Last Friday (May 23rd) saw the debut novel from Giovanna Fletcher hit book stores. Giovanna is married to Tom Fletcher from McFly and has a brother (Mario) who stars in British scripted reality television show The Only Way is Essex. Despite Giovanna trained in the profession of acting, even attending young theatre school Sylvia Young (where she also met her husband, Tom) she has tried her hand at writing a novel. It has obviously generated a lot of celebrity support but not without reason.I downloaded the book on publication day on my Kindle and immediately started reading, all pretences of revision down the drain: I knew right from the first sentence that I would enjoy the book.
The novel is from Sophie May's perspective as she meets the man of her dreams when he pops into the small tea shop where she works; this character is of course Billy Buskin. An actor who turns up unexpectedly in the small village named Rosefont Hill, filming for an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The book goes through Sophie's present, future and her very traumatic past; she loses loved ones and gains a love. Although as with any chickflick book which this undoubtedly is; it is not an easy ride and Sophie has many bumps and turns along the way. The novel explores the ups and downs of dating a person in the public eye: which I'm sure Giovanna is in the perfect position to get an accurate representation of this considering she has been with Tom Fletcher throughout his rise to fame with the band. This gives the book a very personal feel to it and in short helps you to get more connected to Sophie and what she is feeling.
This book is an extremely easy read and you can quite easily finish it in several hours once you get sucked it. It is well written and flows nicely; it's not a ground breaking hard-hitting novel: but then I don't suppose that was its purpose. I have recommended my mother and my nan to read it as I know this will be right up their alley. If you know anyone who enjoys reading books from Milly Johnson or Sophie Kinsella then get them to read this book immediately as they all follow a similar style of writing. It is emotional, happy, sad and makes you feel good at the end: a perfect summer read. Giovanna has proved herself in the literacy world and I for one can't wait until her next book.
