TITLES U and V
Titles - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T The The U V W X Y Z
Uncoupled - Lizzie Enfield (2012)
Holly is on the Brighton-to-London train when it is involved in a deadly accident in a tunnel and she is left trapped in a carriage. Not sure what has happened, and whether he is endangering his life by staying, another commuter, Daniel, holds her hand until the emergency services reach her. Holly, a radio producer, is determined to show that life goes on and soon heads back to work. But she finds that she is more comfortable talking to Daniel than her own husband, Mark, who is absorbed with his work problems and training for a marathon. Meanwhile another commuter Anne-Marie lost her husband and is just wanting to reach out to someone who might understand. Enfield is finding herself a niche for stories that focus on women whose marriages are under strain when they meet another man they connect with.
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Under My Spell - Deborah Wright (2004)
Twenty-five-year-old witch Cara takes a job as a nanny so she can move out of her overbearing mother's home. She is hired by Nick and Andie to look after their son Fred but Andie doesn't seem keen on having a nanny in the house, particularly one that her flirtatious husband likes the look of. With their marriage falling apart, and Andie considering an affair, Cara decides to break her resolution to avoid using magic and casts some spells to put things right. But of course nothing works out the way she plans - leading to lots of humorous situations. Especially since she really doesn't want Sean, the cute gardener who lives next door, to find out she's a witch.
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Under Southern Skies - Anne McCullagh Rennie (2012)
Cate Perry is a country girl whose life has been touched by tragedy. Her life is the land and cattle station where she lives with her father until she is forced to move on by the hand of fate. Whilst being adept at rounding up the cattle, she's also a talented singer and turns to these skills when she moves away from the dust and dirt of the land she loves. This also means leaving Alf, her childhood friend. Alf forges a relationship with the beautiful Marcella and Cate meets the cool drum-playing Nat and becomes the lead singer of his band. No matter how well Cate succeeds in performing, she can't seem to leave her tragic past behind. When her relationship with Nat falls apart and her voice is flailing, she returns to what she knows best, life in the country and this time in Queensland. The settings between the Northern Territory, Tamworth and Far North Queensland are beautifully detailed along with the tough life on the land. The constants in Cate's troubled life are the Cristelli family, friend Lucia, Alf and his parents. Despite the obstacles that life throws at Cate, can she achieve the one thing she really longs for before it's too late - Alf's affection? (LF)
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Undertaking Love - Kat French (2014)
Marla Jacobs operates a quaint wedding chapel, complete with Elvis or any other theme the brides can dream of. With a cupcake shop opening across the road, Marla envisages business success for her future. Little does she know, the cupcake store won't be opening... Gabriel Ryan is handsome, charismatic and a funeral director. The premise across the road from the wedding chapel is just what he needs to provide the people of the country town with a new service. Little does he know, there is a fiery redhead across the road who will not only make his heart melt, but fight to stop his doors from opening. Undertaking Love is a unique look at the cycle of life in chick lit style, with both tears and laughter. Kat French has superbly described the hardships of love and death. The storyline line is interwoven with strong friendships, star-crossed lovers, infidelity, death and marriage. (MP)
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Under the Rose - Diana Peterfreund (2007)
Picking up where Secret Society Girl left off, Amy Haskel, having unravelled the plot set on destroying the first class of female diggers, is looking forward to having put her troubles behind her. Amy's hopes are dashed when the diggirls get an email that leads them to believe they have a traitor in their society. To make things worse Amy's ex-boyfriend has a sexy new girlfriend, one of her digger brothers starts dating her roommate, and someone in Rose & Grave has a thing for Amy. This book will keep you intrigued and provide some background on Amy's fellow diggers. (AV)
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United States of Love - Sue Fortin (2013)
Anna is working a couple of jobs when she runs into the owner of a new restaurant in town, an American chef named Tex. Through a friend of his, the language specialist starts working for a relocation company, and Tex becomes her client. Meanwhile Anna's estranged husband Mark lobs on her doorstep after taking off for the US a year earlier. Although she is keen for him to reforge ties with their teenage son Luke, she doesn't want him back in her life. But it looks like Mark is determined to make waves. Told from both Anna and Tex's viewpoints, this is a fairly run-of-the-mill romance story and I didn't find any of the characters particularly convincing. For foodies expecting lots of heat from the kitchen, Tex's job doesn't play much of a part, apart from a plot thread about someone trying to sabotage his efforts.
