Book Review: Truly Madly Greekly, by Mandy Baggot

Sun, sea and a sexy stranger – a whole lot of fun just got a lot more complicated.

Capable, confident and career-driven, Ellen had her dream job and a marriage proposal from boyfriend Ross. Life was good, her future set. Until it wasn’t and everything fell apart…

Whisked off to the beautiful island of Corfu to plan her sister Lacey’s big, fat, Greek wedding, Ellen is hoping some time out will help clear her head and heal her heart. But letting go of her past is not going to be easy.

With Lacey in full on Bridezilla mode, Ellen is soon distracted from her own problems. And when the all-inclusive treats on offer at hotel Blue Vue include one gorgeous, brooding Adonis – Yan – Ellen finds him difficult to resist.

But Ellen isn’t looking for love or lust, or anything involving too much ouzo…or is she?

***

Huge hugs and kisses to Mandy and Bookouture for providing me with a review copy. I had been looking forward to this one for a very long time, and could not wait to get my hands on it. If anything, my only concern was that I would have built it up too much in my head, but that was certainly not an issue.

Ellen and Lacey are about as different as sisters can get. Ellen is reserved, stressed and generally pretty uptight as she heads out to Corfu to arrange her sister’s wedding. She’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, with a secret so big it’s threatening to topple her over. Lacey couldn’t be more happy and carefree. Sure, she has all of the wedding things to organise, but she’s looking for some fun and relaxation in the sun while she’s out there. Pretty, young and confident, Lacey’s never been one to worry too much about anything.

Ellen just wants stay low key, keep her mind off of her troubles back home and get through the wedding plans without feeling too embarrassed that her younger sister has her life so much more under wraps than she does. However, when she bumps into (the delicious, Bulgarian) Yan as soon as she gets to the hotel, her plans to stay low key begin to fall apart. Try as she may she can’t ignore him or how much she’s drawn to him. But with Lacey needing Ellens every attention as always – not to mention the fact she’s on a holiday far from home – it couldn’t possibly be a good idea to let herself fall for him, could it?

I truly, madly loved this book. Let’s start from the obvious because I can’t hold off any longer: Yan. Oh, sweet Jesus, Yan. What a scrumptious, brooding, complicated, sweet, gorgeous and lovely man my Yan is. (Yes, my Yan.) I love that Mandy has told the story from both Yan and Ellen’s point of view, so we truly got to know the hero in the book too, and I love what a multi-dimensional character he was. He too has issues he’s dealing with, both there in Corfu and back at home, and isn’t sure of what to do. I found this a really refreshing insight into the characters.

I also loved the contrast between Lacey and Ellen. Both had flaws and both had perks, though I spent most of the book wanting to give Lacey a not-too-subtle slap to sort her out, I also felt Ellen was a bit of a push over and needed to move on and stand up for herself, but that’s part of the fun of the story – seeing if they can overcome these issues.

Mandy also made Corfu sound like heaven, and although I only have slightly vague memories from a holiday there when I was a child, I remember it being beautiful, and Truly Madly Greeky instantly transported me right back there. It’s a perfect summer read for when you’re lying in the sun (preferably near your own Adonis!) or just dreaming of it, this book gave me everything I could ask for from a summery chick lit book. A must read for Summer 2015.

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