The Sweet Second Life of Darrell Kincaid

Imperfect Lives #1

by Catherine Robertson

A romping chick-lit with heart-ache, misunderstandings, travel and love.No one knows 'happy endings' like romance novelist Darrell Kincaid. She's delivered eight of them to her readers with pleasure. But it's not to be with book number nine. In the act of adding the final full stop, Darrell has a it's not the ending that really matters but what comes next. Darrell now sees that when her husband Tom died (twenty-one months and three days ago, but who's counting?) she lost more than the man she loved. She lost her own 'happy ever after'. The life she expected to live has gone, vanished forever in a puff of fickle, unfair smoke. Darrell knows she has a choice. She can stay in New Zealand and live a half-life, or she can leave in search of something - perhaps someone - else. So Darrell decides upon London, the least romantic capital she knows (why set yourself up for disappointment?). Armed with Nancy Mitford's Love In A Cold Climate as her guide to proper Englishness and the ideal romantic hero, she sets out to live the sweet second life she deserves.The Catherine Robertson TrilogyBook 1: The Sweet Second Life of Darrell KincaidBook 2: The Not So Perfect Life of Mo LawrenceBook 3: The Misplaced Affections of Charlotte Forbes

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2011

About the author

If you like fast-paced plots, sparkling funny dialogue and heartfelt emotion, I'm the romcom author for you. I write about real people struggling with real stuff, but who each get their own happy ending. My brand of humor is perceptive and kind and I love jokes and wordplay. I love to write series with characters who develop through each book - basically, I hate to let them go! I live in the glorious wine country of New Zealand, and share my life with one husband, two grown sons, four cats, two dogs and a flock of no longer spring chickens. Get good (and free) stuff by signing up to my newsletter: google catherinejrobertson author

Reviews

[Catherine Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, yes, well spotted. It's my own book. But hey...

[Anto_s1977 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Darrell è una giovane scrittrice di romance che ha appena perso improvvisamente il marito.
Distrutta dal dolore, decide che è tempo di cambiare vita. Raduna le sue cose e si trasferisce a Londra, in un piccolo appartamento di proprietà di Claire, "una donna molto incinta".
Frequentando un bar italiano a due passi dalla nuova dimora, Darrell conosce tutta una serie di pittoreschi personaggi che ben presto finiscono per diventare una sorta di famiglia allargata. Ovviamente trova anche l'amore...
E' senz'altro un libro diverte da leggere sotto l'ombrellone, o comunque quando si ha voglia di qualcosa di leggero e frizzante.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this book were a biscuit, it would be a Tim Tam. The heart-warming story of a Kiwi girl who bravely travels to the other side of the world to make a fresh start after losing her husband and soul mate. As Darrell sits alone in her local cafe, she speculates about the lives of her fellow coffee drinkers and gives them all names. When Big Man is taken ill, it gives the coffee drinkers the excuse they need to talk to each other (all but one are British, after all). From then on tables and lives are shared. Meanwhile, back at the house Darrell is renting, 'studly' gypsy builder Alenso watches Darrell with darkly brooding eyes. A very funny read with a lot of heart - can't wait for Catherine's next book.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Move over Marian Keyes and the like; Kiwis can write good chick lit too!!! TSSLoDK is an enjoyable read, full of interesting charactors you can't help but full in love with. I especially enjoyed the online webchat banter between Darrell and her best friend Lady Mo - LOL funny! A great book that (I can only describe for want of a better description) gave me the warm fuzzies.... :)

[Lauren Bavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Robertson's delicious first novel is like a mouth-watering bag of lollies. Do I want to sit and finish them all in one sitting or pull them out of their jar one at a time and savour each delightful flavour. I ate them way too fast and I'm sitting wishing I had more! What a heart-warming feel-good read it was!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given an advance copy of this by the publisher on the promise that I would write a short review. YOu never quite know what you're going to get when you make such a deal but it was definitely a pleasure rather than a hardship with this book.

The title bears an unsettling similarity to one of those teenage vampire sagas (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by millionaire Mormon Stephenie Meyer) but rest assured, there is not a single vampire or werewolf in this book. Instead, the plot revolves around Darrell Kincaid, a thoroughly normal (as opposed to paranormal) romance novelist from New Zealand trying to start a new chapter of her life by moving to London. What ensues is a very humorous and clever story of the Chick Lit variety; lots of sex, no shortage of swoon-worthy men, and a cast of wacky characters that kept the pages turning long after I should have put the book down and started making the kids' dinner... A really enjoyable read from a promising new author. After all, you can’t help but enjoy a book where a bunch of uptight, emotionally repressed Brits get to live happily ever-after thanks to a chance meeting with a funny, likeable Kiwi.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. I did not want it to end, so sure enough at 3am when I finished it, I flipped to the start again. What a fantastic writer, I can't wait for her next book. Apparently she's written one and is due to be published but there's no title yet ...

[Lemurkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet and appealing read, that lures you in and envelopes you in its comforting folds. There is a colourful cast of characters and a plot with enough interesting developments to keep you entertained, even if everything seems to fit together with comfortable ease.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice break to read between crime. Very much like a Sophie Kinsella/Mills and Boon, but having said that it was readable, light and funny.

[Darkpool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really enjoyed this!! It was the perfect blend of funny and touching and vulgar (and I mean vulgar in a good way.). Looking forward to more from this author.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laughed my way through this book. Quick, easy read

[Cara Haines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, easy to read, light and at times made me laugh out loud! Great book about second chances at life! Well written!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Funny, smart, moving.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darrell Kincaid ist eine Schriftstellerin bei der es immer ein Happy End gibt. Aber im wahren Leben ist sie meilenweit davon entfernt. Nach dem Tod ihres Ehemanns ist sie in ein tiefes Loch gefallen. Deshalb beschließt sie einen Neuanfang. Sie geht nach London, in die unromantischste Stadt der Welt.

Darrell kommt nicht über den Verlust ihres Mannes hinweg und macht einen radikalen Schnitt. Sie geht von Neuseeland nach England wo sie das Haus einer Bekannten eines Freundes hüten soll.

Auch wenn die Geschichte mit einem Augenzwinkern erzählt wird, so hat Darrells Trauer um ihren Mann nichts Leichtes. Die Autorin erzählt von Darrells Ängsten und Startschwierigkeiten in der neuen Heimat und von ihrem Wunsch, wieder geliebt zu werden. Aber Darrell sagt selbst: man soll vorsichtig mit dem sein, was man sich wünscht. Denn als ihr Wunsch in Erfüllung geht, läuft nichts mehr nach Plan.

Nach und nach verliert die Geschichte ihren ernsten Ton und wird ziemlich chaotisch. Bei ein paar Vorfällen musste ich an Bridget Jones denken aber Darrell gefällt mir einen Tick besser. Der Ausgang hat mich nicht überrascht, denn der war mir von Anfang an klar. Und ein paar Wendungen gegen Ende waren mir zu viel. Aber insgesamt hat mich das Buch sehr gut unterhalten.

[Howell Person · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was something of a rollercoaster read for me; every time i was impressed by the author's deftness and skill in characterization, i was distracted by the dialogue - characters filled with (too many), snappy, chirpy things to say. Less would be more in this department. There are definite riches here but I found myself skipping pages at times...

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous light and frothy read, one one also filled with people who need fixing, and a surplus of potential love interests.
Loved the way this book swayed between grief, acceptance, rampant humping, false imprisonment, and copious cups of tea and coffee.
Highly recommend.

[Orma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diciamocela tutta: l'inverosimile parto lampo al bar poteva pure evitarselo :-)

[Melissa Fordyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious.

[Thesincouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really funny read, specially at the beginning, and I loved that they found their little community and helped each other, but the romance felt a bit rushed for me and even though I did like Mo and Darrell's friendship, I thought it could have had more depth.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this when it was free for a day on Amazon, so I really didn't have particularly high expectations or anything. I read a few of the free books you can get and they generally hit a 2 star rating, the odd 3 star is a lucky find.

But this was excellent. I really enjoyed so much about this book - which was a wonderful surprise! I find, these days, chick lit styled books to be a bit hit and miss, even the bigger name writers are turning out things that seem completely formulaic and bland. So yay for something that rises above it all!

Darrell Kincaid is suddenly widowed after 10 years of happy marriage and is still only in her mid thirties. Her husband sounds like a great guy and her marriage sounded like a really good marriage. So from the start her rebuilding of her life was going to be different to a recently single or wronged ex wife kind of character. She is a romance writer of the Mills and Boon type of book, lives in New Zealand and sounds like a fairly normal, attractive, nice person with a fairly ordinary family.

She decides on a change of scene, and - later than the usual Kiwi OE - heads to the UK. Here she meets some very interesting characters, at her local coffee shop, and becomes involved in their lives, effectively bringing together a rather unusual bunch of people. And this is where the writing is so good - the supporting cast is excellent! Yes, they are stereotypes, but that is what is so good about them - you find out why they are the way they are, and together they become more than what others expect them to be.

There is romance, which is fun, both the shifty Marcus and the - no spoilers - love interest are decently written (yes, clichéd in parts, and the ending is a wee bit rushed, but small complaints in a story that becomes about more than just the love story).

I think, most of all, I just really liked Darrell. She frustrated me a LOT when she was 'too afraid' to leave the area and see some of what there is to see in London, but that was necessary for the storyline to develop the way it did, and otherwise she was strong enough, but human enough to be someone you can connect to and relate to.

