It has been a damp and miserably disappointing summer so far hasn’t it? Well, to help dispel the clouds and bringing a welcome burst of sunshine into our lives is the latest book from the ever brilliant, always bright and wonderfully warm Kristen Bailey.
NetGalley very kindly granted me an early digital review copy of “Text Book Romance”. In exchange, all they wanted was my honest review.
And, following a brief bio of Kristen and, after a taster for her new book, you will find my musings on her latest book down below.
A link to where you can purchase your very own copy of “Text Book Romance” is given after my review.
The author – Kristen Bailey:
Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide.
Her first two novels, “Souper Mum“ and “Second Helpings” were published in 2016.
In 2019, Kristen was long listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize. She writes women’s fiction and hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love and family.
You can find out more about Kristen at her website: www.kristenbaileywrites.com
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The taster – “Text Book Romance”:
When maths teacher Zoe Swift meets the irresistibly funny and charming Jack Damon at her friends’ wedding, sparks fly faster than you can say “the square root of sixty-nine.”
And when Jack turns up at her school, newly recruited as a supply teacher, she can’t ignore the intense effect he has on her when their paths cross in the corridors. But Zoe is still reeling from her husband’s recent jaw-dropping betrayal and adjusting to life as a single mum to two teenage kids. She’s not sure if she’s ready to open her heart to a fling with a younger man.
As Zoe and Jack’s connection grows deeper, their undeniable chemistry and Jack’s steadfast support help Zoe rediscover the good things in life: her love of a good dance, the soothing power of takeout, the secret thrill of receiving a well-timed chicken emoji and the wonder of multiple orgasms…
But with complicated family dynamics and co-parenting with her ex to manage, a sizeable age gap, and Jack’s uncertainties about his future to factor in, she’s about to find out that love isn’t always a simple equation.
Can Zoe accept this gift from the universe and take a chance on a far-from-textbook romance?
Get ready to laugh, cry and fall head-over-heels with this emotional and uplifting romantic comedy about healing after heartbreak. An unmissable read for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O’Leary, Sex Education and Teachers.
The review:
“Text Book Romance” by Kristen Bailey
“I am not crushing, leave me alone!”
So declares Jack, one of the two central characters in the above titled romcom, in response to the gentle ribbing of his housemates.
I find myself being very much like Jack, except I’m old and grey and he isn’t. Also, we differ because the author describes Jack as having abs and looking good naked. We are, however, similar because we are both crushing on the same woman, Zoe Swift. This sweet, sensuous, sad femme fatale has me absolutely smitten too. However, unlike Jack, I am his Zoe and Zoe is my Jack. Agewise…if you get me?
(That line made sense to me when I thought to write it.)
Why do I love Zoe so?Why has she entirely captured my aged and jaded heart?
Well, that is down purely to the exceptional manner in which Kristen Bailey pens such beautiful characters. Ms. B’s creations rise effortlessly from the page to come alive in the reader’s mind; each one delightfully formed, full of vibrancy, brimming with passion and exuding the same fears and nursing the same doubts that beset us, her readers. Even the minor players in her books – the ones that help to propel the plot and who provide delicious background to the sumptious main course – are similarly well-crafted. Ms. Bailey’s writing seems effortless – although I know it won’t have been, for writing is never easy – and the reader is swept along, content at simply having to turn the page and enjoy the ride.
So, to Zoe Swift, the object of my crush. She is a woman whose confidence and sense of being is shattered when she discovers her husband’s infidelity. Zoe loses a little – actually, a lot – of herself as a result of this betrayal. She feels lost and broken, uncertain of herself and fearful for her children as they face the future as a shattered family unit.
My heart went out to Zoe and I couldn’t help but fall for her. This was made incredibly easy by Ms. Bailey’s portrayal of Zoe as a strikingly beautiful and elegant woman. Zoe is passionate and warm, funny and comic, loyal and fierce, vivacious yet guarded. Sadly, Zoe does not see any of this in herself. She is vulnerable, bruised and hurting, and feels adrift as her world has been sent spinning wildly out of control. The author imbues Zoe with worries and insecurities that I suspect we all feel at some stage in our lives; Can I trust again? Why wasn’t I enough? Am I worthy of love? Do I deserve happiness? How could anyone ever find me attractive?
It will come as very little surprise to anyone who has read my earlier reviews of Ms. B’s works to learn that I utterly adored this book. (If you have not read my reviews, then go take a look…..Go on. Do it now! (My site could really – and I mean, really – do with the traffic.)) This past weekend, I found myself at Bradford Literature Festival and, while munching on a lunchtime plate of gammon, egg and chips at a pub whose chain has cutlery within in their group name, my Kindle was propped in front of me and I was completely lost within the words of “Text Book Romance”. I was oblivious to the noise and clamour of the other diners and drinkers as I enjoyed the tale of Zoe and Jack amid the ever expanding Bailey-verse in which treasured characters from earlier books make cameo appearences. In this case, Ed and Mia from “Sex Ed” make a welcome return, as does Beth from the earlier – and much-loved by this particular reviewer – Callaghan Girls series. It is always a delight when much-loved favourites unexpectedly pop-up.
Then, later that same night, I was up until almost 2am reading to the conclusion of this latest treat from the accomplished pen of Ms. Bailey.
This book is entertaining, romantic and quite lovely. Some of the “bawdyness” of her earlier Callaghan Girls novels is absent – although, thankfully, Ms. B retains her trademark, and really rather excellent, use of fruity language – but this, as explained in her notes at the end of the book, is a result of Kristen’s personal and familial travails in recent months. Quite how she managed to write such comic lines at a low-ebb is astonishing.
This is just one reason why I love her work so much and, I hope, you will too.
Gavin Dimmock. Writer. 