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Unleashing Mr Darcy - Teri Wilson (2013)
Elizabeth Scott has a legitimate anger towards those with wealth and power. Her teaching career is in tatters thanks to one of these people and now she is disgraced and in need of a break. Luckily for her, a break is on the horizon. After showing her dog, Bliss, at a New Jersey dog show, Elizabeth is offered the chance to live in England and show a pack of dogs for a fellow contestant who doesn't have time to show her own dogs. Being a glorified dog nanny isn't exactly what Elizabeth had in mind for her life but it does provide the respite she needs from her overbearing mother and the scandal back in New York. What she doesn't need, however, is the persistence of billionaire Donovan Darcy, who has his mind set on getting Elizabeth to fall for him. How can a man with all the wealth in the world be any different from the man who ruined her life back home? If Elizabeth can bring herself to trust Donovan, she might just find that everyone with money and power isn't necessarily bad. This is a wonderfully written story, with Austen-era references and lovable characters. Keep an eye out for thinly veiled references to a popular British comedy and sparks flying between two unlikely people. (AS)
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(Un)Like a Virgin - Lucy-Anne Holmes (2011)
Gracie is very focused on her career as an estate agent and has a great boyfriend, Danny, who she has been dating for 10 years. Then all of a sudden, things start to fall apart. She was first in line for a promotion at work but John, aka Posh Boy, gets it instead. She discovers her mother is deep in debt and is considering accepting a payout from a construction company to dig up her father's grave to make way for a road. Next Danny decides to take up a job in Canada. With all of this drama, Gracie knows she has to take drastic measures to fix her life and figure out not only what she is going to do but also end her mother's financial worries. That's when Gracie gets an opportunity to sing for Britain Sings with her old-time friend Anton. But she hasn't sang since her father died because that is what she did with him. Can Gracie overcome her fears and win Britain Sings? This is a moving story about a woman's life being turned upside down and her trying to find a way to fix her world as well as the people around her. (CG)
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Unmasking Maya - Libby Mercer (2012)
Sarah Connelly is one of the head designers at a leading fashion house in New York. But that is before she is betrayed by an "ambitious alpha male" and embroiled in a major scandal which ruins her career. Now she is Maya Kirkwood and on the run. Arriving in San Francisco she creates an alternate reality for herself as a fabric artist. However, because she is a creative genius, she makes quite a name for herself while keeping her true identity under wraps. She is offered an opportunity to create an installation at the Silicon Valley headquarters of a new emerging IT firm, Unisco Corp, whose CEO is a smoking hot, uber ambitious nerd, Derek Whitley. Derek is himself running from ghosts of his past and that makes him as robotic as his machines. Will she be able to crack through his tough exterior? This plot follows Maya's struggle as she tries to morph herself to fit into the shoes of her displaced identity, as she makes new friends, adapts in a new place and finally learns to trust again despite the heartbreak it brings. This is a quick and fun read with humour and romance interlacing with each other in a cute way! (PD)
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Unpredictable - Eileen Cook (2008)
Sophie Kintock wants her boyfriend Doug back. When she overhears the new girlfriend, Melanie, aka Melon Tits, talk about how she visits psychics, Sophie decides she can get rid of her rival by convincing her that Doug is not her destiny. So she becomes psychic Emma Lulak, and uses sceptic Nick to help her learn all the tricks of the fortune-telling trade. When Emma's predictions help prevent a tragedy, she is offered a regular radio spot. Can she use her newfound powers to get Doug back - or does her future belong to another guy? With lots of laugh-out-loud moments from chick lit's latest loveable goofball, Unpredictable is a very promising debut. Just wish the ending was a bit less rushed and a bit more unpredictable.
