Pink Champagne and Apple Juice by Anne Brooke

I just knew I was going to love this book even before reading it.  Why?  I’ve met Anne, the writer of this book through MySpace and she writes some really funny articles in her blog section.  

When I saw that she had just brought out this book, I knew I had to get a copy and I wasn’t disappointed.  My measure of a good read is how fast I get through it.  By that, if I’ve read it within a few days, it was because I couldn’t put it down.  Well, I’d read this book cover to cover in two days!

So why was it so good?  It has a brilliant mixture of humour, characters and a very different storyline. I was able to visualise all the characters, even down to how the buildings would look. So I’d better not be disappointed when they make it into a film!!

The storyline is about Angie who flees from her very loving home to make her mark in the world.  She looks up her Uncle John who she hasn’t seen for many years and turns up unannounced.

Maybe Angie should have had some hints that all would not be as it seems, when she asks for directions and is met with ‘you want where?’.  Her first meeting with Uncle John is a memorable one and the story of why Uncle John has not been around for years unfolds with interesting reasons. 

Mixed in with this are the people who work for Uncle John and the entangled love interests.

To find out why you’ll just have to read the book.   If you want a taster then you can read the first chapter by clicking here. You’ll be hooked.

 www.annebrooke.com

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Merry Christmas

I can’t believe Christmas is next week.  I find wrapping presents such a chore now, maybe it’s just years of doing it, or maybe it’s because lack of time means getting them wrapped as quickly as possible.

I still have that childlike want for a perfect Christmas day.  That must stem from my own childhood, the anticipation, not knowing what presents we were going to get, the Dandy and Beano Annuals, which my own children still read.  We used to have a coal fire that my mom would bank up the night before to make sure it was still glowing enough in the morning to carry on burning. 

I stay up late on Christmas Eve to make sure the living room is ready for Santa.  In our house Santa has normally decorated around the house even more than before.  One year this happened after my friend’s dad had decorated our hall, stairs and landing for us.  My youngest son woke up the next morning and said Brian had been round and done it! 

I so love children’s innocence. When do we grow up and become cynical about life, or is that just me?  Maybe that’s why I love Christmas day so much.  It’s the day for forgetting everything else and putting family first.  No rushing around (apart from in the kitchen), no shops open and knowing that you only have to concentrate on trying to have the best day you can.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a magical Christmas day, however you celebrate it and a healthy and happy 2007. 

Here’s to us all.

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