Title : All The Single Ladies
Author : Jane Costello
Publication date : 2nd February 2012 (Hardback & Large Paperback)/7th June 2012 (Paperback)
Publisher : Simon & Schuster UK
Source : Sent by publisher, thank you!
Samantha Brooks’
boyfriend has made a mistake – one everyone knows he’ll live to regret.
Jamie, the love of her life, has announced he’s leaving, out of the
blue. Jamie is gorgeous, loving, intelligent and perfect for Sam in
every way but one – he’s a free spirit. And after six years in one
place, doing a job he hates, he is compelled to do something that will
destroy his relationship with Sam: book a one way flight to South
America.
Only Sam isn’t giving up without a fight. With Jamie clearly
still in love with her, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he’s
giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting and a single aim
– to win him back. Only, by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes
up to what he’s lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam’s life.
Which begs the question . . . will she still want him back?
If you love chick lit and a good romantic comedy and haven't heard of Jane Costello? Shoot yourself. Well, I would have done so if I had a gun. But that's not the point. The point is... Jane Costello is a talented writer and I loved her book, All The Single Ladies, I just want to bring it everywhere I go and shove it at people's noses and tell them this book is amazing and I read it and loved it and they haven't. But that would be terribly uncivilised and we wouldn't want that, would we?
Since S&S UK didn't have anything for me at that time, I requested All The Single Ladies because since I was on national service from January till March, I missed the publication of this lovely book, so I was targeting the paperback release, take this: Jane's book are so good, S&S decided to publish All The Single Ladies in hardback! And then, the drama started - it arrived in my mailbox. I wanted to start on it straight after clearing my reviews which were due, but lovely Alice sent me a large paperback, so it wasn't very convenient carrying a big book of amazing words around in school. So I started when the holidays started and finished it, just like *snaps finger* that!
All The Single Ladies is about Samantha Brooks, Sam, a really lovable and sweet woman in her late twenties, with a big heart and your average girl-next-door. I loved how Jane expressed her thoughts through Sam, from dealing with the heartbreak and helping her friends to being torn between the men she loves. I'd kill to have a friend like her, but luckily I have one! Sam carried the book really well, as the book is written from her perspective and it reflects how Jane reciprocates the situations in the book through Sam.
The characters in the book were to die for with the most fitting and lovable cast of amazing people. Sam's best friends - Ellie and Jen were such a thrill to read about. Although the book revolves around Sam's life but there are a few sub-plots, for example, Ellie's drinking problem and Jen's ability to pull men but not land them. This just shows how close Jane Costello is to Sophie Kinsella. (Yes, Jane. It's a compliment and please stop smiling and keep reading on). The blokes in the story really blended well in the story, from Jamie, the independent rocker/traveller ex-boyfriend of Sam to Ben the sweet, handsome and too-nice vet whose smile and biceps caught Sam's eye to the sleazy, needy and pathetic men from the dating website.
The flow of the story was sublime - what do you expect from a best-selling author-cum-contender to Sophie Kinsella? It worked really well with the plot and this delectable novel kept me up late night just to race to the ending, whether Sam would choose Jamie or Ben. I really loved Jane's writing style, it's similar to Paige Toon and Sophie Kinsella's, but with her own uniqueness to it, and bodes well with the narration of the story as it fits well as Sam.
Do you know the feeling you get when you discover a gem in the form of a book? That you'd care for it and treasure it and hope to read it again and again as the story doesn't bore you and the idea of the book makes the butterflies in your stomach flip and the warm nostalgic memories of reading it burst in you? Well, those are the feelings I get when I think about All The Single Ladies now. Before, it was always about good chick lit and the gorgeous cover for me, but now, however shallow I am, I loved this nugget of chick lit, presented to me by Jane Costello.
I am literally on tenterhooks, waiting for Jane's next one, The Big 3-Oh! which will be out in April 2013. Argh, the wait. In the meantime, I'll hunt around for her previous books. All The Single Ladies is for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Paige Toon and Lindsey Kelk, well it's for anyone who'll love chick lit and romantic comedies.
Rating : 5/5
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