Tweethearts

by Nicole Haddow

Jemima Starler loathes her job writing for the pregnancy magazine Placenta Monthly. To break the monotony, she writes scandalous tweets about the magazine industry as her secret online identity, Maghag. Thankfully, she also has her cute and talented housemate, Samson, to keep life interesting.

When her editor stoops to a new ethical low, Jemima's reputation is suddenly on the line. She must find a way to carve out a new career, but it's hard to focus when Samson's mixed signals are driving her crazy. And when her handsome housemate is plucked from obscurity to star on a new reality TV show, everything changes. It's time for Jemima to trust her feelings instead of believing what she sees online, but has she missed her chance?

'Plenty of laughs, new and old friendships, and lots of love!' Chick Lit Club

'I will be looking for more titles by Ms. Haddow when I am craving something tweet.' The Bookworm

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2014

About the author

Nicole Haddow is a journalist and communications professional. Her books Smashed Avocado, The Ethical Investor and Couple Goals are out now. An audio edition of Couple Goals can be found on Spotify and Audible.

Nicole lives in regional Victoria with her husband, Sam, and their fur girls, Frankie and Olive.

instagram: @nicolehaddow

Reviews

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jemima Starler loathes her job writing for the pregnancy magazine Placenta Monthly. To break the monotony, and vent some anger towards her editor, she writes scandalous tweets about the magazine and the publishing world, as a secret identity called Maghag. At least she has her adorable housemate Samson to keep her going, although the crush she has on him isn't always ideal. When the former girlfriend of a footballer, Evie, now currently a model, turns out to be pregnant, Jemima's co-worker Lauren reveals she's friends with the celebrity and that Evie is willing to give Placenta Monthly the exclusive, Jemima's editor is determined to have a scathing article. Jemima placates her with a different article, but when her Editor changes her article, stooping to a new ethical low, Jemima's reputation is on the line. She outs herself and quits her job.

Jemima needs to find a new career, while being supportive of Samson winning a place in a talent tv show. Samson's mixed signals where bad enough, when Evie gets her a job handling the social media on the talent show, she has to act like she doesn't know Samson. Jemima has to trust what she feels, and not what she's seeing online between Samson and another contestant. Will love prevail?

I'm going to say right now that this is the perfect read for upcoming Valentines Day! It's the perfect romance book, guaranteed to pick you up!

We get the story from Jemima's point of view mostly, but also briefly from Evie and Samson, and the transition was always smooth and expertly done. The flow and the pace of the book where perfect, and you where engrossed the whole way through, rooting for Jamson as I like to call them.

I loved the character of Jemima, she's exactly like me, and you can really relate to her because she's written so well and exactly like a regular woman. You have so much sympathy for her it's like she's your best friend. All of the characters had so much depth, and where well crafted. Evie shows us what it's really like for celebrities and what they have to deal with thanks to social media. Not to mention the backstage look at how talent shows work. I will never look at X-Factor the same way again when they start banging on about their "romances".

There was the right amount of romance mingled with Drama, and you can't stop reading. The plot's fairly basic, but it's so well done it's not boring or just another romance book flooding the genre.

Tweethearts really stands out from the romance genre, because it's acknowledging that nowadays Social Media like Twitter is a big part of everyone's lives, and that's not always a good thing. Things get mixed up, things come across wrong, and the book very cleverly points this out, and addresses it.

Tweethearts is a fantastic read, perfect for when you need a cheer-up or a good laugh. I laughed so much when reading this book, fighting a laugh or a smile when I was in public. It was heartwarming at some points, hilarious at other's, and then other times you joined Jemima in her frustration. I need to have Owen as my new best friend!

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Tweethearts, new to me author Nicole Haddow introduces the reader to Jemima Starler, a girl we can all relate to. She hates her job and has a massive crush on her housemate, Samson. She writes articles for pregnancy magazine Placenta Monthly and if that isn't bad enough, her boss is a tyrant and a bully. To make her work life more bearable, Jemima posts snarky and scandalous tweets about the magazine industry under a secret Twitter identity, Maghag. Of course, she has acquired a massive following and everyone is dying to know who Maghag really is.

When a popular actress finds herself pregnant and unmarried, Jemima is given an exclusive but her unethical editor turns the article into a sordid piece that not only causes scandal for the actress, but calls Jemima's integrity into question and forces her into a career change.

