Andrea from Love is said this about my novel, The Happy Endings Book Club:
*ARC courtesy of Momentum Books on Netgalley.*
I LOVED this book! Jane Tara pulled me in right away, with her amazingly different characters. I read it in less then a day, because I couldn’t put it down! I felt like you got to know some better then others, but I still felt connected to them all. Your still pulling for them all to get their happy ending. This book made me laugh out loud, (a few times) & really made me think. Which is something I don’t think you find in many books. I truly enjoyed it & will differently be reading more Jane Tara books in the future!
I’m not sure when I started disappearing. One minute I was clearly visible, with the confidence of a woman who knows that. The next… something had shifted. I felt invisible. More than that… I quickly expected that others wouldn’t see me either. They didn’t. Heads failed to turn. I was often overlooked in a queue. But it was more than that. Suddenly my quirky collection of vintage clothing seemed ridiculous. I would enter certain restaurants or bars and feel like a dinosaur. Women around me were getting work on their face. For some it is subtle, but others look ridiculous. Surely that isn’t the alternative to my wrinkles? It was an internal shift as well, not just physical. At a point in my life when I really knew myself, I wasn’t sure what to do with that hard earned wisdom. It wasn’t valued. Youth is celebrated, embraced, feted. Women my age often feel… invisible. Welcome to womanhood in the forties. Not everyone feels invisible, but many do. I know. I’ve discussed this with countless women: friends, acquaintances, and strangers at parties. It’s something I experienced myself, with mounting dismay, until earlier this year I was handed a gift:
This is a delight of a book consisting of a number of loosely linked stories about important moments in the lives of several women who have an issue to resolve – as you can guess from the title, all the stories have happy endings although they are not all what you might imagine.
Despite the title, books and a book club play no part in the stories – it is merely an artificial device to join the stories. The only time that the book club meets is right at the end, in a rather cheesy couple of paragraphs designed to tie up all the loose ends.
All the stories are individually told but some are told in installments, interspersed with other, shorter, episodes. The author’s premise is that these women all need to change something in their lives, often their perception of things, and that a small change will make a huge difference. Each story is touching and often amusing. Most of them are about very small things in people’s lives but they touch on big issues such as aging, bereavement, forgiveness, abandonment and abuse. Some of them have a mystical, whimsical tone (there are fairies here) but it is very well done and creates a fairy tale air about the book. In at least one of the stories there is some detailed description of sex so this is not just about romance in the abstract – I thought that it didn’t go too far.
I was hooked on these stories and wanted to see these ordinary women experience something new in their lives. I identified with them and rejoiced when they got that happy ending. This is feel-good writing at its best. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley but I shall seek out future writing by this author. I also (ironically considering the title) highly recommend this book for a book club choice as it is light reading but there would be lots to discuss about each story and what makes the happy ending.
The first review for THE HAPPY ENDINGS BOOK CLUB is in … and it’s great! Thanks to Nightly Reading for taking the time to review my book.
“How do you see the world? Happy endings come not through events but through a shift in perception.”I absolutely loved this book. Jane Tara brings us seven wonderful women, sorting through endings in search of new beginnings – some directly, some indirectly. A few of the characters are finding new beginnings to end happily ever after. This is such a feel good story with a great message of perception. Humorous, touching, just a joy to read. The characters are endearing and each vignette warms your heart. I know there will be at least one character you will be able to relate to, for me each woman in the story I felt a connection with. This book just warmed my heart, I laughed out loud and teared up but one thing is certain I sure felt warm and fuzzy after reading this little gem.
I will be looking for more writings from Jane Tara, great story, very uplifting, happy reading indeed, downright magical. Loved, loved, loved The Happy Endings Book Club.
Momentum Books provided a copy in exchange for an honest review
This Christmas, the women of the Happy Endings Book Club are about to uncover a world of love and magic as they discover how to have their own happy ending … or beginning, as they’re often the same thing.
Once a month, seven very different women come together to discuss books. They all love a happy ending, but have lost sight of how to get their own. Paige misses glimpsing the magic in the world. Sadie doesn’t see the beauty inside people. Amanda wonders what she ever saw in her ex husband. Tilda literally can’t see herself. Michi can’t bear looking at her family, while Clementine is blind to what’s right in front of her. And Eva looks for romance in all the wrong places.
But things are about to change …
Meet the women of the Happy Endings Book Club as they celebrate Christmas, and themselves, in London, Paris, Vienna, New York, Sydney … and in love.
I love nothing more (apart from my kids, chocolate etc) than setting out on a journey. This time it was India… with a few days in Kuala Lumpur too. This was a work trip, for my children’s publishing company, Itchee Feet. But I travel with my business partner … who happens to be my life partner and my travel soulmate … so business is always pleasure, and travelling is always fun.
