#BloggerDay The Wish List by Sophia Money-Coutts

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the Blogger Day and social media blast for The Wish List by Sophia Money-Coutts.

About the Author
Sophia Money-Coutts is a journalist and author who spent five years studying the British aristocracy while working as Features Director at Tatler. Prior to that she worked as a writer and an editor for the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail in London, and The National in Abu Dhabi.

She writes a column for the Sunday telegraph called Modern Manners and often appears on radio and television channels talking about important topics such as Prince Harry's wedding and the etiquette of the threesome.

The Wish List is her third novel following on from the success of her second novel What happens Now? is her second novel and her debut, The Plus One.

Follow @sophiamcoutts on Twitter, on Instagram, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit sophiamoneycoutts.com, Buy The Wish List

About the book
Be careful what you wish for……because you just might get it!

Florence Fairfax isn’t lonely. She loves her job at the little bookshop in Chelsea and her cat, Marmalade, keeps her company at night. But everything changes when her stepsister, Mia, announces that she’s engaged to her boring golf-playing boyfriend. That’s when Florence meets Irish love coach, Gwendolyn.

When Gwendolyn makes Florence write a wish list describing her perfect man, Florence refuses to take it seriously. Finding someone who likes cats, doesn’t wear pointy shoes and can overlook her ‘counting habit’? Impossible! Until, later that week, a handsome blond man asks for help in the bookshop…

But is Rory the one, or is he simply too good to be true? Florence is about to find out that her criteria for finding Mr Right aren’t as important as she thought – and that perhaps her perfect man has been right there all along…

Review
A wish list is one thing, but a wish list for the perfect man is quite another thing. It kind of sets the list creator up for failure when all of the boxes can't be ticked, and they usually can't.

Florence is kind of a modern day patchwork family Cinderella, but without the skivvy aspect and more banter than malice. Her step-mother and sisters are all really helpful when it comes to forcing their opinions, suggestions and lifestyle choices on her. Now they have decided it's time for her to find a man and to do so she needs to see an expensive life coach.

Can a wish list give the introverted bookworm with a life of decisions based on how many there are of certain things have a real chance at finding love?

I think the OCD aspect and counting rituals was an interesting idea for a character. The way Florence links everything to odd and even numbers. Life outcomes, situations and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy predictor of sorts made her character fascinating. I did feel as if it was used for certain scenes and then disappeared completely in others, which could be perceived as an inconsistency, but equally also as a way of measuring her level of anxiety in certain scenarios.

The author gives readers an escapism read. Nothing too saturated with darkness, pain and dysfunction, but rather the lighter side of life even when it gets difficult. The perfect read for those who like to be entertained and experience something lighthearted.

Buy The Wish List at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 6 Aug. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of What Happens Now and The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts.

#BlogTour What Happens Now? By Sophia Money-Coutts

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour What Happens Now? by Sophia Money-Coutts.

About the Author

Sophia Money-Coutts is a journalist and author who spent five years studying the British aristocracy while working as Features Director at Tatler. Prior to that she worked as a writer and an editor for the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail in London, and The National in Abu Dhabi.

She writes a column for the Sunday telegraph called Modern Manners and often appears on radio and television channels talking about important topics such as Prince Harry's wedding and the etiquette of the threesome.

What happens Now? is her second novel, following her debut, The Plus One, published in August 2018.

Follow @sophiamcoutts on Twitter, on Instagram, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit sophiamoneycoutts.com, Buy What happens Now?

About the book

After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she'd already found 'the one' - that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague.

So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What's the worst that can happen?

Well it's pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she's pregnant. She's single thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it's hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.

Lil's ready to do the baby-thing on her own - it can't be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he's not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn't ignoring Lil after all...

Review

I have to say that what I originally liked about the style and voice of The Plus One, the first novel by Money-Coutts, remains consistent with this book. The author has a way of mixing a brash, brutally honest voice with a dark sense of humour and a devil may care attitude. Imagine 'Knocked Up' meets 'Friends' with a dollop of British snark.

Lil ventures back into the shark infested pool of dating and meeting potential partners after she is discarded by the person she thought was the one. Instead she finds that she is his number two, something she was completely unaware of. So much for trust, happiness and loving relationships.

When she meets a handsome stranger it seems like the perfect opportunity to prove to herself that she is still desirable. One thing leads to another and in the heat of the moment two become three, which throws both Lil and Max off their game.

I enjoyed the way the author made this a conversation about pregnancy and choice without making it confrontational or veering into extreme views. It's just a woman, her thoughts and her emotional response. Alternatives are brought to the table the way they would be between friends. Again, kudos to the author for keeping this lovely, fun read in its lane.

It's a funny and at times emotional contemporary read. You can't help but fall in love with the quirky characters and their places in this story. There aren't many authors who can replicate an air of realism, as opposed to the fictional feel of a read, but Money-Coutts is one of them.

Buy What Happens Now? at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 22 August 2019. Hardback £12.99 - ebook £5.99 - Audiobook £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts.

The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts

I think the reason this book is getting a lot of hype and is so popular is the fact the author doesn't sugar-coat the reality of dating and hook-ups.

In the real world there are no unicorns, candy-floss moments or the handsome prince riding up on his white stallion as the bluebirds twitter around the singing princess.

The reality is coarse, brutal, embarrassing and full of moments best buried in the deep recesses of our minds. Sometimes finding the perfect man or the perfect man for that moment in time means snogging, or in Polly's case other extracurricular activities, a few frogs along the way.

Polly looks for her plus one in all the wrong places when the truth is he might be closer than she thinks, but she is too busy hobknobbing with the upper class to notice.

The Plus One is both funny and sad at the same time. The author captures the desires and hopes of Polly perfectly. She isn't a model or an heiress, she is just a normal working girl looking for someone who loves her for who she is, and not who he would like her to be.

It's witty, modern and often tongue-in-cheek in certain scenarios, but it is also heartfelt and full of warmth.

Buy The Plus One at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: HQStories, Harper Collins UK
Pub. date: 9 August 2018
Follow: @sophiamcoutts @HQStories