NEW RELEASE
The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me - Jimmy Rice and Laura Tait (2014)
As teenagers Holly and Alex were inseparable as best friends. They were also each others' first love, except they never really got around to telling one another and messed up the whole happy-ever-after, going their separate ways - Holly to uni and a job as a PA in London while Alex stayed in their home town to become an English teacher at their former school. They haven't been in touch for eleven years but when Alex makes a move to an inner-city London school, he finds himself in contact with Holly again. And despite the years the best friends are as tight as ever. This is a quintessential romantic comedy - although with slightly more emphasis on the comedy than the romance. Although co-written, there's never any sense of disjunction in the narrative, with a seamless flow and style throughout, and both Alex's and Holly's chapters are equally brilliant. In fact if the two authors' names weren't on the cover it would be easy to assume this was a single-author novel. And the writing itself is really natural, fun and dynamic. Whilst Alex and Holly are at the centre of the story, there are some wonderful cameos not least by Alex's best mate, Kev, Holly's friend and work colleague, Jemma, and Holly's mom. I did expect a bit more of a finale to the story and although it's fairly obvious what happens after the story ends, it would have been nice to have an epilogue just to give us a glimpse into that reality. Nevertheless this is a great read, hugely enjoyable, uplifting and feel-good that delivers in all the ways you would expect. (JC)
University friends Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice have co-written their debut novel The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me, with Tait writing the female character and Rice the male. The summary says: "Holly has learnt that life isn't about seizing the moment. She might have harboured dreams about travelling the world as a teenager, but she let go of those - just as she let go of Alex. Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a new city, and he knows that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Well, probably. Everyone remembers their first love. But what if the feelings never really went away? How do you know if it was meant to be... or never meant to happen at all? The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me is out in April 2014.