Books | L'Amour Actually by Melanie Jones (+Giveaway)

Bonjour je m'appelle Chloe. That's about as much French as I can muster up at the moment without the aid of google translate but if anything's going to encourage me to brush up on my French skills and head on over the  English Channel, L'Amour Actually by Melanie Jones will. 
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This little beauty of a novel follows Melanie Jones - a twenty something Londoner who's much more Louboutins than wellies - as she packs up her things and totters off to the south-west of France to build herself a new life in the country. With a minimal understanding of the French language and not a familiar face in sight, the move is obviously not going to go swimmingly.

L'Amour Actually is a very witty Bridget Jones-esque tale that would be right up your street if you're a fellow chick-lit lover. It's the perfect blend of suspense, romance and humour, and is full to the brim of wonderfully painted charming supporting characters ranging from hunky French twin farmers (ooh la la) to a rather bonkers celebrity new best pal and enough larger than life expats to last a lifetime.

Right from the word go I was hooked on poor old Melanie's mishaps on her little French adventure. I found myself forever cringing for her when incidents such as completely ripping her skirt in front of an attractive lad took place and don't even get me started on that darn cat.

The story did have some deep empowering elements to it. A focus was put on the way that sometimes a change in scenery can change you for the better and this was highlighted through a visit by one of Melanie's London pals. The arrival of a character who effectively represented Mel pre-French adventure really juxtaposes the women she had become (Apologies for the deep analysis; this is what A Level Literature does to you).

Melanie - and yes, it did take me the whole novel to realise that the protagonist is the namesake of the author - has a gorgeous writing style that leaves you feeling more like you're catching up with an old friend than reading a work of fiction. 

Oh I do hope we will be able to enjoy more of the misadventures of Melanie Jones!

L’Amour Actually has been selected to be an Amazon Deal of the Month on Kindle, which means that all you Kindle readers out there can get your hands on it for a discounted price. This ends on 6th February, so if there's ever a time to get your nose into this book, now is most definitely it.

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I'm very lucky to be able to work in collaboration with Melanie to arrange a fabulous giveaway for you. If reading my little review has made you keen to get your hands on the novel, now's your chance. Not only can you win yourself a copy of the book, but it will also be signed by Melanie.

Rules:
1. The giveaway will run from Monday 19th January 2015 until midnight on Monday 9th February 2015.
2. This giveaway is only open to residents of the UK.
3. There will only be one winner.
4. I will contact the winner directly via email within 24 hours of the contest ending. They will then have 48 hours to get back to me before a new winner will be chosen.
5. Entrants must be 16 or over, or have a parent/guardians permission as you will need to send me your address if you win.
6. All entries will be moderated and false entries and entries from competition accounts will not be counted.



Catch up on the rest of this month's posts

6 comments:

  1. I recommend anything by Cecilia Ahern! also A vintage affair is an amazing book!

    Gemma xx

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    1. Cecilia Ahern is one author I'm yet to read anything by, I'll definitely have to give her a try x

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  2. I would recommend The great gatsby for a classic and modern books would have to be anything by Tasmina Perry! :)

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    1. I'm studying the Great Gatsby for my AS Level English Lit - it's such a good book! x

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  3. I am actually reading tuesdays child at the minute its very intrigueing, its something i wouldnt normally read , usually i enjoy a biography of a survivers tale but this is entriguing

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  4. This sounds like a really interesting read as I'm a big fan of Sophie Kinsella so sounds like it'd be something very similar :)

    I actually haven’t tried Clarin’s makeup range yet - no idea why as I always hear such good things! Rosewood looks lovely, so tempted to give this a shot :)

    Charlee XO | CharmedCharlee

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