NEW RELEASE
Love Me or Leave Me - Claudia Carroll (2014)
Chloe is no stranger to heartache, but when the opportunity arises for her to manage the Hope Street Hotel, a niche hotel where couples come to sort out their divorce in a weekend, she cannot turn it down despite the fact that it may dredge up her past again. The couples who arrive to stay for the opening weekend are a diverse and surprising bunch, and Chloe finds she may have somewhat of a challenge to keep them all in check and keep her job safe. Written in her usual light-hearted style, this book was another example of why Claudia is so good at this genre of writing. We are thrown into Chloe's life when she is at her lowest ebb, and we follow her story as she prepares for her new job as general manager of the newly opened divorce hotel. The story is also told from the point of view of three of the couples who are checking in for the opening weekend. All of the characters are well developed and as you go on the journey with them towards their divorces you continue to learn more and more about them. I found my opinions of them changed throughout the course of the novel, particularly Jo who came across as standoffish at first but as we learn more about her, my sympathy for her grew. Overall I enjoyed this book, I was intrigued by the premise of the divorce hotel and I felt it was well thought-out, with well-written characters and a good pace. (LO)
Love Me or Leave Me, by Claudia Carroll, is about the ultimate heartbreak hotel where you go to get divorced. The summary says: "Welcome to the Hope Street Hotel - where you check in married, and check out single. Two years ago Chloe Townsend was dumped at the altar and had to leave behind everything that mattered to her. Even now she's finding it hard to move forward. That is until she lands an incredible job, running a brand-new boutique hotel. Suddenly she's starting to put her life back together, and, apart from the fact that her hard-to-please new boss is breathing down her neck, things are looking good. But what goes on in the Hope Street Hotel is a far cry from anything she's ever dealt with before. This is a pioneering 'divorce hotel' designed to make every aspect of breaking up efficient and pain-free. In one single weekend, Chloe's team promises to take care of everything - legal, technical, emotional - and guests check out carefree and single. No one is better qualified than Chloe to understand what couples need when their relationship is at breaking point, but she soon finds herself having to tackle the heartbreak she's tried to bury. In particular three couples need her help - Jo and Dave, Lucy and Andrew, and Kirk and Dawn - and the opening weekend is full of revelation, trouble, memories happy and sad, facts that need facing, and some very big surprises. It's time to move on. And it soon becomes clear that some endings are, in fact, very exciting new beginnings ..." Love Me or Leave Me is out in May 2014.