Book Review: Love, Lies and Lemon Cake, by Sue Watson

A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet comedy about taking your life back before it’s too late.

A big thank you to the lovely Bookouture for providing me with a review copy via NetGalley.

“Faye Dobson has lost her sparkle. Living on film star fantasies and vague memories of a marriage that once was, she can’t help feeling that life is passing her by. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi fountain and having sex under the stars. But the wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza.

So when Faye meets Dan the gorgeous Australian surfer guy working in the local deli she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world. He is blonde, tanned, ten years younger and bakes the most amazing lemon cake. Unlike her husband Dan actually listens to Faye, his smile makes her feel fizzy inside, and when he smiles… Oh. My. God.

But is Faye being silly? What would Dan see in someone like her? Even if he did have feelings for her, could she give everything up to be with him? ”

I don’t think there was a thing about this book I didn’t love, so I’m going to have to be careful not to ramble on for this review. (Forgive me in advance if I do!)

Firstly, look at that cover. The second I saw it on NetGalley, I hit that request button as fast as physically possible, then crossed my fingers till it showed its pretty self on my shelf, beckoning to be read. It is just lovely.

My Stepmum happened to be reading this before I managed to get it, and her words were that it was ‘the first time I’ve laughed out loud at a book since the last Shopaholic.’ Now, her and I have been sharing books for a long, long time. She’s pretty much the only person I dare let read my own precious paperbacks, and I highly value her opinions – but nonetheless, that’s some pretty big shoes to fill, so I still found myself taking it with a pinch of salt. I really shouldn’t have doubted her though, because I howled – literally howled – with laughter throughout this book. The Mr had to actually check I was okay a few times, after I was nearly choking on my drink/spitting it out across the room in a fit of giggles. It. Was. Fantastic. He actually made me read out and explain a few bits to him because he wanted in on the fun, then we’d both sit there giggling about it (until I sent him away, because honestly, it’s rude to interrupt my reading!!)

Faye is just a wonderful main character. She’s a devoted mother and a neglected wife, but more than that she’s just a wonderful, loveable woman. She has absolutely no idea when to stop talking, in fact, the more nervous or awkward she gets, the more she blabbers on. I found myself begging her out loud to shut her mouth, and physically cringing when she didn’t, but oh, how my heart warmed to her. Her attempts to get a reaction out of her husband, Craig, were also simply brilliant.

Faye feels trapped in a life she never really wanted, with all her hopes and dreams tucked away in her pink rucksack from twenty odd years ago, leaving her fantasizing about Ryan Gosling, sunny beaches and New York rooftops. Now that their daughter, Emma, has left for university, there’s nothing to disguise the fact that Faye and Craig are living empty lives in a loveless marriage – merely residing in the same household, and you can’t help but feel for her.

Then comes Dan. Oh, Dan, Dan, Dan… I’ve long since passed the stage of feeling embarrassed about book crushes, but damn, did I fall for Dan. Sexy, Aussie dreamer with a lust for life (and maybe even for Faye?), he’s one of the finest men Chick Lit has to offer! Faye finds herself captivated by his zest for life and lemon cake (not to mention his beachy, blond hair, sparkling eyes and muscular arms…) and starts to wonder if maybe it’s not too late for her to live life the way she’s always wanted to after all.

Overall, it’s a delightful and hilarious story about taking control of your own life and following your dreams, that left me hugging my kindle to my chest with that warm, fuzzy feeling inside once I’d finished. I absolutely urge all chick lit lovers to read it at their earliest convenience.

Five big, gorgeous, whole-hearted stars to this wonderful book!

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