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Unsticky - Sarra Manning (2009)
When Grace, a junior fashion editor on Skirt magazine, gets dumped outside Marc Jacobs on her 23rd birthday, she thought life couldn't get any worse. Then a well-dressed stranger named Vaughn whisks her away and offers her a place in the world she's always dreamed of, far from her £14,000 a year wage. Grace soon finds out there is more to her barely existing life than getting pushed around by the girls in the fashion office and her ever-growing pile of bills. But will she give up her family and friends for a shot at wealth and unexpected love? This can't-put-it-down novel is bound to make you blush on more than one occasion! Touted as Pretty Woman set in London, Manning's first attempt at adult chick lit is a definite success. (GF)
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Unsuitable Men - Pippa Wright (2012)
Rory has been dumped by her long-term boyfriend and moves in with her aunt Lydia, a former TV star, who runs a boarding house full of actors. Ticky, her oh-so-posh work colleague on Country House magazine, advises Rory that she should road-test some unsuitable men for a change and this spins into an online column. Her dates include an elderly landowner, a hormonally charged teenager and a scruffy musician. But her eye is also drawn to the totally unsuitable plumber, Jim, who is working on her aunt's house. This is a funny and light-hearted read with some quirky characters.
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Until the End of Forever - Shannon Hart (2009)
Sarah Matthews is in a rut. With a seemingly perfect life, two great kids and a husband whom she adores, she can't help feeling as if there should be more. When she gets the opportunity to spend three weeks writing in Paris, she jumps at the chance to take a break from her life to figure out what's missing. Once in Paris, she finds she misses her family and life more than she ever imagined she would and can't wait to get back to them. However, when tragedy strikes and she rushes back early to be with her husband, she realises just how much damage her sabbatical has done to her marriage and wonders whether things will ever be the way they used to be. While the story moved along quite well, it felt a bit too cliched at times, almost as if the author hoped to capture every chick lit scenario in one book. (LEK)
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Untold Story - Monica Ali (2011)
The day that Princess Diana died, I was sitting in an empty Sunday morning newsroom filling in for the foreign editor. The news wires were humming because Diana and her boyfriend had been hurt in a car crash in Paris. But when the alert announcing her death flashed on my screen, my first reaction was disbelief - did I really just read that the most famous woman of my generation had died? As the shocking news filtered out, and the newsroom started filling with people, never once did I consider the death might have been a con. But that's the premise behind Monica Ali's story - what if Princess Diana faked her death to escape the limelight? Lydia, as she is known now, is living in a small American town fittingly called Kensington. The story opens with Lydia missing the birthday party thrown for her by her new friends - and then backtracks to explain how the princess went missing, presumed dead, 10 years ago (it wasn't in a Paris car crash); who helped her escape and how she transformed her appearance. Then John, a British photographer travelling through the US, spots a woman with a pair of eyes he'd never forgot. Could it possibly be her - and what will Lydia do to ensure her secret isn't exposed? Although Ali has said her princess is "fictional", the similarities are all there - how much her sons mean to her, how much she loathed the Establishment, her instability, manipulations and self-absorption, her role as the Queen of Hearts, her flirtations with other men. Those expecting another literary novel from Ali or an insightful book into Diana may be disappointed. But with an irresistible what-if scenario, against your better judgment it does become a page-turner in the build-up to the pap and princess coming face-to-face.
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Untruly Yours - Smita Shetty (2012)
On first impression to any outsider, Natasha's world seems picture-perfect. Natasha, married to her college sweetheart, is a free-spirited soul who tries to be a perfect wife, an ideal hostess and a caring mother. But trying to be everything at once, she feels lost and that her real self is slipping away. The knockout combination of a professionally consumed husband and "Godzilla" mom-in-law push her to the brink of loneliness and frustration. So she jumps at the first chance that comes her way to escape from the monotony of her marriage to return to India, with her 11-year-old son who is clearly too impertinent for his age and a devastatingly handsome work colleague Steve in tow. However, the much-anticipated homecoming turns out to be a bittersweet journey for her. Battling between the attentions of Steve and Veer (her ex-flame and philandering flirt), Natasha finds it difficult to stay clear of trouble. And as she takes the road less travelled, she falters a lot before finding her way. The author has created a plot and cast that is entirely relatable which makes for a refreshingly honest read - it is only a short book though at 146 pages. The narration not only tickles your funny bone but is also thought-provoking. (PD)
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Un-Veiled - Eileen Rendahl (2007)
The Zimmerman twins, Ginger and Cinnamon, work together in their hairdressing salon, Do It Up. After local-girl-turned-popular-actress Courtney Day gets them to work their magic for her much-photographed wedding, the salon is inundated with women seeking "The Courtney" for their own special day. One day the groomsman for another wedding strolls into the salon and Cinnamon looks like she's seen a ghost. Could he be the mystery father of her daughter Sage? And Cinnamon is not the only person in town keeping mum about something. Ginger for one is planning to change career and leave town. In a riotous, really enjoyable tale, all the town's secrets soon come tumbling out.
