Ruby is starting over again after divorcing her cheating husband and quitting her boring council job to move to Milton Keynes. She works in a pub with her Gary Barlow-besotted best friend, Charlie, and is ready to embrace some new adventures. That's how she finds herself learning to scuba-dive with instructor Joe. She would love to get to know him better but he soon makes it clear that, as a single dad, he has to put his daughters first. Meanwhile Ruby also has caught the eye of the pub owner's son, Mason, a known womaniser.
With short chapters, it was an easy read to drop in and out of. I really enjoyed Ruby's narration and voice but can't say I liked the love triangle or why she thought it was okay to flit back and forth between the two guys. Some of the best bits were when Ruby was hanging out with Charlie at the various Take That events (the book's title comes from one of the band's earliest hits).
Carole Matthews kicks off the new year with a new novel, Million Love Songs, about starting over. The summary says: "After splitting up with her cheating ex-husband, Ruby Brown is ready for a change. She's single again for the first time in years and she's going to dive into this brave new world with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. The last thing she's looking for is another serious relationship.
Mason Soames represents everything Ruby wants right now: he's charming, handsome, and perfect for some no-strings-attached fun, and yet Ruby can't help feel that something is missing. Joe Edwards on the other hand is also lovely and handsome but he comes with the sort of baggage Ruby wants to avoid: an annoyingly attractive ex-wife and two teenage children.
Ruby soon has some very tough decisions to make. Is she ready for a relationship of any kind, and what type of life does she really want? Because while Ruby may think she knows what she wants, is that what she needs to be truly happy?" Million Love Songs is out in January 2018.