Jemima's prospects seem a little dark until her housemate is selected to appear on the reality television show Dance Like No One's Watching. Jemima lands a position on the show as the social media director, but is forbidden from associating with Samson. Things get interesting when the show's director decides to market Samson in a faux on-stage romance with another contestant.

I really enjoyed this story. The multiple character story plots were easy to follow and I really liked most of the characters. Jemima's boss at the magazine, Jemima's sister and Samson's co-contestant, Lottie were less than likeable, but a reader learns to accept the nasty characters as part of the hero/heroine's journey to their happily ever after.

I also enjoyed the use of Twitter and social media in general as a backdrop for this story. In today's digital age, Jemima's recognition and use of Twitter and social media was spot on and relevant.

If you are looking for a light summertime read that has interesting characters and story, I highly recommend you give Tweethearts a try. I will be looking for more titles by Ms. Haddow when I am craving something tweet.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Tweethearts from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauredhel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pregnancy-magazine writer Jemima has a secret identity: @maghag, and an adorable friend and housemate, Samson. Everyone in the magazines world is trying to find out who @maghag is, as she tweets scathingly about her unethical editor. When the editor goes a step too far, Jemima outs herself and quits - and is promptly scooped up as social media director for the new reality show on which Samson is a contestant.

This romance follows the classic "miscommunication-is-the-obstacle" storyline, which can be irritating - but at least there is an excuse this time, as Jemima and Samson aren't allowed to communicate with each other in any way while the reality show is running. All they see of each other is what they see on TV and read on Twitter. I like the book's examination of new media jobs and some of their ramifications and difficulties, and the critique of celebrity culture and media manipulation. I also love a friends-to-lovers storyline, so that worked for me; and I liked the humour of the book, making it at times almost a satire of itself ("Placenta Monthly" magazine? "Salacious Rumours" gossip mag?

There were things that annoyed me a lot, however: the obstetrician breaking medical confidentiality while speaking with Jemima made him irredeemable for me, yet he was presented as delightfully likable throughout the rest of the book. The morning sickness drugs storyline required more research: pregnancy vomiting was presented as at most an inconvenience, and drugs as horribly dangerous, which is very far from reality, and promulgates dangerous myths. Lastly, the use of the "jealous bitch/slut" stereotypes was an eyeroll - I don't much get along with books in which nearly every woman except the MC is seen as spiteful, scheming, manipulative, and/or competition for a man.

So: I have mixed feelings about this book: go into it with your eyes open. I would definitely pick up another Haddow title, however.

Content note for sexual assault while sleeping.

[Coralee Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice book to waste some time on a lazy afternoon but not a book I would recommend to anyone.

The characters are one-dimensional and there is no clear character development. I still have no idea what Samson is meant to look like besides some freckles that apparantly make him cute.

And the reality show that the book is based on is entirely unrealistic. The songs would not work with the lyrics Haddow was trying, and failing to make up, and the hiphop dancing that accompanied it. There is a reason people do one or the other, because it doesn't work and would look ridiculous.

The only good part of this story was the concept of falling for a reality star when you are working on the show and the consequences that come from that. But even that isn't well put together. With the two living happily ever after in the end. Won't everyone speculate if he got to the finals through her anyway, aren't they going to put together the 'tweetheart' tweets, wouldn't the pissed off other contestants start rumours?

None of this was thought out and it seems like the book was put together hastily from a daydream in one day.

[Jess O. (From Jess to You) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"4 out of 5 stars -- two roommates suddenly realize their feelings for one another under extremely bad circumstances. Will they find a way to officially prove to each other how they feel or will they find they are better off apart?"

Read more of this review and three teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2014/04/feasted-on-tweethearts-by-nicole-haddow.html

[Georgina Penney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 review. Loved it! Read it in one sitting this afternoon without intending to. Ms. Haddow's voice is really unique and her way with setting is fantastic.

And I loved, loved loved her hero. OMG did I love him. He wasn't perfect, and that made him perfect for me:)

Go read it, you'll love it. Perfect sunny-day read.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I got an email from Penguin Australia about three of their new Destiny titles, I was pleasantly surprised to see they were actual Chick Lit titles I could review (you have no idea how many emails I get for romances that are more bodice-rippers, books I just don’t read and don’t review showing that people sometimes don’t pay attention to the sites they’re emailing), I happily downloaded all three titles to my Kindle, and had to pick one to start first! I decided to start with Tweethearts because I absolutely love books set around the world of reality TV – reality TV is always fascinating, and when done right can be quite spectacular and offer insights on things you would never suspect.

