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Head Over Heels: A chick lit novel about love, friendship...and shoes
Thirty-something teacher and professional shopper, Grace, has a passion for shoes. In fact they were responsible for her meeting her partner, Mark, when she speared his foot with one of her dangerously sharp heels whilst running for a train. Mark is the other passion in her life, or so she thinks... When he suggests they try for a baby - but is reluctant to tie the knot on their very long-term engagement - the cracks in her champagne lifestyle start to appear. As Mark becomes ever more controlling, Grace begins to see her blond and sexy boss, Tom, in a different light. A conventionally one-man woman who doesn't 'do' affairs, she suddenly finds herself in the midst of the sort of tangled lifestyle she has only read about in the celeb pages. Throw in the added complications of an untimely pregnancy, a case of mistaken identity and some pretty zany friends and Grace's life is thrown into turmoil. Retail therapy and even the comfort of her vast shoe collection can't help her out of this dilemma...
331 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2011
94 people are currently reading
913 people want to read
About the author
Sara Downing
11 books31 followersSara Downing is the award-winning author of the popular Head Over Heels contemporary romance series, plus a further romance, Stage Fright, and a historical novel, Urban Venus.
In 2016, Sara published The Lost Boy, her first foray into the world of the supernatural. Her latest novel, I Let You Fall, was the WINNER in the RNA awards 2023, Fantasy Romantic Novel category.
Sara lives in rural Worcestershire with her husband, three almost grown-up children, a Labrador and a cat. Before children she was a Chartered Accountant, but always knew her dream career lay elsewhere. She started writing in 2009 and hasn't since yearned to return to the world of accountancy.
In 2016, Sara published The Lost Boy, her first foray into the world of the supernatural. Her latest novel, I Let You Fall, was the WINNER in the RNA awards 2023, Fantasy Romantic Novel category.
Sara lives in rural Worcestershire with her husband, three almost grown-up children, a Labrador and a cat. Before children she was a Chartered Accountant, but always knew her dream career lay elsewhere. She started writing in 2009 and hasn't since yearned to return to the world of accountancy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
April 7, 2013
SPOILERS AND I RUIN THE ENDING
As much as I hate to admit it, I quite liked the Bridget Jones books. And the first couple of Shopaholic ones. I could identify with Bridget and Becky. They kept me in stitches with their adventures as they tried to find themselves, whether it was by keeping a diet diary or being chased by letters from VISA.
Their stories were told in a distinctive, breezy British manner. The wit in the writing and the charm of the characters was what made both of those series so hugely popular.
When I found this book (for free on Amazon - dammit, I should have known better) I was hoping to meet a heroine like Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood. Instead, I got Grace.
Grace is a elementary school teacher. During her free time she shops. Her pride and joy is the spare room in her house, which she has converted to a dressing room. She is shallow, materialistic and generally not very likable. She is engaged to a lawyer named Mark, who is equally shallow, materialistic and unlikable. They live in a pretentious little village where they pretend to be vereh impohtant and have dinner parties with their equally important couple-friends.
Grace and Mark have 8 years of DINK bliss until one day Mark tells Grace he'd like to have a baby. This causes a huge crack in their otherwise perfect shallow existence, as Grace is unwilling to have a baby with a man who won't marry her. (I had to agree with this point.) Mark can't understand why marriage is necessary, and they take turns pouting over it.
While Grace is pouting the principal at her school notices her and before you can say "holy crap, I really don't like any of these people" they are texting like crazy and she's thinking about having an affair.
So, suffice it to say that a fair bit of clandestine sex is had (including on a desk at their elementary school and if I ever caught so much as a WHIFF that my kid's teacher was boinking the principal after hours in the classroom I think I'd freak out), Mark turns into a completely different person, smooth and uncomplicated break ups happen and by the end of the epilogue the Grace and Mark have each married different people, one couple have had twins and the other is pregnant, they all hang out together and life is just one big perfect HEA. No hard feelings, no one is uncomfortable and everything is freaking peachy.