So read and enjoy this - it is pretty light, but not completely, and also not too deep and moralistic (at times it seems like things must be one or the other). For someone who hasn't been loving the genre lately, I really loved this.

[Tilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one knows 'happy endings' like romance novelist Darrell Kincaid. She's delivered eight of them to her readers with pleasure. But it's not to be with book number nine. In the act of adding the final full stop, Darrell has a revelation: it's not the ending that really matters but what comes next. Darrell now sees that when her husband Tom died (twenty-one months and three days ago, but who's counting?) she lost more than the man she loved. She lost her own 'happy ever after'. The life she expected to live has gone, vanished forever in a puff of fickle, unfair smoke. Darrell knows she has a choice. She can stay in New Zealand and live a half-life, or she can leave in search of something - perhaps someone - else. So Darrell decides upon London, the least romantic capital she knows (why set yourself up for disappointment?). Armed with Nancy Mitford's Love In A Cold Climate as her guide to proper Englishness and the ideal romantic hero, she sets out to live the sweet second life she deserves.

This was a sweet find for me on iBooks and I am so glad that I came across it because it's one of those few books that I just want to devour in a single sitting because it's just so damn good.

Darrell Kincaid is a sweet Kiwi lady that has the perfect life. A husband that she loves even when she wants to throttle him, the dream job as a successful writer aspiring for a bestselling novel, and the perfect home in the perfect location. I admit that I felt a lot of envy for Darrell until she loses everything and then I only felt bittersweet sorrow.

How brave would someone have to be to make one of those sea changing decisions? Could you really just pack everything up and move half way across the world to start an entirely new life? It sounds somewhere in between exciting and terrifying, and I'm unsure if I would ever be able to do something like that myself. Those emotions rode me very hard as I accompanied Darrell along to her new life and I marvel at Catherine Robertson's ability to draw me so deeply into the story. When Darrell hits that rock bottom moment in her life, that moment that seems to really change everything, I was so overwhelmed on her behalf that I went through half a box of tissues.

The Sweet Second Life of Darrell Kincaid is a gourmet dessert that not only looks delicious, but leaves you sated in the best possible way.

[AlenGarou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tutti hanno un loro bar preferito

Tutti hanno l'opportunità di ricominciare da capo e Darrel ne sa qualcosa. Ormai vedova e senza speranze per il futuro, decide di trasferirsi a Londra per cambiare vita. All'inizio, gli imprevisti saranno all'ordine del giorno, specialmente nel bar dove va a fare colazione ogni mattina. I personaggi strambi che lo frequentano sono tutti diversi, tutti ostili e tutti con i loro problemi da risolvere. Sarà l'incidente di uno di loro a cambiare le cose e Darrel, in balia degli eventi, si ritroverà a reagire, nonostante l'astio che viene covato nei suoi confronti.
Teniamo conto che, come ogni donna, ha una vita sentimentale un pò discutibile e sottosopra: inutile dire che ci saranno interessanti sviluppi nel corso della storia.
Il romanzo in sè è piacevole, ma purtroppo è abbastanza lungo e dispersivo, per non dire tremendamente noioso in alcune parti.
Tuttavia, non è un libro da buttare.

[Priscilla Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant piece of chick-lit written with humour and the perspective of a New Zealand character (Darrell) on her OE to England which was a nice refreshing point of difference. Well written with humour that at times had me laughing out loud. It was one of those chick-lit books that I just kept wanting to go on reading to see what was next in the life and potential loves of Darrell. One of those books where continuing to read came ahead of responsibilities and awaiting chores!
I can't wait to read the next 2 books in this trilogy.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading the second book in the series, and despite knowing how it would eventually end, and rather disliking the second book about friend Michelle, I really enjoyed it. The misfit band of cafe patrons and their unlikely friendship was really nice, as was seeing how Darrell and Anselmo got together

I'm glad I gave this a go. I wasn't impressed with the Not so Perfect Life of Mo Lawrence, and was a bit concerned, but Darrell's character in Mo's book was rather nice (unlike Mo) so I thought I'd see what her story was. Glad I did.

[Bronwen Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has just gone to number one on the New Zealand Best Seller's list. It's a fabulous read about love, loss, starting over and friendships. A msut read.

I got to read it before it was published.

[Maggie Le Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine's debut novel was a number one bestseller in New Zealand, and that spot was so well deserved. It's a funny, romantic, poignant chick lit story that left me wanting more. Luckily it has a sequel ;)

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the snippets of "Kiwese" in this fun, unique romance novel. Darrell's character felt very real, and I loved seeing the other personas unfold as she slowly established relationships in her new home. Very enjoyable read!

[Lynn Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggling

[Andrea Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, the author painted a good visual presence through out the story. It was a wee bit far fetched, but aren't they all.

[Margi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this as the book did not catch my attention, draw me in or keep me interested.