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Katy Carter #1
Katy Carter Wants a Hero
There are some things a girl has to keep to herself…
Hopeless romantic Katy Carter still dreams of becoming bestselling novelist. A ghost writer by trade, Katy knows she’s no Booker Prize winner but has fun penning sizzling scenes and hot heroes for celebrity novels. Writing aside, Katy no longer fantasises about a hero of her own - she’s found him in teacher boyfriend, Ollie. After five years together their own happy ever after is just around the corner - if she can only rescue the couple’s ailing finances.
But with Ollie becoming increasingly career minded and teaching at a very strict school, Katy’s racy writing soon causes difficulties. When she secretly signs a contract with steamy publisher Throb, tensions mount. A surprise trip across the pond brings things to a head, sparking a chain of events which set Katy on a collision course with family, friends and, most of all, her one true hero…
“Takes Bridget Jones’s mantle and runs with it” Heat Magazine
“Made me laugh out loud” Richard Madeley
Hopeless romantic Katy Carter still dreams of becoming bestselling novelist. A ghost writer by trade, Katy knows she’s no Booker Prize winner but has fun penning sizzling scenes and hot heroes for celebrity novels. Writing aside, Katy no longer fantasises about a hero of her own - she’s found him in teacher boyfriend, Ollie. After five years together their own happy ever after is just around the corner - if she can only rescue the couple’s ailing finances.
But with Ollie becoming increasingly career minded and teaching at a very strict school, Katy’s racy writing soon causes difficulties. When she secretly signs a contract with steamy publisher Throb, tensions mount. A surprise trip across the pond brings things to a head, sparking a chain of events which set Katy on a collision course with family, friends and, most of all, her one true hero…
“Takes Bridget Jones’s mantle and runs with it” Heat Magazine
“Made me laugh out loud” Richard Madeley
416 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2012
42 people are currently reading
2140 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Saberton
47 books351 followersRuth Saberton is a bestselling British author with over 25 books written under her own and pen names. Her books feature romance and secrets and are set in beautiful Cornwall.
Her latest book THE LETTER is available now!
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruth-Saberto...
Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Ruth loves to to talk to her readers. Interact with her on her website www.ruthsaberton.com on Twitter @ruthsaberton
www.facebook.com/ruthsabertonauthor
Her latest book THE LETTER is available now!
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruth-Saberto...
Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Ruth loves to to talk to her readers. Interact with her on her website www.ruthsaberton.com on Twitter @ruthsaberton
www.facebook.com/ruthsabertonauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
April 7, 2016
Katy Carter is a secondary school teacher who dreams of being a bestselling author and secretly scribbles down her novel (a historic blockbuster) whilst in school meetings. Katy is also a huge fan of grabbing herself her own romantic hero and thinks she’s found him in James, her fiance. However when a dinner party for James’s work colleagues goes disastrously wrong – with help from a lobster named Pinchy, a red-setter named Sasha and a cactus – Katy finds herself unceremoniously dumped by James. After a health scare Katy is determined to get her life back on track and heads down to Cornwall to stay with best friend Maddy with the hopes of finding herself her new romantic hero, but could her romantic hero be closer to home than she thinks?
Katy Carter Wants A Hero is Ruth Saberton’s debut novel although she is currently also writing a 5-part series for Little Black Dress (under the pseudonym of Jessica Fox) – two of the titles are already out, The One That Got Away and Eastern Promise and the third, Hard To Get, is due out in May with the other two titles to follow at some point. I actually have her first two Little Black Dress titles to read but haven’t gotten around to them yet. Katy Carter Wants A Hero, though, caught my eye one day whilst I was browsing on Amazon and after reading the synopsis I was eager to read it. Ruth contacted me asking if I’d like a copy and I agreed. I was looking on my bookshelf for a fun, light read and this happened to catch my eye (the book really is eye-catching) and I decided to give it a read. Boy am I glad I picked this up!
Katy Carter Wants A Hero probably couldn’t be classified as having a unique plot – after all, it’s one I read multiple times a month but the fact is I didn’t pick this up for it’s uniqueness, I picked it up because it looked like a fun and light read. I had no expectations as to how I would like the book and went into it with a completely open mind. The book is told entirely from Katy’s point of view and I was hooked incredibly quickly. I don’t know whether that was because of how simple the writing style was, or how likeable Katy was, or just how fun it all was, but the book sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. The opening of the book sees Katy writing parts of her novel (kind of what I expect a Mills & Boon book to be like) whilst in a school meeting and it was very quick off the mark, not to mention quite hilarious. I did have a slight wobble and start thinking oh God, she’s a doormat – I’m going to hate the book 30 pages in as Katy’s boyfriend James began treating her like dirt, and I was so worried she was just going to roll over and let him talk to her so patronisingly. However my fears soon dissipated as we witness the rather incredible – and hilarious – dinner party scene that causes Katy and James’s break-up. The scene had me in stitches for 5 pages (and gave me one of my favourite animal characters ever in Pinchy the lobster) and the book just motored on from there and I never looked back.