Right off the bat I would like to say that I really liked Jemima Starler. I admire ANYBODY who is brave enough to go behind her boss’s back and set up a Twitter acount that basically slays her boss with every Tweet. That’s brave, and I liked it. I admire anyone who stands up for themselves and shows people that you can’t go behind someone’s back and try to stab them, as Jemima’s editor attempted to and I was so glad she got her comeuppance. I was so pleased that Jemima and Evie teamed up to get their own back on Georgia, because she was so horrible. I also have to admit that I read this novel because I love novels about celebrities, and Evie is a really sweet accidental celebrity – famous for going out with a footballer, but soon forging her own path, like being the host of new reality show Dance Like No One’s Watching and that’s pretty much what the book is based on, as Evie is hosting the show, Jemima gets a job as the social media girl, and Samson, Jemima’s flatmate, is a contestant.

Tweethearts was a fun, sweet read. Longer than I expected, but I very much enjoyed the glimpse into the reality show world, and I loved that it was set in Australia. Another plus about the book, because I love books set in Australia. I’ve never been, but I want to go, and getting to read a book set there is undoubtedly the next best thing to being there. I enjoyed getting to know Evie, Jemima and Samson. I do wish Jemima and Samson had had a chat about their relationship sooner, sometimes that’s all is needed, and they didn’t do that, until it became embroiled in the show. It would have made their lives so much easier if they’d been a bit more honest with each other earlier, it’s the same old tale! But, I enjoyed Tweethearts for the most part, and I very much enjoyed getting to know the characters.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Tweethearts actually was very good. I was not expecting this book at all. First of all Jemima is divine, she's a sweet-hearted woman who used to work for a trashy pregnancy magazine. I say trashy because Georgia, the editor was absolutely vile. Jemima always have been a social media expert in her own way, managing the wonderful @MagHag twitter account anonymously and a bit of a journalist for the trashy pregnant magazine. When her vile editor Georgia twists her words around about a celebrity, who came to the magazine to break the news about her pregnancy, Evie, Jemima uses her @MagHag twitter account to set the record straight, plus reveal who she truly is. I absolutely loved that part because at the beginning Jemima seemed like a pushover.

After the wonderful reveal, Jemima gets offered a position as you guessed it a social media expert on Dance Like No One's Watching, oh and did I mention, her delicious roommate Samson becomes a contestant on the show and Evie, the wonderful celebrity is the host? I was actually surprised with how it ended and how the plot buildup began, there wasn't anything trashy that happens, Samson and Jemima remain true to each other although they could not talk or be together for three months of the show. Obviously, if they could not talk then obviously there would be some hangups and moments of distrust in the book. I did see the couplings miles away but I was pleasantly surprised with how they all got together. I loved the yummy OB/GY, Connor, Evie's personal doctor and Owen, Jemima's boss and partner in crime as they both maintained the social media aspects of the show. I despised Lottie, hated Grant but this book was all in good fun. I loved it, the characters were wonderful but I do wish that I saw more about Evie like elaborated on her background more and I wished there were more scenes with her. Same with Samson, I loved him but he definitely seemed two dimensional because of the lack of scenes with him but I still loved him all the same.

Wonderful book and great read for a Saturday morning.

This book was provided to me as an ARC from Netgalley and publishing company Penguin Books Australia. No money or anything was exchanged for the good review. :)

[Pattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I vacillated between a rating of 3 or 4 stars for this book before finally deciding on a 4 because I read the Netgalley galley proof edition. I imagine the issues I have with errors and content will have been repaired before final publication.

Tweethearts is a cute story about Jemima, a magazine writer who is addicted to Twitter. After skewering her boss through her "Maghag" Twitter account, she quits her job after she is double-crossed. She then ends up working on a reality television series with its social media--but she has to hide her growing feelings for her former housemate. Will these "tweethearts" find true love? Stay tuned...

I enjoyed the story, even though it felt like it took too long to get started. I also feel like some of the grammatical errors I had issues with may be the difference between American and Australian publishing conventions; thus, I will not say more about the uncorrected proof text I read. I'm sure the accidental name switches and misspellings were fixed before final publication. What I think of as "comma splices" or "fused sentences" seem to be something that is more commonplace in writing outside the US.

[Vilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read through netgalley.com