No problems with Grace's shopping. Or her sorrow over the loss of Mark's income, and the impact it is having on her shopping. Or the loss of "prestige" because Mark was is a lawyer and Tom is a principal. Or how Grace, who appears to be as deep as a mud puddle, will deal with watching Mark and her good friend have a wonderful, happy, MONEYED lifestyle while she looks on.
I see what the author was trying to do here, and it might have worked for other readers, but I simply didn't like the main characters. As a result none of what she was trying worked for me.
On the bright side? I learned a new British slang word: NAFF. Meaning stupid or lame. Hmm.
1 star.
As much as I hate to admit it, I quite liked the Bridget Jones books. And the first couple of Shopaholic ones. I could identify with Bridget and Becky. They kept me in stitches with their adventures as they tried to find themselves, whether it was by keeping a diet diary or being chased by letters from VISA.
Their stories were told in a distinctive, breezy British manner. The wit in the writing and the charm of the characters was what made both of those series so hugely popular.
When I found this book (for free on Amazon - dammit, I should have known better) I was hoping to meet a heroine like Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood. Instead, I got Grace.
Grace is a elementary school teacher. During her free time she shops. Her pride and joy is the spare room in her house, which she has converted to a dressing room. She is shallow, materialistic and generally not very likable. She is engaged to a lawyer named Mark, who is equally shallow, materialistic and unlikable. They live in a pretentious little village where they pretend to be vereh impohtant and have dinner parties with their equally important couple-friends.
Grace and Mark have 8 years of DINK bliss until one day Mark tells Grace he'd like to have a baby. This causes a huge crack in their otherwise perfect shallow existence, as Grace is unwilling to have a baby with a man who won't marry her. (I had to agree with this point.) Mark can't understand why marriage is necessary, and they take turns pouting over it.
While Grace is pouting the principal at her school notices her and before you can say "holy crap, I really don't like any of these people" they are texting like crazy and she's thinking about having an affair.
So, suffice it to say that a fair bit of clandestine sex is had (including on a desk at their elementary school and if I ever caught so much as a WHIFF that my kid's teacher was boinking the principal after hours in the classroom I think I'd freak out), Mark turns into a completely different person, smooth and uncomplicated break ups happen and by the end of the epilogue the Grace and Mark have each married different people, one couple have had twins and the other is pregnant, they all hang out together and life is just one big perfect HEA. No hard feelings, no one is uncomfortable and everything is freaking peachy.
No problems with Grace's shopping. Or her sorrow over the loss of Mark's income, and the impact it is having on her shopping. Or the loss of "prestige" because Mark was is a lawyer and Tom is a principal. Or how Grace, who appears to be as deep as a mud puddle, will deal with watching Mark and her good friend have a wonderful, happy, MONEYED lifestyle while she looks on.
I see what the author was trying to do here, and it might have worked for other readers, but I simply didn't like the main characters. As a result none of what she was trying worked for me.
On the bright side? I learned a new British slang word: NAFF. Meaning stupid or lame. Hmm.
1 star.
August 30, 2012
I was in need of this book. It was exactly what I wanted cute, adorable, girly and fluffy. Loved Grace and her friends were so special and most of all supportive. When the book started I was thrown because she was in labor, then it goes to "1 year earlier" and the story fills itself in. For Grace, she was with Mark in a long relationship and almost 5 year engagement that started to fizzle out. She went through the motions for a while and then she decides it was done. What gets her to the decision is the juicy and the fluffy.
Really enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed it!
April 10, 2015
Published: 30/01/2011
Author: Sara Downing
Recommended for: fans of quick chick lit books
Edition: Kindle
I saw this on the Kindle Store for free and so I thought I would give it a try. I thought that this was very well written by the author, the storyline drew me in but when I read the book it didn't really fully captive my attention sadly. It is a good book but in my opinion in just needs to have abit more depth to it especially the characters as it would have been nice to get to know them and then you can relate to the story abit more. It is a good 'chick lit' kind of book it is pretty fast paced.
