Gracie finding love. That’s so wrong, it’s almost laughable. I actually think it’s a disservice to the novel that it’s being marketed with a cover Sophie Kinsella would be proud off, making everyone think it’ll be laugh-a-minute because it’s not. From what I gather, Lucy-Anne’s two previous novels are hilarious, but Unlike A Virgin isn’t. I didn’t laugh once and my sense of humour is fairly juvenile I have to admit. There are some light moments during the novel but more often than not, it’s actually a bit darker than I expected it to be, and for me it was all the better because of it. What my wonderful proof copy does get right is that Gracie’s story could very much rival those featured on the X Factor.

Despite being thrown off balance by the pesky beautiful cover, I did very much like the book. I found it to be incredibly readable, and not once did I find myself getting bored. I’m not necessarily sure what the main plot of the novel was, as there were many featured throughout the novel, from Gracie’s disappointment that her 5-year-plan has fallen apart after some Posh idiot steals her job, to her mother planning to sell her father’s burial plot so developers can, er, develop it into a road. The romance in the novel is very much a backseat story, as Gracie focuses on making her life what she wants it to be, as she tries to figure out what she wants it to be, to be more precise. There were loads of touching scenes during the novel, I particularly loved the fact that Gracie regularly visits her father’s grave to chat to him, their closeness is apparent even though he passed away a decade ago. I also loved Gracie’s job, she’s an estate agent (a nice one!) and I loved seeing her at work, talk about a good estate agent.

I found all of the characters to be very enchanting. Gracie is the narrator of the novel and works it beautifully. I loved her confidence as an estate agent, felt sympathy for her when she found she didn’t want to sing any more and enjoyed her chats with her dad at the graveyard. She’s an incredibly warm character and I loved her immediately. She’s everything a main character should be. I loved her supporting cast, too. Her mum is a bit of a cold fish, but I liked the Gracie persevered with her and made a plan to help her out when she was in need. Her mum does come out of her shell, though, as the novel progresses and I could definitely understand why she was house-bound. Gracie’s best friend Wendy is the best friend everyone wants, I thought she was a really great mate. The only character I didn’t particularly take to was Dan, Gracie’s (ex-)boyfriend, he’s in about 100 or so pages, but I never actually felt anything towards him. He never really came out of his shell so when he eventually upped and left, I wasn’t disappointed. I did wonder where who Gracie was going to be falling in love with, particularly as the book’s strapline is “Is Gracie in love for the very first time?” and I’m still a bit puzzled as to who that was in reference to.

Unlike A Virgin wasn’t in any way what I was expecting, particularly since it was way more serious and I was shocked to find it to be a bit darker than I expected. However it was still a brilliant read, and I very much enjoyed Gracie’s story as she finds her way in life. It seemed that we witnessed Gracie fully merge into an adult whilst I read the novel and I loved being there with her to see it. There were many touching moments to the novel and although it wasn’t perfect, it’s made me go out and buy Lucy-Anne Holmes’s previous two novels. I can see why she’s such a well-liked author and though people will be disappointed that this novel isn’t particularly funny, it’s good in other, different ways and her fans will lap it up. I did. I’m thrilled Lucy-Anne is going to be a book-a-year author and I look forward to catching up with her previous novels and eagerly awaiting her next release. She’s a great writer and easily manages to get us into Gracie’s head and see what makes her tick. The ending was probably a bit rushed for me and I wasn’t a fan of the sudden switch to third-person for those last 10 pages, and it does leave it open for a potential sequel if Lucy-Anne ever wanted to go down that route. I would definitely recommend the novel, it was really great.