The problem with it being so much fun is I’m truly in the moment while I’m travelling. I find it difficult to stop and blog about what I’m seeing. I’d rather continue seeing it.
I did pause to do some writing in a lovely town in Rajasthan called Bundi. I came up with a whole new series of books there. I can’t wait to get started on them. But the rest of the time, I just experienced the place. I’m still processing Delhi. Not sure I liked it much, although I loved the small part of Rajasthan I saw.
I’ll share some of my experiences with you soon. In the meantime, I’m concentrating on the release of my next novel, The Happy Endings Book Club, out December 1st.
I’m in Kuala Lumpur at the moment, staying at this delightful boutique hotel called the Anggun. When I travel with my guy, I search for places with character. And this always makes him laugh… but places with a rooftop bar. I love nothing more than kicking back with my guy and a beer, looking over a new destination from some quirky rooftop bar or restaurant. It’s my idea of bliss.
The Anggun is a wonderful hotel. Spotlessly clean, gorgeous details, frriendly staaff, and in a great area. The room we’re in (below) is small but lovely and surprisingly quiet. Now that I’ve found it, I can’t imagine staying anywhere else in KL. Scored here.
Anyone who has read my novel Trouble Brewing will know that I like a bit of travel with my romance. In fact, there’s nothing more romantic than exploring a new place with a lover. Or romancing yourself and setting out on the road alone. And when you’re unable to travel, a good film will take you there. Here are a few films to travel with, without leaving home.
The journey of Celine and Jesse.
The “Before” movies (Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight)
For travel romance you simply can’t do better than this wonderful trilogy. In the first instalment, Before Sunrise, American Jessie meets French Celine on a train in Europe. They get off the train together and spend one romantic night together in Vienna. As they part, they promise to meet again in six months … but do they?
Fans of the film had to wait nine long years to find out. Before Sunset takes place in Paris, where the characters are older, more cynical, and still inexplicably drawn to each other. They spend one afternoon walking and talking the streets of Paris. As the credits roll, we‘re left wondering, “Do they stay together?”
Fast-forward another nine-years to the third instalment, Before Midnight. This time their relationship is played out against the spectacular backdrop of the Greek Peloponnese peninsula. This is travel romance at its most sublime: great acting, writing and directing, excellent chemistry between the stars … and each setting used to perfection.
Lost in Translation
I lived in Tokyo for years and this beautiful film captures the city perfectly. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an aging movie star who’s in Japan to shoot a whiskey commercial. (I was in a bunch of Japanese TV commercials and the scenes with Murray on set are hilarious and absolutely realistic.)
Scarlett Johansson plays Charlotte, the disillusioned wife of a self-absorbed photographer on assignment in Tokyo. Both Charlotte and Bob are holed up in the Hyatt (life sucks for them) and meet in the bar. They strike up an unusual friendship, which is explored with grace and restraint. Given another director at the helm and the film would’ve had them falling into bed together and me heading for a bucket. But director Sophia Coppola truly understands the unique connection two strangers can feel for each another in a strange land. Lost in Translation is like taking time out in Tokyo.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
I’m off to India in a month, so recently revisited the Marigold. It’s set in Jaipur (yep, going there) where a bunch of “older” Brits arrive to take up residence in a retiree hotel. They arrive to find the hotel looking nothing like it did in the brochure. Oh no! What happens next is movie filler… then most of them fall in love with India. The end.
Okay, so the plot is a little predictable, but it’s a stellar cast, with Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson. I am always excited to see good roles for older actors, especially those with facial expressions and wrinkles. Throw in a colourful, crazy Rajasthani backdrop, and this is a definite travel romance, feel good film.
Cairo Time
Apparently I’m on of the very few people who enjoyed this lovely film. Reviews weren’t great, but Cairo Time did for me what good travel romance films are meant to do—it transported me to another place and made me yearn to be there.
Juliette, played by the awesome Patricia Clarkson, is an American magazine editor who arrives in Cairo to spend time with her husband, a diplomat. However he’s held up elsewhere and has organised for his former employee and friend, Tareq to show Juliette around. And it doesn’t take Juliette long to realise she doesn’t miss her husband, and instead enjoys his friend’s company a little too much.
There are shades of Lost in Translation here. The director takes her time. The characters don’t give into their desire. Instead the attraction is subtly played and the focus remains on the city it unfolds in, this time Cairo, which is beautifully shot. As the credits rolled, I was booking a ticket …
The Way
While not technically a romance, I believe a good travel romance film can be when the protagonist undergoes a personal transformation—when they romance themselves.
