Year of Living Blonde

Year of Living Blonde, Sweet Life in Seattle: Book 1, Andrea Simonne Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews Genre: Romance, A couple of days ago I finished a contemporary romance that had such potential, but just didn’t live up to it ( IMO only of course!) So when I started this I was a bit reserved, didn’t want to expect too much. It was great fun though – had me smiling and crying and that’s a type of read I love. It’s definitely one to re read. Natalie; happy in her life, working hard at her new business after supporting husband Peter in his, loves their daughter and thinks she has a great marriage. Then out of the blue Peter says he’s off, she’s not what he wants any more and he’s found someone else. She’s distraught – who wouldn’t be? He’s always felt too good for her, being so handsome and he’s belittled her in subtle ways over the years, so she has little self esteem. She’s now in her early thirties, and feels overweight, unfit and unattractive. She wallows for a bit, and then her lovely sister Lindsay and her business partner Blair slowly drag her out. Finally she agrees to their makeover after she discovers her efforts have lost her loads of weight....I loved the way her self esteem was so boosted, when she kept looking in shop windows unable to believe how different she looked. Then there’s Antony, Mr Sex on Legs, and their landlord. When he first meets Natalie things don’t go well, she’s abrasive and rude, its just after Peter left and she’s not usually like that. She’s in her “old” wardrobe of saggy, tent like clothes, with her hair tightly tied back and he kind of dismisses her as just a grumpy, rude lady. Then things change, they get thrown together more through some odd circumstances and he realises that he totally misjudged her. Her outward appearance change has given her a bit more confidence, but he can see that under that she’s uncertain, and as he gets to know her more he can see the real Natalie, not the person she first showed him. They’ve both got some trauma from past experiences, but slowly their friendship turns to more and when they do finally get together it’s explosive and Natalie realizes all that was missing from her sex life with Peter. There’s some scorching, well written sex scenes mixed in with some great humour. Of course now she’s hot, gained more confidence and with someone else, a younger, sexy man, then Peter takes another look at her, just as the first flush has run off his affair......
Its a terrific read, full of fabulous characters, I loved so much about this book: the awful Lena and the texts..the great humour - Excalibur, I guessed something like that would happen, but not in that way and it fitted the person perfectly! The way Peter assumed that as a Professor Antony was some older, slightly doddery old man, and his and Lena’s shock when they find out the truth, and of course the clever way that Andrea mixes the pathos of lost relationships, the bitterness that can pervade them with the beauty of a new romance. I loved the way Natalie’s confidence grew as she lost weight and changed her appearance. Sometimes its small outward changes that have such an effect on our inner feelings. The storyline and the way the plots played out was perfect, and it’s a book I’d highly recommend. So nice too to have an older woman and a slightly younger man Winking smile made a nice change! Stars: Five, a fabulous read, and I’ll be looking to see what else Andrea has written. ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

How do you react when your supposedly loving husband, father of your beautiful daughter suddenly announces that he finds you dumpy, frumpy and is about to turn you in for an older model – a woman who he loves and doesn’t find any love or attraction for you any more?

I don’t know about you, but our furious heroine, Natalie pelts his cheating, lying face with muffins gone too rubbery to sell – so they bounce and splat against his face and body quite nicely actually. Go, Girl!

This… this kind of a beginning to a novel tells me I’m going to love these people, this story – and was I ever right about that.

La Dolce Vita – The Sweet Life, the bakery Natalie and her friend Blair had opened a year ago had taken up a lot of her time. Natalie wasn’t going to blame the bakery for this turn of events – no that blame lay snugly at the feet of the cheating, lying excuse of a husband or well, soon to be ex-husband Peter. She would not blame anyone but him… or more to the point – the other woman, Lena.

Alright, it would be so easy for me to write a summary of Year of Living Blonde, but I will Not. But, it’s not going to be easy. I’d really strongly suggest picking up this novel and simply diving into the beginning novel is a series that I am really looking forward to following.

Natalie has a time of reacting to Peter’s demand for a divorce. She does all the things we’d do. But slowly, if you look for them, you’ll see where she is beginning to think about herself differently. Maybe even see what her friends do but what she has been blind to for so long.

Her first, official, run-in with Anthony is intense and actually funny. But the sparks, in so many ways are priceless.

Let me say this – every one of us needs women like Blair and Lindsay in our lives…needs with capital letters. And we need to be these types of women to our friends. Different styles, but the same love and affection for Natalie. They were a perfect touch and I’m hoping to read their stories in the near future.

Alright, let me wrap this up because honestly I could do an entire book report here and that’s not the purpose of a review, in my opinion.

It was exciting and yes, I even did a bit of cheering to watch Natalie’s transformation from (self-described) plain and plump. It was a joy to see her own reactions as well as everyone else’s. The chemistry between Natalie and Anthony has always been intense, for varying reasons but it just felt so good when they finally began acting on the attractions between them. To say he is swoon-worthy is an complete understatement.

And this is where I’m going to stop writing because you really need to go pick up this novel and just take some time to enjoy this story. It really is worth your time. You will fall in love with Anthony, understand Natalie and laugh, cry, get mad and feel sexy – that’s a lot to find in one book. Go, enjoy it for yourself.

*I received an e-ARC of Year of Living Blonde from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

~What you, the reader, always must remember is this simple truth. Any review is just one person’s opinion. You might feel the same or totally different. The only way to know for certain if any novel is right for you – is for you to read it. This was my opinion of this particular book.~

Wow! I expected a light typical romance story, but got so much more. Of course there is the typical jerk of an ex-husband, the other woman, and feelings of insecurity of the main gal, but this book has so much more depth to it. I like how the characters sucked me it and made me care about them. I like how I had trouble putting the book down, and seeing what they were going to do next. I like the ups and downs, and how they didn't seem as "pushed" in to fit a formula as I see in many books. And I like the idea of continuing on with Blair's book, and hope Lindsey gets one too (would love to see her and Gio). Would highly recommend this book if you like hot sexy Italian men, who are super smart yet geeky. I only wish the author had included a recipe or two, as they sound amazing!