Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Book Review - Prada and Prejudice by Katie Oliver

Yep, I did promise it to you and here it is! I can tell you, I've just finished the second book in the Dating Mr Darcy series, Love and Liability and now I'm delighted to have an advance review copy of the third, Mansfield Lark, which I hope to start later today - hurrah!
For now, feast your eyes on Prada and Prejudice - what a fabulous debut novel!


 
 
Here's the blurb:-
 
He’s a man in possession of a large fortune….but is he in want of a wife?!It is a truth universally acknowledged that Natalie Dashwood loves to shop. After all, as the heiress to the renowned London department store Dashwood & James she’s been wearing designer shoes since she could walk! But a socialite’s life isn’t as perfect as you might imagine… Natalie’s spending is spiraling slightly out of control, her rock star boyfriend is engaged to someone else, and it seems the family business is in financial crisis. New high-flying business exec Rhys Gordon has been brought in to save the company from ruin, but what are his motives? And infuriatingly even a shoe-shopping spree can’t take her mind off his distracting and oh-so-charming smile…
Couture and confetti mix with scandal and intrigue in this wonderful tale of retail, romance and redemption.

And here's my review:-

Bridget Jones meets Shopaholic...and then some!
I have to say I was drawn in by the cover and not by the name. Initially I thought it might be an updated version of Pride and Prejudice and was glad to find it wasn't, as I am not a massive Austen fan. The book is light, frothy, sexy, funny as hell, and was just the escapist read I needed with a young baby interrupting me. I read it over the course of a few days at every possible opportunity. By comparison it took me 3 weeks to read the new Bridget Jones, whom I love. I was drawn to the love interest, Rhys Gordon immediately and wouldn't have minded dating him myself! Natalie was ditzy and irresponsible, born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her grandfather finally made her work for a living on the sales floor and she progresses through the department store, under the tutelage of Mr Gordon who has been brought in to save the failing dept store. Meanwhile, her rocker, ex-boyfriend, Dominic is trying to win her back, whilst simultaneously sleeping with anything that moves. Dominic really annoyed me at the beginning and I wanted to slap him, but later there are some unexpected developments which made me warm to him more, although he didn't entirely win me over. The love/hate relationship between Rhys and Natalie makes for entertaining reading and the sinister nature of her situation with a friend's husband is utterly compelling. I had to keep reading to find out if the git would get his comeuppance.
I particularly loved that there was so much action in the novel and that all the sub-plots were seamlessly intertwined. Even the peripheral characters had lengthy sections dedicated to them and I felt the novel was all the richer for it.
Refreshing debut novel. I've already read the next in the Dating Mr Darcy Series and loved it too. I can't wait to start the third one today.
It gets a resounding 5 STARS from me.

You can buy Prada and Prejudice via the following means:-
Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/OqQqFg
 
You can keep track of Katie by the following methods:-
Twitter - @katieoliver01
 

Tune in on Friday when I will be reviewing the next in the Dating Mr Darcy series, Love and Liability
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