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Up All Night - Carmen Reid (2005)
There are simply not enough hours in the day for Jo Randall - and this is no ordinary week. The newly divorced mother of two is a newspaper reporter whose love life is heating up thanks to a sexy younger chef, Marcus. And she's working on two big stories. She's chasing an interview with the Green Goddess, Savannah Tyler, who is expected to be the first Green MP and has been keeping her private life secret for a reason. Then's there her investigation into a potentially harmful vaccination as a whooping cough epidemic takes hold. Can she uncover the truth before it affects more families - including her own?
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Up and Out - Ariella Papa (2003)
TV producer Rebecca Cole is left without a job when a corporate takeover sees new boss Delores assume creative control of her cartoon creation, Esme. Rebecca now has two months to work out what she wants to do with her life. She moves back into her ex-boyfriend's place as she tries to find a way to afford her love of fine dining.
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Up and In - Deborah Disney (2014)
Maria wants the best for her family, enrolling her oldest daughter Kate in the exclusive Riverton school. This wins her membership to the mummy clique run by Bea, whose spoilt daughter Mirabella is always the centre of attention. But despite her husband Joe being a stockbroker, Maria and her daughter never quite measure up. Now after making a tactical blunder over hair ties, Maria is getting the cold shoulder from Bea - who really puts the B in bitch - and poor Kate bears the brunt of this social snobbery. With both mother and daughter desperately trying to fit in as the under-10 netball season gets underway, it seems unlikely they'll ever be given a sporting chance. This story showcases a world where motherhood is a competitive sport. It is one of the better 'mom lit' books I have read and I really enjoyed all the characters, in particular the overly organised Sonya, a former solicitor who makes spreadsheets about everything. Who knew a blow-by-blow account of a netball game could be so entertaining? Partly told in flashbacks to reveal how the relationship between Maria and the other mothers evolved, this is highly recommended to anyone seeking a satirical read about playground politics.
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Up Close and Personal - Leonie Fox (2010)
Three friends are in very different places in their lives. Yasmin, a stunning woman who has risen quickly in her career as a reporter, has it all - a great career, a great flat, and random men in her life that she uses only for sex. Nicole is a new mother and she loves her new life as a parent. Unfortunately her husband Conner has not taken to parenthood and has been incredibly distant since Tilly's birth. And then there is Juliet who has just fallen in love and married Dante after meeting him in Aspen. But when the newlyweds return to Juliet's home that she inherited from her late husband there is someone not happy about her moving on. This is a great - and naughty at times - story about three friends at different crossroads in their lives. (CG)
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Upside Down Inside Out - Monica McInerney (2002)
Eva Kennedy heads off to Australia to visit her friend Lainey, to decide whether she wants to take over her uncle Ambrose's delicatessen in Dublin. Successful English businessman Joseph Wheeler is in Australia for an industrial design conference, then is taking a few weeks off to travel. The pair meet but through a series of misunderstandings, Joseph thinks Eva is an Irish singer/sculpturist called Niamh, while Eva thinks he's a penniless English backpacker called Joe. What willl happen when they discover the truth about each other - and themselves?
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Us - David Nicholls (2014)
Douglas' wife, Connie, informs him in the middle of the night that she's leaving him, when their 17-year-old son Albie heads off to college. But first the family will take their planned trip to Europe together. What Connie sees as a fitting end to their marriage, Douglas hopes will be his chance to win her back. As the Grand Tour kicks off - travelling from Paris to Amsterdam and beyond - the well-developed narrative weaves into the past, revealing that Douglas has always felt out of his league with Connie - a socially awkward biochemist to her free-spirited artist - and has a strained relationship with Albie. It's a funny and moving story about an unravelling relationship built on opposing values, centred around a man cast adrift and facing a lonely future. It did lose me in the middle - sort of the way an endless tour of museums and art galleries would lose me in real life - but Nicholls' superb characterisations and wit pulled me back. But be warned, all you'll want to do for most of the book is knock some sense into Douglas and make him see Connie's a far too self-centred individual for him anyway.