What really makes Katy Carter work though is the characters. Katy constantly reminded me of Sass from The Dating Detox as well as Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic novels. Katy doesn’t go on a dating detox or end up in loads of debt but she’s like Sass and Becky because they seem to have so much warmth to them. A book like this needs an immensely likeable female lead character (even more so if she narrates the entire thing) and like Sass and Becky, Katy managed to carry the book practically by herself as well as managing to keep her personality intact through out. A lot of female characters melt into each other and become instantly forgettable but some stand out so much you’ll not forget them. Katy is one of the latter ones. I laughed with her, I cringed with her and when she had her health scare I was worried with her and I thought she was fantastic. The other main character in the book (bar Pinchy the lobster) had to be Katy’s best friend Ollie. From page one I loved him. Actually, from page one, I was worried I was going to learn he was gay (it’s chick lit after all and one of the staples is a gay best friend) but no, he isn’t gay! It makes a change to have a male best friend in a book who does all of the duties a female best friend usually does – helping out with cooking a dinner party (regardless of the fact it ends in disaster), being there when you break up with your boyfriend, taking you to the hospital when you’re worried you’ve got a disease etc and Ollie filled that job really well. Maddy, Katy’s other best friend, is also another of the main characters and I quite liked her. She’s married to Richard, a vicar, but is doing something rather naughty on the side and she seemed like quite a fun character. Katy’s aunt Jewell makes sporadic appearances throughout the book and she was an incredibly sweet character, too. Katy’s boyfriend James was the villain of the piece and right from the off I couldn’t stand him. He was vile towards Katy and I couldn’t wait to see the back of him. The final two characters important to the story were Freddie, Ollie’s flamboyantly gay cousin and Gabriel Winters, a hot, new actor Katy manages to befriend.
I saw the ending of Katy Carter a mile off. Actually I saw the ending from practically the first page. As I said before, though, that didn’t concern me in the slightest. I was just looking forward to it all unravelling and then for the light in Katy’s head to turn on. I’m sure you know/could guess how it ends even though you haven’t read it. The twists and turns it took to get there were enough for me – the infamous dinner party, the health scare, the loss of contact, the fake relationship, it all swirled around to keep the plot moving so we came to a satisfying conclusion 400 pages later. The writing isn’t anything special – as I mentioned earlier in my review it’s written in a rather simplistic way but the fact is so is all of Sophie Kinsella’s books and look how adored she is! Sometimes the simpler the book the better and for Katy Carter the simpleness worked. Ruth also seems to have Sophie’s comedic touch as the book had me in stitches multiple times particularly with Pinchy the lobster – the way Katy’s mind over-reacts when he’s about to be boiled alive was hilarious.
Overall I couldn’t recommend Katy Carter Wants A Hero enough. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it’s definitely a keeper. If you love Becky Bloomwood, I’m 100% sure you’ll love Katy Carter as they’re both immensely enjoyable characters. Katy Carter is definitely a book I’ll be reading again (and again and again) and long may Pinchy the lobster live! (Can you tell I loved the pet lobster part of the story?) Do try and pick yourself up a copy of this fab debut, it truly is fantastic!
Katy Carter Wants A Hero is Ruth Saberton’s debut novel although she is currently also writing a 5-part series for Little Black Dress (under the pseudonym of Jessica Fox) – two of the titles are already out, The One That Got Away and Eastern Promise and the third, Hard To Get, is due out in May with the other two titles to follow at some point. I actually have her first two Little Black Dress titles to read but haven’t gotten around to them yet. Katy Carter Wants A Hero, though, caught my eye one day whilst I was browsing on Amazon and after reading the synopsis I was eager to read it. Ruth contacted me asking if I’d like a copy and I agreed. I was looking on my bookshelf for a fun, light read and this happened to catch my eye (the book really is eye-catching) and I decided to give it a read. Boy am I glad I picked this up!