The Way is the story of a rather conservative father (Martin Sheen) who goes to France to collect the body of his free-spirited son who has been found dead on the French side of the Pyrenees of the El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James). After the heart wrenching viewing of his son’s body, (Sheen’s real-life son Emilio Estevez, who directed the film, was in the body bag) he makes the uncharacteristically spontaneous decision to walk the Camino for his son, who didn’t make it far, and scatter his ashes along the way. He sets off, determined to complete the task as quickly as possible, but along ‘the way” meets a ragtag group of characters who help him slow down and enjoy the journey, and in the process truly honour his son, as well as himself.
It’s a wonderful film for travellers, and if you haven’t already walked the Camino then you’ll probably add it to your list. The Way is a beautiful reminder to treasure life and embrace the journey. As the movie poster logline reminds you, don’t choose your life … live it.
Honourable mentions:
Under the Tuscan Sun: Buying an Italian farmhouse and starting a new life? One can dream.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Glamour, romance and scamming people on the French Riviera. This classic film makes it look fun.
Mama Mia: A gorgeous Greek island and ABBA songs. Does it get any better than this?
Casino Royale: The sexiest Bond in years zips from glamorous location to fabulous destination, including lots of places starting with M, like Madagascar, Miami and Montenegro.
A Room With a View: A young English woman spends time in Florence. Florence. Yes. Enough said.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona: There are all sorts of complicated relationships in this Woody Allen gem, but watching Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz on screen together with a Barcelona backdrop is simply sexy.
Midnight in Paris: Another Woody Allen travelogue, this time with Paris, past and present as the setting.
It is said that everyone has a book in them. Certainly in my experience this appears to be true. When people ask what I do for a living, and I tell them I’m a writer, most will inform me that they’ve always wanted to write a book. Some even tell me what the book is about. Most will admit that they really want to write the book … but simply don’t have time.
It’s at this point that I roll my eyes. I don’t mean to. (I apologise if I’ve done it to you.) But am I one of those blessed people who was born under a 24 hour clock while others got ripped off with only 15 hours a day? How can I find time to write when others can’t? Or is it possible that everyone has enough time to write a book?
I understand that everyone is busy. I am too. I run a business. I’m raising four boys. I also have a massive problem where I love a clean house but don’t have a cleaner … I’m thinking about making all my sons live in one room only, which will cut down on housework.
Life is a constant juggle, but I jam as much writing as possible into any spare minute I can. I write when my sons are asleep. Or when I’m waiting for my kids to finish jujitsu/swimming/drums. While other mothers chat, I sit in the corner and edit pages. I regularly stare into space as I ponder how to move forward with my plot (no doubt many people think I’ve lost the plot).
There is always time for that book if you really want it.
Do you watch TV? Turn it off. There, you have time. Spend hours on the Internet? You could be writing. Do you commute to work? I have a friend who writes all his novels on the Tokyo subway.
Naturally there are certain things I’ll never find time for, despite knowing I should. I’ll never find time to volunteer for canteen shifts at my son’s school. I’ll never find time to clean up my iPhoto, or make proper albums for my kids, or write in my diary, or read A Course in Miracles, or clean out the front shoe cupboard. But anything I’m truly passionate about, and anything I really want to achieve … well there’s always plenty of time for that!
The wonderful Book’d Out reviewed Trouble Brewing (see below). Go and check out the site, which is packed with fantastic reviews, and enter the comp to win a copy of TB.
I love the Book’d Out logo.
Trouble Brewing is an enchanting romance by Australian author, Jane Tara. Though ostensibly the second book to feature the magical Shakespeare family (the first is Forecast), it can be read as a standalone.
Calypso Shakespeare is a witch whose psychic ability allows her to brew cocktails to, amongst other things, mend broken hearts, instill confidence or encourage love to bloom. Though based in her parent’s London pub, Calypso’s wanderlust sees her traveling the world, never staying in one place very long but eventually The Winds of Change finds her and Calypso is forced to consider if she is always running to, or from, something…or someone.
Heartbreak haunts Calypso and the arrival of former fling Taran Dee in London is the impetus for her to move on, despite only just having arrived. But this man isn’t willing to let her run far, following her to Vienna and then Paris before convincing her to spend just three days with him. Calypso and Taran’s relationship is fun and sexy, the chemistry is obvious and the push and pull is believable given their individual histories.
Though primarily a lighthearted romance, Trouble Brewing has some additional depth as it explores grief, loss and love. Calypso struggles with the fate of a former love and her family faces a frightening health scare, while Calypso’s Viennese friends are plagued by their unexplained infertility and Simon faces being disowned by his family.
Trouble Brewing is enhanced by its eccentric cast made up of Calypso’s family and friends, several of which have their own stories explored in the novel. For her sister Nell, the focus is on her search for a career, while for Calypso’s unconventional best friend Megan, it is finding love unexpectedly with the wealthy and repressed Simon. I adored the Shakespeare matriarch, known as Batty.
Fun, charming and contemporary, Trouble Brewing is a lovely read ideal for those that believe in the magic of romance.