Author: Sara Downing
Recommended for: fans of quick chick lit books
Edition: Kindle
I saw this on the Kindle Store for free and so I thought I would give it a try. I thought that this was very well written by the author, the storyline drew me in but when I read the book it didn't really fully captive my attention sadly. It is a good book but in my opinion in just needs to have abit more depth to it especially the characters as it would have been nice to get to know them and then you can relate to the story abit more. It is a good 'chick lit' kind of book it is pretty fast paced.
February 27, 2012
I guess I shouldn't complain too much because I was looking for a light read...and I definitely found that, this book doesn't take too much brain power. Starts off really slow, then you keep waiting for something exciting and different to happen, and nothing ever does. It's the type of book that you know exactly what is going to happen after reading the first 5 pages, no surprises here.
February 14, 2012
I started this book a while ago and was side tracked half way through, but I picked it up again the other day and couldn't put it down. A fantastic first novel and I will definately be reading more!
The characters were believable, and I could almost picture myself as part of the gang! ;)
The characters were believable, and I could almost picture myself as part of the gang! ;)
September 19, 2011
A great, fun, rom-com - yes you knew it would all turn out OK but a few twists and turns on the way to getting there!
September 7, 2014
Maybe it's my fault, but I couldn't get a good sense for the characters and what they were truly like.
June 17, 2012
This book was okay, very light, which I needed after my last read. But it took me awhile to read as it didn't hold my interest that well.
to-read-contemporary
January 26, 2013Amazon Freebie 01/26/2013
August 19, 2021
This is classic, predictable, chick lit at it's best. Well that's my opinion anyway. I really enjoyed it even though I knew where it was going from the start. Sometimes you just need a lighthearted, easy read and this fits that bill.
****************************
Thirty-something teacher and professional shopper Grace has a passion for shoes. In fact they were responsible for her meeting her partner, Mark, when she speared his foot with one of her dangerously sharp heels whilst running for a train.
Mark is the other passion in her life, or so she thinks.... When he suggests they try for a baby - but is reluctant to tie the knot on their very long-term engagement - the cracks in her champagne lifestyle start to appear. As Mark becomes ever more controlling, Grace begins to see her blond and sexy boss, Tom, in a different light. A conventionally one-man woman who doesn't 'do' affairs, she suddenly finds herself in the midst of the sort of tangled lifestyle she has only read about in the celeb pages. Throw in the added complications of an untimely pregnancy, a case of mistaken identity and some pretty zany friends and Grace's life is thrown into turmoil. Retail therapy and even the comfort of her vast shoe collection can't help her out of this dilemma.....
****************************
Thirty-something teacher and professional shopper Grace has a passion for shoes. In fact they were responsible for her meeting her partner, Mark, when she speared his foot with one of her dangerously sharp heels whilst running for a train.
Mark is the other passion in her life, or so she thinks.... When he suggests they try for a baby - but is reluctant to tie the knot on their very long-term engagement - the cracks in her champagne lifestyle start to appear. As Mark becomes ever more controlling, Grace begins to see her blond and sexy boss, Tom, in a different light. A conventionally one-man woman who doesn't 'do' affairs, she suddenly finds herself in the midst of the sort of tangled lifestyle she has only read about in the celeb pages. Throw in the added complications of an untimely pregnancy, a case of mistaken identity and some pretty zany friends and Grace's life is thrown into turmoil. Retail therapy and even the comfort of her vast shoe collection can't help her out of this dilemma.....
August 6, 2017
Pleasantly surprising ending
I enjoyed reading this semi-comical love story. I absolutely loved how everyone "lived happily ever after." I loved the way the author portrayed the characters and I followed each couple all the way to the end. I'm looking forward to more similar books to enjoy!!! 😉
I enjoyed reading this semi-comical love story. I absolutely loved how everyone "lived happily ever after." I loved the way the author portrayed the characters and I followed each couple all the way to the end. I'm looking forward to more similar books to enjoy!!! 😉
May 17, 2022
Head Over Heels
It was not all good or bad. Some ideas ran together and was a bit confusing. The mental talk was a bit too much for me, I had to put in effort to complete reading, but it had its gripping moments.
It was not all good or bad. Some ideas ran together and was a bit confusing. The mental talk was a bit too much for me, I had to put in effort to complete reading, but it had its gripping moments.
August 11, 2018
A Quick Read
A nice quick read. Slightly predictable but ok for a rainy afternoon when you want something easy to get your head into.
A nice quick read. Slightly predictable but ok for a rainy afternoon when you want something easy to get your head into.
June 22, 2020
A light and enjoyable chick lit filled with love, turmoil and a smattering of humour culminating in a happy ever after ending. The perfect choice for a relaxing read.
January 15, 2022
Read 8% of it and couldn't get past the main character's shallowness and selfishness. Deleted from my Kindle! It takes a lot for me not to stick out a book...
December 31, 2022
Predictable
Story line is predictable but told with a twist so it was fun to read. Characters are believable and likeable.
Story line is predictable but told with a twist so it was fun to read. Characters are believable and likeable.
November 18, 2022
Boring and predictable. I kept waiting for something of substance to happen. It never did. The characters are shallow, narcissistic and unlikeable.
February 28, 2015
I picked up Head Over Heels in search of a girly, fluffy, chick lit story. In that aspect, this book sort of delivered. As it progressed, though, the more I wanted to throw my Kindle against the wall with frustration – or perhaps throwing it at Grace might have been more productive.
Grace, her long-term boyfriend and their friends all live wealthy and fabulous lives. Grace has a room that is furnished with top-of-the-line clothes and shoes, which are her pride and joy. She shops and then spends hours marveling her purchases, trying them on and ogling the gorgeous fabric and fit. She’s vain and materialistic, but only human, after all.
I don’t feel like I really got to know any of the characters. In fact, I couldn’t tell you very much about their personalities, background, tastes, voices, or who they are as people. They just seemed shallow and empty.
What bothered me the most about Head Over Heels was the climax, the main conflict that sent Grace over the edge. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything. But when you read it, you’ll know. It was so incredibly unoriginal, and I expected more. The story was fast paced, and I could definitely get over the shallow characters. But I don’t think I can give this book more than three stars because of how anti-climatic it was. Instead, I finished the story thinking Grace was a complete idiot.
I don’t completely suggest not reading Head Over Heels since it is pretty fast-paced and will get your mind off of things. But go into knowing it’s not going to be the best chick lit you’ve ever read.
Grace, her long-term boyfriend and their friends all live wealthy and fabulous lives. Grace has a room that is furnished with top-of-the-line clothes and shoes, which are her pride and joy. She shops and then spends hours marveling her purchases, trying them on and ogling the gorgeous fabric and fit. She’s vain and materialistic, but only human, after all.
I don’t feel like I really got to know any of the characters. In fact, I couldn’t tell you very much about their personalities, background, tastes, voices, or who they are as people. They just seemed shallow and empty.
What bothered me the most about Head Over Heels was the climax, the main conflict that sent Grace over the edge. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything. But when you read it, you’ll know. It was so incredibly unoriginal, and I expected more. The story was fast paced, and I could definitely get over the shallow characters. But I don’t think I can give this book more than three stars because of how anti-climatic it was. Instead, I finished the story thinking Grace was a complete idiot.
I don’t completely suggest not reading Head Over Heels since it is pretty fast-paced and will get your mind off of things. But go into knowing it’s not going to be the best chick lit you’ve ever read.