Katy Carter Wants A Hero probably couldn’t be classified as having a unique plot – after all, it’s one I read multiple times a month but the fact is I didn’t pick this up for it’s uniqueness, I picked it up because it looked like a fun and light read. I had no expectations as to how I would like the book and went into it with a completely open mind. The book is told entirely from Katy’s point of view and I was hooked incredibly quickly. I don’t know whether that was because of how simple the writing style was, or how likeable Katy was, or just how fun it all was, but the book sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. The opening of the book sees Katy writing parts of her novel (kind of what I expect a Mills & Boon book to be like) whilst in a school meeting and it was very quick off the mark, not to mention quite hilarious. I did have a slight wobble and start thinking oh God, she’s a doormat – I’m going to hate the book 30 pages in as Katy’s boyfriend James began treating her like dirt, and I was so worried she was just going to roll over and let him talk to her so patronisingly. However my fears soon dissipated as we witness the rather incredible – and hilarious – dinner party scene that causes Katy and James’s break-up. The scene had me in stitches for 5 pages (and gave me one of my favourite animal characters ever in Pinchy the lobster) and the book just motored on from there and I never looked back.
What really makes Katy Carter work though is the characters. Katy constantly reminded me of Sass from The Dating Detox as well as Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic novels. Katy doesn’t go on a dating detox or end up in loads of debt but she’s like Sass and Becky because they seem to have so much warmth to them. A book like this needs an immensely likeable female lead character (even more so if she narrates the entire thing) and like Sass and Becky, Katy managed to carry the book practically by herself as well as managing to keep her personality intact through out. A lot of female characters melt into each other and become instantly forgettable but some stand out so much you’ll not forget them. Katy is one of the latter ones. I laughed with her, I cringed with her and when she had her health scare I was worried with her and I thought she was fantastic. The other main character in the book (bar Pinchy the lobster) had to be Katy’s best friend Ollie. From page one I loved him. Actually, from page one, I was worried I was going to learn he was gay (it’s chick lit after all and one of the staples is a gay best friend) but no, he isn’t gay! It makes a change to have a male best friend in a book who does all of the duties a female best friend usually does – helping out with cooking a dinner party (regardless of the fact it ends in disaster), being there when you break up with your boyfriend, taking you to the hospital when you’re worried you’ve got a disease etc and Ollie filled that job really well. Maddy, Katy’s other best friend, is also another of the main characters and I quite liked her. She’s married to Richard, a vicar, but is doing something rather naughty on the side and she seemed like quite a fun character. Katy’s aunt Jewell makes sporadic appearances throughout the book and she was an incredibly sweet character, too. Katy’s boyfriend James was the villain of the piece and right from the off I couldn’t stand him. He was vile towards Katy and I couldn’t wait to see the back of him. The final two characters important to the story were Freddie, Ollie’s flamboyantly gay cousin and Gabriel Winters, a hot, new actor Katy manages to befriend.
I saw the ending of Katy Carter a mile off. Actually I saw the ending from practically the first page. As I said before, though, that didn’t concern me in the slightest. I was just looking forward to it all unravelling and then for the light in Katy’s head to turn on. I’m sure you know/could guess how it ends even though you haven’t read it. The twists and turns it took to get there were enough for me – the infamous dinner party, the health scare, the loss of contact, the fake relationship, it all swirled around to keep the plot moving so we came to a satisfying conclusion 400 pages later. The writing isn’t anything special – as I mentioned earlier in my review it’s written in a rather simplistic way but the fact is so is all of Sophie Kinsella’s books and look how adored she is! Sometimes the simpler the book the better and for Katy Carter the simpleness worked. Ruth also seems to have Sophie’s comedic touch as the book had me in stitches multiple times particularly with Pinchy the lobster – the way Katy’s mind over-reacts when he’s about to be boiled alive was hilarious.
Overall I couldn’t recommend Katy Carter Wants A Hero enough. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it’s definitely a keeper. If you love Becky Bloomwood, I’m 100% sure you’ll love Katy Carter as they’re both immensely enjoyable characters. Katy Carter is definitely a book I’ll be reading again (and again and again) and long may Pinchy the lobster live! (Can you tell I loved the pet lobster part of the story?) Do try and pick yourself up a copy of this fab debut, it truly is fantastic!
June 26, 2016
Overall rating: 5+ stars
Genre: Chick-Lit
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Writing: 9/10
Hero: 10/10
Heroine: 9.5/10
Humour: 8/10
HEA:
Recommend: Yes
Re-read: Yea
Read more from author: Yes
Genre: Chick-Lit
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Writing: 9/10
Hero: 10/10
Heroine: 9.5/10
Humour: 8/10
HEA:
Recommend: Yes
Re-read: Yea
Read more from author: Yes
February 21, 2018
5 stars
Loved it, what a great ending!
