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Charlie Collins (finally) Gets A Life
Middle age has arrived with a vengeance. Is the road to happiness paved with soul-crushing shame?
Melbourne, Australia. Forty-something single mom Charlie Collins is terrified of getting old. Realizing hot flashes are the only thing likely to sizzle between her sheets, she hits the Chardonnay hard when she loses her job and experiences an ego-demolishing date. Determined to turn things around and bond with her monosyllabic daughter, she rents a van for a road trip… only to have it come to a grinding halt in a small coastal town.
Stranded and searching for help, they meet a deliciously sexy doctor… and a smooth silver fox who runs the local café. And when the plucky divorcée suddenly finds herself in the middle of a midlife love triangle, she can’t decide if she’s found heaven or a fresh brand of hell.
Has Charlie’s crisis hit another calamitous crossroads, or will this quiet community help her reclaim her soul?
Charlie Collins (finally) Gets a Life is a fun and flirty romantic comedy. If you like emotional chick-lit, laugh-out-loud stories, and authentic female leads, then you’ll love Emma Powell’s quirky tale.
Buy Charlie Collins (finally) Gets a Life to discover the joys of life after forty today!
Melbourne, Australia. Forty-something single mom Charlie Collins is terrified of getting old. Realizing hot flashes are the only thing likely to sizzle between her sheets, she hits the Chardonnay hard when she loses her job and experiences an ego-demolishing date. Determined to turn things around and bond with her monosyllabic daughter, she rents a van for a road trip… only to have it come to a grinding halt in a small coastal town.
Stranded and searching for help, they meet a deliciously sexy doctor… and a smooth silver fox who runs the local café. And when the plucky divorcée suddenly finds herself in the middle of a midlife love triangle, she can’t decide if she’s found heaven or a fresh brand of hell.
Has Charlie’s crisis hit another calamitous crossroads, or will this quiet community help her reclaim her soul?
Charlie Collins (finally) Gets a Life is a fun and flirty romantic comedy. If you like emotional chick-lit, laugh-out-loud stories, and authentic female leads, then you’ll love Emma Powell’s quirky tale.
Buy Charlie Collins (finally) Gets a Life to discover the joys of life after forty today!
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 26, 2020
18 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Emma Powell
8 books16 followersEmma Powell, author of all things, romance and funny and female lives in Melbourne, Australia with her human kid and fur babies. Her hobbies include, chicken chips, reading, true crime docos, politics and sleeping. Her other career is as a theatre actor which she has done for the last three decades. So as an actor and a writer she is able to do what she loves best - tell stories.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 8, 2022
Thank you Emma for sending us a copy to read and review.
Relocation, redundancy and menopause are all cross roads that throw their own curb balls but when all hit at once it has the potential to be a wipe out mentally and emotionally.
A comedic and theatrical energy guide our main character through this testing period.
Charlie Collins is a middle aged single Mum who has just lost her job.
An opportunity to buy a van, bond with her daughter and escape on the typical Aussie dream becomes a reality.
Until an obstacle strikes and leaves them stranded in a small town.
Attracting the attention of several men, the loss of a friend and a new business opportunity takes Charlie on an interesting ride and rebuking the hot flushes and that obsolete feeling.
What a fun, witty and realistic tale.
Charlie is a fabulous lead character who represents what we will all go throw at some point.
With laugh out loud moments and serious tones we all take the journey with her.
I wonder if Charlie will grace us again with an updated chapter in her life?
Relocation, redundancy and menopause are all cross roads that throw their own curb balls but when all hit at once it has the potential to be a wipe out mentally and emotionally.
A comedic and theatrical energy guide our main character through this testing period.
Charlie Collins is a middle aged single Mum who has just lost her job.
An opportunity to buy a van, bond with her daughter and escape on the typical Aussie dream becomes a reality.
Until an obstacle strikes and leaves them stranded in a small town.
Attracting the attention of several men, the loss of a friend and a new business opportunity takes Charlie on an interesting ride and rebuking the hot flushes and that obsolete feeling.
What a fun, witty and realistic tale.
Charlie is a fabulous lead character who represents what we will all go throw at some point.
With laugh out loud moments and serious tones we all take the journey with her.
I wonder if Charlie will grace us again with an updated chapter in her life?
January 10, 2022
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
In an attempt to read more work from both independently published writers and Aussie writers, I was really excited to read this book set in Melbourne and coastal NSW.
