12 Days of Christmas Books ~ Take a Look at Me Now by Miranda Dickinson ~ Review

Book Summary:

How far would you go to make a new start?

When Nell’s on-off boyfriend Aidan calls her into his office, losing her job is the last thing she expects.

Heartbroken and unemployed to boot, she makes a radical decision to blow her redundancy cheque and escape to the untested waters of San Francisco.

But is the glamour of the city too good to be true? And can Nell leave her past behind?

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About the Author:

Miranda Dickinson has always had a head full of stories. Coming from a creative family where stories and songs were always present, it was perhaps inevitable that she would end up adoring words. A songwriter for over 15 years, Miranda has successfully penned over thirty songs, delivering both live and recorded performances in a range of venues across the UK and Europe.

Miranda began writing in earnest four years ago with her first novel, Coffee at Kowalski's - a romantic comedy set in New York's Upper West Side. This was spotted on HarperCollins' site for unpublished authors, Authonomy.com at the end of 2008 and was released by Avon (part of HC) as Fairytale of New York on 12th November 2009. She has also written several short stories, scripts and novel excerpts, many of which are published on Helium.com. Miranda is also a regular contributor for www.myvillage.com writing a range of local interest articles for the Birmingham area and national film and festival reviews.

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My Review:

I. Loved. This. Book.

I wasn’t expecting to – when I started, I thought, “Oh goody...a romance. Yawn,” but I quickly realized that Take a Look at Me Now was something completely different.

The writing was excellent – the book started off at a leisurely pace and then accelerated, moving faster and faster to match the pace of Nell’s journey of self-discovery. What seemed like a simple romance novel quickly revealed itself to be so much more, with multiple layers deftly interwoven to fit together seamlessly. The author’s careful research and attention to detail is evident throughout the novel, especially in her descriptions of San Francisco from both the tourist and the local point of view. Email exchanges between Nell and Vicky were an entertaining shift in perspective. To make things even more interesting, the author collaborated with fans on Twitter and Facebook with a contest that allowed fans to name characters and suggest recipes and decor details, adding an extra layer of authenticity and originality. And of course, nothing is ever what you expect – there were enough plot twists and surprises to keep you guessing until the very last chapter!

Much more than simply, “girl loses job, takes trip, meets boy,” Take a Look at Me Now is a love story about Nell and Max, Nell and Aidan, Nell and San Francisco, and Nell and her newfound possibilities. I look forward to reading more by Miranda Dickinson.

Five out of five stars

Posted by Karyn

~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Karyn. I received a copy of the above book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and my own.*~