Loved it, what a great ending!
June 19, 2014
Rating: .5/5 stars
Did not finish reading; read 101/408
Okay, here's the deal. I try not to judge a book by its cover, and if I did with this one, I never would have picked it up. It's pure hot pink with a childish feeling, a pair of sneakers, a wine glass, and a lobster on the cover.
When it comes to books, I give it about 100 pages before I decide if I'm staying along for the ride or getting off at the next stop.
Needless to say, I have gotten off this bus and do not see myself taking this route again.
The main character Katy from the getgo is complaining about being a ginger, like's it a horrible thing, being short, and being overweight. Throughout the first pages, we get a glimpse into the romance novel she is writing, and it's pretty ridiculous. It doesn't even seem like the cliche romance paperbacks. No, it's more over the top, focusing on Millandra's breasts all the time and Jake not being able to resist her thin body with lustrous curves.
Katy is a school teacher, not being paid much, and tends to daydream during faculty meetings than anything else. She's engaged to this guy named James who is a complete asshole. He mentally abuses her on a regular basis, saying that she needs to lose weight, that her job sucks, that she needs to get over becoming a writer, that she has to be a trophy wife that only cooks and cleans and looks good to his boss. He insults her family, friends, dreams, goals...everything about Katy. Her future mother-in-law is no better. She's a manipulative old hag who has her son eating out of the palm of her hands.
And through all this, Katy is saying how James doesn't mean it, that he loves her, that she just needs to make compromises in order for everything to work out. WRONG. He's using you. He's a bloody wanker that you need to dump on the curve and splash him with a dirty puddle as you rush off in your car.
But she doesn't. The first 100 pages is about her needing to make dinner for James' boss so James can get the promotion that he says he needs to pay for the wedding (which is way more expensive than Katy wants it to be because of James' mother). In a nutshell, she along with her best friend Ollie and his friend Frankie ruin the dinner, resulting in James not getting the promotion, James kicking Katy out and taking about the engagement ring.
Now, what makes this book so hard for me to read is all the characters. None of them are like-able except for Ollie and that's because he's the only one with actual sense! It's written in first person, so all I get is Katy's perspective and it drives me mad. I want to punch James and Cordelia (his mother) but I also want to punch her because she cannot see that she's in a horrible relationship. It's beyond obvious that she is in love with Ollie, and if she does not end up with him by the end, I would be surprised.
If I ignore all that, I'm still not happy with the book. There's a lot of repetitiveness within 100 pages. The jokes are not funny and it's not because I don't understand the lingo/references. Honestly, they're not funny to me. It's almost like every three sentences has to have a joke or punchline in it, and it just drags too much.
I know many people on goodreads so this as a great chick-lit, an easy read, but to me, it was too hard to read through and I cannot make myself any longer.
Reading Dates: June 17-19, 2014
Did not finish reading; read 101/408
Okay, here's the deal. I try not to judge a book by its cover, and if I did with this one, I never would have picked it up. It's pure hot pink with a childish feeling, a pair of sneakers, a wine glass, and a lobster on the cover.
When it comes to books, I give it about 100 pages before I decide if I'm staying along for the ride or getting off at the next stop.
Needless to say, I have gotten off this bus and do not see myself taking this route again.
The main character Katy from the getgo is complaining about being a ginger, like's it a horrible thing, being short, and being overweight. Throughout the first pages, we get a glimpse into the romance novel she is writing, and it's pretty ridiculous. It doesn't even seem like the cliche romance paperbacks. No, it's more over the top, focusing on Millandra's breasts all the time and Jake not being able to resist her thin body with lustrous curves.
Katy is a school teacher, not being paid much, and tends to daydream during faculty meetings than anything else. She's engaged to this guy named James who is a complete asshole. He mentally abuses her on a regular basis, saying that she needs to lose weight, that her job sucks, that she needs to get over becoming a writer, that she has to be a trophy wife that only cooks and cleans and looks good to his boss. He insults her family, friends, dreams, goals...everything about Katy. Her future mother-in-law is no better. She's a manipulative old hag who has her son eating out of the palm of her hands.
And through all this, Katy is saying how James doesn't mean it, that he loves her, that she just needs to make compromises in order for everything to work out. WRONG. He's using you. He's a bloody wanker that you need to dump on the curve and splash him with a dirty puddle as you rush off in your car.
But she doesn't. The first 100 pages is about her needing to make dinner for James' boss so James can get the promotion that he says he needs to pay for the wedding (which is way more expensive than Katy wants it to be because of James' mother). In a nutshell, she along with her best friend Ollie and his friend Frankie ruin the dinner, resulting in James not getting the promotion, James kicking Katy out and taking about the engagement ring.
Now, what makes this book so hard for me to read is all the characters. None of them are like-able except for Ollie and that's because he's the only one with actual sense! It's written in first person, so all I get is Katy's perspective and it drives me mad. I want to punch James and Cordelia (his mother) but I also want to punch her because she cannot see that she's in a horrible relationship. It's beyond obvious that she is in love with Ollie, and if she does not end up with him by the end, I would be surprised.
If I ignore all that, I'm still not happy with the book. There's a lot of repetitiveness within 100 pages. The jokes are not funny and it's not because I don't understand the lingo/references. Honestly, they're not funny to me. It's almost like every three sentences has to have a joke or punchline in it, and it just drags too much.
I know many people on goodreads so this as a great chick-lit, an easy read, but to me, it was too hard to read through and I cannot make myself any longer.
Reading Dates: June 17-19, 2014
February 21, 2018
3.5 stars
Pretty funny read.
Pretty funny read.
December 22, 2020
Creo que este libro no era para mi. Se suceden un montón de escenas surrealistas en las que muchas veces terminaba haciendo lectura diagonal
August 15, 2025
this book made me remember love
July 2, 2018
This is one of those books where most of the story wouldn't have happened if the characters had been honest with each other. That being said, it is a funny story and Katy is a very down to earth protagonist.
March 9, 2014
A fun story that had me laughing most of the time due to some ridiculous circumstances but the scenarios I could totally imagine happening in a kind of Stephanie Plum kind of way. In particular loved the scenes with Pinchy the lobster in it, was glad the useless guy got rejected by the main character, and that a long time friend became the romantic interest even though it took 237ish pages for the main character to realize she had liked him all along. A light hearted story that was worth reading.
December 30, 2011
I absolutely loved it! At first there were times I just wanted to smack Katy in the head, but throughout the book she goes through a lot of things and she really grows up, and she's so likeable and funny that it's impossible not to adore her.
Furthermore the book is really funny, cute and has a handful of amazing characters, not just Katy. And I loved all the books/tv/movies references. It's been such a marvellous reading for Christmas ;D
If you like chick lit you can't miss Katy Carter
Furthermore the book is really funny, cute and has a handful of amazing characters, not just Katy. And I loved all the books/tv/movies references. It's been such a marvellous reading for Christmas ;D
If you like chick lit you can't miss Katy Carter
February 22, 2011
Really enjoyed this - the pace was a little too fast / little too slow in some places, but the characters were mostly well-rounded, and the dialogue super-snappy. If you get a chance to pick this book up, do - it's lots of fun and will make you want to move to Cornwall (if only to have a pet lobster).
June 28, 2011
I'm a sucker for British Chic Lit. Can't help it. No its not rocket science...but it was fun. :-)
September 27, 2016
Really enjoyed this book - it was funny and rolled along at a great pace. Loved Katy and her chaotic life and cannot wait to read the sequel.
November 4, 2017
KATY CARTER WANTS A HERO 📖❤️
There's something very enticing about the life of a single woman in her late twenties/early thirties living in London.
Honestly speaking it took me a while to get into this book. I hated how long her toxic relationship with James went on, but unfortunately that's the reality of how these relationships tend to go. Despite being treated like a doormat. Katy goes as far to defend him against Ollie.
Ruth has done an amazing job in creating a villain out of James because never I have I disliked a character as much as him and mother Cordeillia. I was grinding my teeth throughout that segment, God I hate them!!!
What can I say about Katy? She's quite the handful, at times a bit shallow and at times a bit endearing. What I liked most about her character is her teacher background which I think gave her a lot of personality, it definitely created the parallel life where she was in control yet so all over the place beyond the school ground - perhaps yet again, another reality of today?
Any changes? Literally there is just one segment of this I found really odd, actually maybe 2. The 1st was that initially in the book there was an overload of Millandra/Jake chapters and it just became difficult to read but eventually I noticed this was taken away. Although I am happy with how they worked with it as an abstract concept later in the book rather than distracting from the narrative with her chapters.
Next is the way Katy perceived her role as Gabriel's girlfriend. The woman was practically healthier, successful and earning and suddenly craves to go back to teach in school. She just never seemed content with anything!