April 17, 2013
I got this as a freebie on Amazon. This took me forever to read. I never actually do updates but I paused so many times while reading this book that I actually updated how far along I was. I usually never have a hard time reading a book through but I have to say this book was soooooo boring. I had a hard time paying attention. It was also a little hard to understand some of the British dialog; I felt like I was missing out on a lot of jokes. I felt that this book was also really repetitive. It skipped some scenes I thought should have been in there and just kept repeating boring crap over and over again. I couldn't stand how Grace would say Mark is the love of her life when it clearly felt to me that he wasn't. I also was pissed off at Alex. Why should Mark be going to Alex to let out his feelings instead of her. It just felt like she was choosing Mark over Grace. It was very predictable that they were going to end up together because when a man goes to another woman for comfort that's not a good sign at all. However, I did think the book got a little better after I was 75% into reading it (when Grace and Tom finally had gotten together), but that isn't a good thing because I almost stopped reading this book 45%, 57%, and 61% in. However, I hate not finishing a book so I finished it. I felt that this book could probably been cut in half. This was a very uninteresting read.
March 1, 2016
We begin the novel in medias res (or in the middle) with the main character, Grace, going into labor with her children and her beloved partner (who re-names un-named) by her side.
Then we quickly go back to a year earlier when she is celebrating her birthday with her long-time boyfriend Mark and their closet friends. We find out that Grace is feeling pressured by Mark to have a baby though she rather they actually get married first.
It took me a long time to formulate what I had a problem with in this novel. I think the main problem that I found was that not only did the plot just border on the ridiculous throughout, but when we get to the climax and ending it just turned into a downright unbelievable novel.
For Ms. Downing to write the character of Mark and her relationships with her girlfriends the way she did and then have the ending she wrote was just flat out trying to tie a bow on things to make it a happy ending (where none is deserved).
In the end I didn't care for the main protagonist (she complains a lot about her life though she has it pretty well) and with my attention waning, I started wishing that I had selected another novel to read.
I think there were certain elements there to make it into a good book but certain things would have to be re-worked to make it believable to readers who would want to read more by this author one day.
Then we quickly go back to a year earlier when she is celebrating her birthday with her long-time boyfriend Mark and their closet friends. We find out that Grace is feeling pressured by Mark to have a baby though she rather they actually get married first.
It took me a long time to formulate what I had a problem with in this novel. I think the main problem that I found was that not only did the plot just border on the ridiculous throughout, but when we get to the climax and ending it just turned into a downright unbelievable novel.
For Ms. Downing to write the character of Mark and her relationships with her girlfriends the way she did and then have the ending she wrote was just flat out trying to tie a bow on things to make it a happy ending (where none is deserved).
In the end I didn't care for the main protagonist (she complains a lot about her life though she has it pretty well) and with my attention waning, I started wishing that I had selected another novel to read.
I think there were certain elements there to make it into a good book but certain things would have to be re-worked to make it believable to readers who would want to read more by this author one day.
February 20, 2013
The book wasn't the greatest, but definitely not the worst fluff novel I've ever read. I just couldn't really get into the characters or like any of them. The main character was just not very likable. Even though there was lots of inner reflection and talking by her to give us enough time to like her (which some fluff novels fail on), her reasoning and opinions just fall flat and superficial. Maybe I have a hard time believing that she dated Mark for 8 years and never had a serious fight until 3 months before they broke up. It just seems that their relationship was strong, until that one argument. I can't imagine a guy as controlling as Mark wouldn't cause another fight to have ever broken out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2013
Well it went better than I thought it would and I really liked the ending too. I won't give it a four star rating because I can't seem to forget the boredom at the beginning of the book. The main character Grace is always questioning and commenting everything and it was really annoying. I had to skip some parts to be able to continue reading 'till the end and it kind of me made me lose interest some times. After the exhausting dessication of her relationship with Mark though...it does become quite interesting and enjoyable. I liked Tom very much and couldn't really blame her for cheating on Mark with him either because Mark really pushed all my buttons pretty thoroughly. Most of all I simply relished Grace's happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2014
Set it in the UK and I'll want to read it. This one happened to be free or super cheap, so so much the better. But it's these type of books that leave me thinking that British women are morons. Okay, I know that's not the case, but these books leave that impression.
"Oh my gosh! I saw my boyfriend with another woman, walking down the street in my hometown! Obviously he's cheating on me, so I'm going to run away to my parents, ignore all his texts and calls, and then quit my job. Of course I'm not going to ask him what was up. And after I tell him to leave me alone and I need some space, I'm going to get pissed that he actually listened to me and stops contacting me."
What. An. Idiot.
"Oh my gosh! I saw my boyfriend with another woman, walking down the street in my hometown! Obviously he's cheating on me, so I'm going to run away to my parents, ignore all his texts and calls, and then quit my job. Of course I'm not going to ask him what was up. And after I tell him to leave me alone and I need some space, I'm going to get pissed that he actually listened to me and stops contacting me."
What. An. Idiot.
April 9, 2013
I really love the story line once I got through it. I had a hard time getting through this particular book though. It just seemed like continued talk, talk, talk. Everything was me,me,me, oh and lets talk about me some more, and I'm sure that was meant to understand the character. I really love humorous books but I don't need the constant chatter to understand the character and what she's like and how she struggled internally with herself on some big issues. I don't want this to be a harsh review. It's not a bad book by any means and once I got through it I really enjoyed the story. I just didn't need so many details.
April 13, 2013
This was a total disappointment for me. I found it to be very long winded and the author jumped around in the storyline which for me made it very hard to follow along. I found there to be unnecessary dialogue that I felt was used as fluff just to make the book longer.
The sudden abrupt ending and the complete turn around of Grace's feelings about having a baby (which was the total premise of the book) was disappointing and shallow. In fact, the whole last part of the book I found myself just skimming over the words to get to the end.
Big fat bummer.
The sudden abrupt ending and the complete turn around of Grace's feelings about having a baby (which was the total premise of the book) was disappointing and shallow. In fact, the whole last part of the book I found myself just skimming over the words to get to the end.
Big fat bummer.
October 9, 2012
Ever read one of those books where you keep thinking "it just has to get better"? This is one; sadly it never does. The heroine is silly, shallow, stubborn and a twit. it's probably about twice as long as it needs to be as there is a lot of repetitive and useless drivel. Please don't waste your time, like I did. Anytime it takes me a week to read a book this length I know it's because I am delaying the "get back to the story" because it is so dull.
December 11, 2012
This was a cute, fun read. I agree with other reviewers that it's too long and could be cut down quite a bit without losing much. It wasn't something I would re-read, but it kept my attention enough to keep on going straight through it.
I enjoyed the writing style very much (although the author does seem to be stingy with her punctuation!), but could do without the title being repeated in the storyline a few times. Still, a fun read that would be great by a beach or for a free weekend.
I enjoyed the writing style very much (although the author does seem to be stingy with her punctuation!), but could do without the title being repeated in the storyline a few times. Still, a fun read that would be great by a beach or for a free weekend.
July 11, 2013
I found this book a bit annoying. I just wanted the story to reach the obvious conclusion...maybe I've read too much chick lit.
I found Tom really smug and a bit cloying, but then Grace's original choice Mark was too controlling. It was all a bit disjointed with the relationship between the girl friends never really seeming to come to anything.
All in all, a typical chick lit story, easily readable, but for me a bit more of the same.
I found Tom really smug and a bit cloying, but then Grace's original choice Mark was too controlling. It was all a bit disjointed with the relationship between the girl friends never really seeming to come to anything.
All in all, a typical chick lit story, easily readable, but for me a bit more of the same.
July 26, 2012
Really cute story! It was nice to read a chick lit where the main character wasn't a complete moron!! I felt like some major parts of the book were glossed over and a little too simple at times and nothing much happened for the first half of the book. However, the story was fun and easy and a nice summer read.
September 6, 2012
I almost gave up on this book. The first 1/3 of the book was boring and annoying. However, there will be a twist in the plot and will get better. The book was an easy ready. It was very predicatable. I can bet that you will be able to guess the ending mid-way through the story.
This book is about friendship, illicit affairs, shopping and finding true love.
This book is about friendship, illicit affairs, shopping and finding true love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews