Following on from Essex Girls, Jade is back in Essex after the Marbella holiday she took with Kelly and Lisa, and is happily in a relationship with the gorgeous Sam. Jade and Kelly are working on their new bikini business which promises to be a success due to it being so original. Everything is going well until evil Adele appears back in their life and starts to cause trouble wherever she goes.
I think this series of books is one you will either love or hate. I personally cannot get enough! I love the way they are written, they are so quick to engross you and have the perfect elements: humour, plot twists and loveable characters. Laura may not be a very literary author but she certainly knows how to capture an audience and not let them go until they've turned the final page.
I really enjoy the third-person narrative and how we see things from lots of characters' perspectives, it makes it a really involving and fast-paced read. My favourite character is still Jade; she's down to earth, loyal to her friends and proves that Essex girls are more than just fake eyelashes and hair. Kelly is a 'typical' blonde bimbo but I absolutely adore her little blonde moments, they provide such humour and I cheered very loudly when she got to show she actually had some serious brains in this novel. One thing Laura really executed well in this novel was Adele: the villain. She was vile and I felt so frustrated every time she did something nasty or tried to make herself look better than she was. I loved how throughout she was digging her own grave and loved how she finally got her comeuppance.
A definite winner in my opinion and a book you can take with you on holiday this year or read snuggled up in bed.
(JC)
Jade has changed a lot in the three years she has been at
university in Bath, largely to please her boyfriend Tom. Now it
seems her future is far from her hometown. But when Jade finds out Tom
has been cheating on her and enacts her revenge, there is only one
place she wants to go: back home to Essex. Jade's best friends, Kelly
and Lisa, are waiting with open arms to receive her and help mend her
heartbreak, but first things first - an Essex makeover.
With Jade
looking and increasingly feeling like her old self, when Kelly
suggests they should go away to work in Marbella in Spain for the summer, she jumps at the chance. While Jade and Kelly are living it up in a world of glamour, sun and fun, Lisa initially stays at home with her long-term boyfriend, Jake, but she too is soon caught up in the holiday spirit. When the girls return home, there are big decisions to make and all of their lives are changed for better or worse.
I found the Lisa/Jake story the most appealing, but this was the one that was given the least space. I also wanted a bit more from Jade's romance. Nevertheless, this is a fun and frivolous novel that would be great as a holiday read and there is certainly plenty of leverage for the sequel, Made in Essex. (JC)