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Valentine - Rebecca Farnworth (2009)
Valentine Fleming dreams of making it big as an actress but after years of rejections and bit parts, her hopes and self-esteem are beginning to fade. With a stroke of luck, she lands a part in a play alongside sexy leading man Jack Hart and although things don't get off to a great start between them, there's certainly an instant attraction and it's not long before the two of them are an item. However, with Valentine's ex-boyfriend still in the picture, along with a couple of stalker ex-girlfriends of Jack's who just can't seem to let go, it's a rocky road to love. Just as things start to look up in both her professional and personal life, Valentine learns a shocking secret that threatens to turn her world upside down. With a strong lead character, a supporting cast made up of quirky yet lovable characters and a fantastic plot this is a must-read. (KC)
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Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult (2005)
Delia Hopkins has been led to believe that she has had a charmed life. Raised by her father, Andrew, in New Hampshire, she now has a young daughter, is engaged to be married and works with her best friend, Greta, a search and rescue dog, finding missing people. While she is planning the perfect wedding to Andrew, Delia experiences flashbacks which she cannot explain. Then one day a policeman shows up at her door and arrests her father for the kidnap of a girl. That girl is Delia. The story is told from several points of view and we learn of Delia's not-so-perfect childhood. Again there is the courtroom drama that Jodi Picoult writes so well. The novel is quite hard to get into but as soon as you get your head round the plot, it becomes an engrossing read. (SG)
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Vanity - Lucy Lord (2013)
Poppy seems to have it all: new husband, fabulous TV career in New York, leaving best friend Bella jealous in London. But it doesn't take long for Poppy to realise that whilst her star is ascending, her husband is starting to spiral out of control. Natalia has wealth that means she can buy anything, except that is an escape from her past. Will she be able to face her past or keep running away from anything that could make her happy? Sam's glamour modelling secret is discovered by her fellow students at university and she finds comfort with a new group of friends who accept her no matter what. Vanity is the tale of young, beautiful media types set amongst the backdrop of New York, St Tropez, Ibiza and London. It's a fascinating insight into a world you usually don't get to see. This is the sequel to the novel Revelry, which I haven't read, and so the first few chapters are geared to recapping the contents of that book. If you haven't read Revelry it can be confusing in the beginning because there are a large number of characters whose backstory you're introduced to in very quick succession. Overall it's a good, easy beach read. (AB)
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Vanity Fare - Megan Caldwell (2012)
Molly Hagen needs a job fast. The husband who left her for a younger woman has just announced he is out of a job and all means of financial support for her and their son, Aiden, are about to come to a screeching halt. Luckily, an old friend offers her a freelance copywriting job for a new bakery, which seems to be just the ticket to help Molly get back on her feet. What she doesn't anticipate, however, is romantic complications with both Simon, the British pastry chef of the bakery, and his intense business partner, Nick. Vanity Fare is the heartwarming story of a woman finding her way back to herself and beginning to move forward with life on her own terms. While a bit predictable in spots, a couple of twists along the way help to keep the story fresh with a satisfying end. (LEK)
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Venus Guy Trap - Shannon McKelden (2010)
Haydee Miller has had a plan devised since she was 16 after her mother passed away and left her dad depressed - she was going to go to college, work hard, pass her MBA, get a great job and be married by the time she was 33. Her plan worked well in the education and work areas but not when it comes to pleasure. Haydee is turning 33 in six weeks, five days and eight-and-a-half hours and she hasn't had a proper date in 10 years when she thought she had met the love of her life but he up and left without even a good-bye. As always though, Haydee has a contingency plan in case of an emergency - if she doesn't meet her true love in time, she will settle for Patrick "Dr Vanilla" the Veterinarian. Venus has been sent to Earth by her dad, the mighty Zeus, to match-make couples as a punishment. And the Goddess of Love's latest project is Haydee who is in dire need of some love guidance. Going to work in Haydee's bookstore, Venus plans to reunite her with her one true love, Derek, an international photographer who has moved back to their hometown to set down roots. Can Venus get cracking on her fairy-godmother skills and match-make Derek and Haydee in six weeks or will she fail and see Haydee settle for second-best with Patrick? When it comes to true love, sometimes the parties just need that little extra push. (PP)
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Versace Sisters - Cate Kendall (2009)
Australian sisters Bella and Sera are both obsessed with keeping up appearances. Flight attendant Bella's pilot husband has just left her for another woman while Sera, who traded in her flight attendant uniform for family life, is compensating for a scar from a childhood accident by trying to be perfect. A cast of other characters are introduced through their Stitch 'n' Bitch knitting group. There's single mum Chantrea who doesn't want to acknowledge her heritage as a Cambodian refugee and upbeat Mallory who's about to get a nasty shock. Widower Sam is looking for some company while trying to get back on the dating scene; Jacqueline is an uptight homemaker who has a penchant for shoplifting and Joan is Sera's critical live-in mother-in-law. It's an enjoyable and surprisingly unsuperficial look into the lives of people concerned with shallow matters because of deeply ingrained issues.