I absolutely loved the first half of this. I loved Charlie as a character and I loved her relationship with her friend and her daughter. I loved the writing and the dialogue/humour so much so that I went online to buy another book from the author. I knew I was going to love this book and I was really taken with the writing that I knew I would like more from this author (and I still feel that way).
However, once they got in the campervan I was lost. There was just TOO much going on and it just jumped from scene to scene with no conviction and the insta love romances just made me feel nothing at all. We had . With all honesty I just started skim reading the last half as I was disengaged with it and the character development and witty dialogue went out the window in lieu of wacky, hair brain craziness.
This has lots of high reviews, so I think it was a case of (a) I don't really like chick-lit and (b) If I do read chick-lit, I love when less is more so the plot of this doesn't really work with my tastes. I love when the focus is on the characters and their dialogue and interactions (ala Gilmore Girls) rather than over-the-top hysterics. I just wished the two male insta-loves had never been introduced at all (and I am a romance reader so that is saying something).
A bit conflicted on this one....love the writing, not so hot on the plot of the second half.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual Genre Challenge: Read a book from the genre "Chick-Lit"
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual A-Z Challenge: Read a book where the author has an initial starting with E
Aussie Readers 2022 January Michael Robotham Challenge: Michael was born in a town called Casino in Australia. Read a book by an Australian author.
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual Australian Authors Challenge: Read a book by a female Aussie Author
In an attempt to read more work from both independently published writers and Aussie writers, I was really excited to read this book set in Melbourne and coastal NSW.
I absolutely loved the first half of this. I loved Charlie as a character and I loved her relationship with her friend and her daughter. I loved the writing and the dialogue/humour so much so that I went online to buy another book from the author. I knew I was going to love this book and I was really taken with the writing that I knew I would like more from this author (and I still feel that way).
However, once they got in the campervan I was lost. There was just TOO much going on and it just jumped from scene to scene with no conviction and the insta love romances just made me feel nothing at all. We had . With all honesty I just started skim reading the last half as I was disengaged with it and the character development and witty dialogue went out the window in lieu of wacky, hair brain craziness.
This has lots of high reviews, so I think it was a case of (a) I don't really like chick-lit and (b) If I do read chick-lit, I love when less is more so the plot of this doesn't really work with my tastes. I love when the focus is on the characters and their dialogue and interactions (ala Gilmore Girls) rather than over-the-top hysterics. I just wished the two male insta-loves had never been introduced at all (and I am a romance reader so that is saying something).
A bit conflicted on this one....love the writing, not so hot on the plot of the second half.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual Genre Challenge: Read a book from the genre "Chick-Lit"
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual A-Z Challenge: Read a book where the author has an initial starting with E
Aussie Readers 2022 January Michael Robotham Challenge: Michael was born in a town called Casino in Australia. Read a book by an Australian author.
Aussie Readers 2022 Annual Australian Authors Challenge: Read a book by a female Aussie Author
July 13, 2020
40-Something Chick Lit
This is a charming and funny chick lit story with a touch of romance. The writer is Australian, and I found it interesting to see the different words used for certain ideas compared to American English. We meet the heroine on a big launch day for her company when she is running late. So much of what happens in the early part of the book is completely understandable by any woman of a certain age. But then things get interesting when she gets stranded in a small seaside town with her daughter, and things both heat up and go awry. Since our vacation options are limited at the moment during the pandemic, here's one way to armchair travel and vicariously experience a little romance as well.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
This is a charming and funny chick lit story with a touch of romance. The writer is Australian, and I found it interesting to see the different words used for certain ideas compared to American English. We meet the heroine on a big launch day for her company when she is running late. So much of what happens in the early part of the book is completely understandable by any woman of a certain age. But then things get interesting when she gets stranded in a small seaside town with her daughter, and things both heat up and go awry. Since our vacation options are limited at the moment during the pandemic, here's one way to armchair travel and vicariously experience a little romance as well.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
August 11, 2021
Refreshingly Wonderful Reading
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was whitty and humorous. It had some suspenseful scenes that got the old ticker pumping fast and the mind racing forward to find out what happened next.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was whitty and humorous. It had some suspenseful scenes that got the old ticker pumping fast and the mind racing forward to find out what happened next.
April 8, 2020
Fabulous debut romantic comedy offering from Australian author Emma Powell. I laughed a lot, cried a little and even snorted a bit of Chardonnay out my nose. Shades of Bridget Jones. Must read.
September 10, 2020
What a great story. Has all the feels and I loved it. Emma it needs a sequel. Could be a series set in Eden...
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April 18, 2022I hope it’s actually this easy to make new friends when you’re over 40
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews