Did You Miss Me? by Sophia Money-Coutts Book Review

I have read all of  Sophia Money-Coutts’s books and I am a huge fan of her witty, entertaining novels. She writes wonderful, sparkling characters and I always enjoy the story. As usual, Did You Miss Me?, is clever and funny. Sophia has taken a great premise and executed it with flair. Another wonderful novel. Heartily recommended.

Did You Miss Me? is Sophia’s 4th novel and explores whether you really can rekindle your first love, and is of course written with Sophia’s trademark humour, wit and gloriously steamy romance scenes. Nell, the main character, is effortlessly likeable and features alongside her barmy mother (who falls for an eccentric Italian barista), the divine Arthur Drummond and Wilma the wolfhound.

You never forget the one that got away, do you?

Nell Mason is extremely happy with her life – or at least, that’s what she tells herself. She’s lucky to have a high-powered job as a lawyer, even if it does come with an eccentric set of billionaire divorce clients. And she’s absolutely fine living with her sweet, if slightly dull, boyfriend Gus in their London flat where they have very sensible sex once (OK, sometimes twice) a week. She’s definitely not stuck in a rut.

But when Nell bumps into childhood friend and first love Arthur Drummond who broke her heart fifteen years ago, she’s more than a little shaken. The seemingly perfect life she’s worked so hard for starts to feel, well, less perfect. Maybe Nell’s been kidding herself all these years. Can she ever get over her first love?

Sophia Money-Coutts is a journalist and author who spent five years studying the British aristocracy while working as Features Director at Tatler. Prior to that she worked as a writer and an editor for the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail in London, and The National in Abu Dhabi. She writes a column for The Sunday Telegraph called Modern Manners and often appears on radio and television channels talking about important topics such as Prince Harry’s wedding and the etiquette of the threesome.

The Wish List by Sophia Money-Coutts | Book Review

I need to start this review by admitting that I read every book written by Sophia Money-Coutts. I think she is a great writer. The Wish List is another triumph and my favourite book yet. It follows Florence Fairfax who writes a wish list of what she wants in a man, and then it seems like that man turns up. But will the course of love run smoothly?  Money-Coutts is a great writer, she is so perceptive about the little things in life, and in people. She writes in beautiful detail and really knows her characters. You can get lost in this book. I recommend reading it in the bath or in your comfiest chair with a good cup of tea. The Wish List is a fun and feel-good rom-com. It is perfect to unwind with. This is the perfect romance novel.

The Wish List, book, book review, Sophia Money-Coutts,

Florence Fairfax might have been single for quite a while – well, forever, actually – but she isn’t lonely. She loves her job at the little bookshop in Chelsea and her beloved cat Marmalade who keeps her company at night. She’s perfectly happy, thank you.

So when Florence meets an eccentric love coach who asks her to write a wish list describing her perfect man, she refuses to take it seriously. Until later that week, Rory, a handsome blond man with the sexual athleticism of James Bond she asked for just happens to walk into the bookshop…

Rory seems to tick all of the boxes on Florence’s list. But is she about to discover there’s more to love than being perfect on paper?

The Wish List is available here and is publishing in paperback on 24th June.

 

This Month’s Recommended Reads | What To Read Now

The Song of the tree, book

My children loved this magical book. It has a wonderful story and beautiful illustrations.

A lyrical, heart-warming new tale from the award-winning designer and creator of The Fox and the Star

Bird loves to sing in the towering tree at the heart of the jungle. It feels like home.
When the season changes she must say goodbye, but she isn’t ready to let go.
As she listens to the other animals, Bird learns to sing a new song.

The Song of the Tree is available here.

This is the book we all need during these stressful times. Just breathe in, breathe out, and let this book help you relieve all of your worries. 

The secret to living mindfully. Just don’t breathe a word of it…

You breathe 22,000 times every day. How many are you really aware of?

International bestselling and award-winning author Dr Danny Penman provides a concise guide to letting go and finding peace in a messy world, simply by taking the time to breathe.

Known side effects: You will start to smile more. You will worry less. Life won’t bother you so much.

Dissolve anxiety, stress and unhappiness, enhance your mind and unleash your creativity with these simple exercises. And with each little moment of mindfulness, discover a happier, calmer you.

It really is as easy as breathing…

This is a fantastic idea. This book takes you on a journey around ten of the top London galleries. One hundred pieces of art are in this clever book. Essential for art lovers. I take my copy out every now and then for a dose of art. 
A Taste of Art – London takes the reader on a journey around ten of the city’s galleries, exploring ten significant artworks at each location and offering an insightful ‘taste’ of art – the ultimate antidote to museum fatigue. The paintings, sculptures and objects selected from each gallery focus on a different time period in the history of Western art – beginning with pieces from an ‘Emerging Britain’ at The British Museum and concluding with contemporary portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery. ‘Tasting notes’ offer an engaging, narrative look at each work, accompanied by a quotation to whet the reader’s appetite; whilst an illustrated ‘key ingredient’ unlocks the meaning and encourages the reader to not only look but more fully explore all one hundred pieces. The book also includes a map, a checklist to tick off what you see and specially commissioned illustrations throughout.

This book from Jessica Ryn is a modern classic. In turns uplifting and sad- because you cannot have one without the other- it is a book that leaves you satisfied and entertained. Dawn Brightside is a complex and lovable character. The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside covers mental illness, homelessness and the capacity of the human spirit. This is a book that tells the story of people who do not have their voices heard enough and does so perfectly. 

Dawn Elisabeth Brightside has been running from her past for twenty-two years and two months, precisely.

So when she is offered a bed in St Jude’s Hostel for the Homeless, it means so much more than just a roof over her head.

But with St Jude’s threatened with closure, Dawn worries that everything is about to crumble around her all over again.

Perhaps, with a little help from her new friends, she can find a way to save this light in the darkness?

And maybe, just maybe, Dawn will finally have a place to call home….

The utterly charming feel-good debut novel of 2020 to curl up with.

The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside is available here.

We Just Clicked is a fun and fizzy novel. Perfect for millennials, and those who want to understand them. This is a romantic novel with a clever take. I fell in love with the main character, Izzy, even if she frustrated me sometimes. This book also serves as a cautionary tale on social media addiction. 

Izzy’s always played by the rules. But now, it’s time to break them…

Izzy Brown has always dreamed of making it big on Instagram, but her followers just aren’t growing. So when her colleague and fellow ‘influencer’ Luke suggests they fake date to boost their profiles, Izzy says yes – against her better judgement. Now Izzy’s profile shows a confident, glamorous thirty-something with the perfect boyfriend, and her followers are shooting up by the thousands.

So what if behind the scenes, things are a little different? Izzy can’t stop bickering with Luke, his habit of checking his quiff in EVERY SINGLE mirror is driving her insane, and she’s hiding a secret heartache. But everyone tells a few fibs on social media, right?

Then Izzy runs into Aidan, the mysterious stranger who saved her the day her world fell apart two years ago – and major sparks start to fly. Izzy’s sure she can have the online success she’s always dreamed of, whilst falling in love in real life. After all, Aidan doesn’t use social media… what could possibly go wrong?

We Just Clicked is available here.

Sophia Money-Coutts. What happens now?

What Happens Now? is the second novel from Sophia Money-Coutts. Sophia has a way of writing that is raw, honest and brave. After having a one-night stand with a handsome aristocratic mountaineer Lil ends up pregnant, because her pill did not work after she had a dodgy tummy- it does actually happen! Cautionary note. What happens next – see what I did there?- is a fun and sometimes embarrassing journey where two strangers now realise they must co-parent a child. Will they end up together? Read the book to find out, there are plenty of funny lines along the way. 

‘No question about it, there are two little purple lines. I’m pregnant.’

After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’ – that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen?

Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant. She’s single, thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it’s hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.

Lil’s ready to do the baby-thing on her own – it can’t be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he’s not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn’t ignoring Lil after all…

What Happens Now is available here.

This book is like a cup of tea on a rainy Sunday. Comforting and just what you need. Brilliant. 

The Wronged Daughter by Mary Wood is an emotional and moving novel that reunites old friends and heals old wounds.

Mags has never forgotten the friendship she forged with Flora and Ella, two fellow nurses she served with at the beginning of World War I. Haunted by what she experienced during that time, she fears a reunion with her friends would bring back the horror she’s tried so desperately to suppress.

Now, with her wedding on the horizon, this should be a joyful time for Mags. But the sudden loss of her mother and the constant doubt she harbours surrounding her fiancé, Harold, are marring her happiness.

Mags throws herself into running the family mill, but she’s dealt another aching blow by a betrayal that leaves her reeling. Finding the strength the war had taken from her, she fights back, not realizing the consequences and devastating outcome awaiting her.

Can she pick up the pieces of her life and begin anew?

The Wronged Daughter is available here.