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Very Valentine - Adriana Trigiani (2009)
Italian-American Valentine Roncalli has a passion for creating exquisite handmade shoes. She works with her grandmother Teodora in their family-run Angelini Shoe Company, based in Greenwich Village. But the small company isn't making money, and her brother Alfred is trying to sell the building from under them. While juggling a relationship with ambitious chef Roman, Valentine gets the chance to design a bridal shoe for a Bergdorf window competition. And a trip to Italy to source the best materials and find artistic inspiration may well inspire Valentine in other ways. Written in memory of the author's shoemaking grandfather and the first in a trilogy, the characters are as exquisitely drawn as you imagine the shoes.
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Vince and Joy - Lisa Jewell (2005)
Vince and Joy meet at a caravan park during their late teens but had to part abruptly. Over the ensuing years their paths nearly cross several times as each settles for the wrong people. Is their destiny so strong that it will pull them back together again - despite numerous missteps? This reminds me a lot of Cecelia Ahern's Where Rainbows End but the unique element is that these two romantic leads are hardly together throughout the book.
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Virgin - Radhika Sanghani (2014)
University student Ellie believes she is probably the only 21-year-old virgin out there. And it's not that she hasn't tried, she just seems to have had bad luck on that front. Without a boyfriend on the horizon - and one awful near-miss experience to her name - Ellie is determined to go out and lose it via a one-night stand. But things don't turn out as she planned. So Ellie, an aspiring writer, starts an anonymous blog with her well-experienced friend Emma talking about everything from waxing mishaps to doing it at that time of the month. This book will no doubt polarise readers. It is obviously rather crude due to its subject matter and Ellie is so obsessed with sex that, as a character, she doesn't really develop beyond that. But this no-holds-barred look at a girl coming to grips with her budding sexuality is well-written and refreshingly funny.
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Vivian Rising - Daniella Brodsky (2010)
When Vivian's grandmother dies, her world is knocked off kilter. Grams raised her, after her flaky mother took off. Then Vivian also loses her job while sitting shiva (a Jewish mourning ritual). Viv turns to an astrologer called Kavia who seems to give her the perfect advice to cope, including to avoid a train that later crashes and that she'll meet a man. That man it seems is the neighbour's son Len, who is in town to care for his ailing father. But when Kavia tells Viv that the stars predict her relationship with Len is only temporary, she has to work out which one to put her faith in. This is an often funny novel with lots of introspection as Viv comes to terms with her grief and move on with her future.
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Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop - Abby Clements (2013)
When Anna and Imogen's wonderful Grandma Vivien dies, they are distraught but take comfort in the dilapidated ice cream parlour that Vivien has left to them. The two sisters both lead busy lives and want to carry on doing what they love but they have to decide whether that is as important as keeping their grandmother's memory alive. They start renovating the ice cream shop and very quickly start to discover new things about themselves. The characters are loveable and the writing is good. This is a glorious summer read that will have you wishing you were by the English seaside with a big tub of ice cream! (LL)