I think there was definitely an overload of characters in this as well and the story could've been more tighter. Although I sound highly critical, it was an enjoyable read but I had to really push myself to get to the good parts.
❤️ moment: When this book made me laugh, it really had m going. Her comment on gay men and going to IKEA on the weekdays, her constant references to big brother were quite funny. But the best scene by far and the turning point of this book was the dinner for James' boss where the lobster was kept in the bath and ended up in the woman's handbag, Sasha the dog made a ruckus by ruining James work, the boss coming onto Katy, James co workers wives bitchyness, Ollie inviting Frankie - the scream queen - who blares his obnoxious loud music to Katy falling apart and laughing at James in the face. Very funny sequence I enjoyed.
There's something very enticing about the life of a single woman in her late twenties/early thirties living in London.
Honestly speaking it took me a while to get into this book. I hated how long her toxic relationship with James went on, but unfortunately that's the reality of how these relationships tend to go. Despite being treated like a doormat. Katy goes as far to defend him against Ollie.
Ruth has done an amazing job in creating a villain out of James because never I have I disliked a character as much as him and mother Cordeillia. I was grinding my teeth throughout that segment, God I hate them!!!
What can I say about Katy? She's quite the handful, at times a bit shallow and at times a bit endearing. What I liked most about her character is her teacher background which I think gave her a lot of personality, it definitely created the parallel life where she was in control yet so all over the place beyond the school ground - perhaps yet again, another reality of today?
Any changes? Literally there is just one segment of this I found really odd, actually maybe 2. The 1st was that initially in the book there was an overload of Millandra/Jake chapters and it just became difficult to read but eventually I noticed this was taken away. Although I am happy with how they worked with it as an abstract concept later in the book rather than distracting from the narrative with her chapters.
Next is the way Katy perceived her role as Gabriel's girlfriend. The woman was practically healthier, successful and earning and suddenly craves to go back to teach in school. She just never seemed content with anything!
I think there was definitely an overload of characters in this as well and the story could've been more tighter. Although I sound highly critical, it was an enjoyable read but I had to really push myself to get to the good parts.
❤️ moment: When this book made me laugh, it really had m going. Her comment on gay men and going to IKEA on the weekdays, her constant references to big brother were quite funny. But the best scene by far and the turning point of this book was the dinner for James' boss where the lobster was kept in the bath and ended up in the woman's handbag, Sasha the dog made a ruckus by ruining James work, the boss coming onto Katy, James co workers wives bitchyness, Ollie inviting Frankie - the scream queen - who blares his obnoxious loud music to Katy falling apart and laughing at James in the face. Very funny sequence I enjoyed.
April 21, 2025
4.75
Katy a secondary school teacher and aspiring author who believes she has found the one in her fiance James. Katy is in need of help as she needs to prepare for a dinner party for James boss, as this will help him with a promotion. She turns to her best friend/colleague Ollie for help. The way James was being described made me hate him. I really was close to putting the book down because of James mother, she really annoyed me. Like annoyed me, her character seems like a right out drama queen and you could sense that James is a mummy’s boy. Hats off to Katy for managing her anger so well. James is a manipulative cow, and you could see who he got it from. What really got to me was James comments towards being teacher, thinking it easy because of all the holidays and finishing off at 3:30, being a teacher myself, his comments really did annoy me.
OMG! Ollie and Katy cracked me up especially with the lobster, (which she somehow managed to stop him from cooking ) and to top it off she named him Pinchy. Ollie invited his cousin Frankie (his gay cousin) to the dinner party and brought a cactus as a gift. The dinner party was everything and more, I was smiling and laughing throughout it! Pinchy escapes the bathroom, James office has been destroyed by Sasha (Ollie dog), and then of course James the cactus meets James the fiance. I am so happy the dinner party was destroyed, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during this dinner party.
We soon learn that Ollie was right about James (wanting to be with Katy because her Auntie Jules had money). After a health scare, Katy decides she needs to start her life again, so she leaves her job and moves to Cornwall, to be with her best friend Maddie, but Maddie has forgotten to pick her up from the station, and in comes Gabriel Winters, an actor, and Frankie crush. Katy has been seen with Gabriel at the local pub and now journalists are fans are wanting to know the story, Gabriel and Frankie had previously met and they both like each other, and Gabriel wants to pay Katy to be his girlfriend to keeps the press off his back. James just doesn’t seem to want to leave. I swear this guy!
I absolutely love Katy and was smiling that she was living her dream (author/screenwriter) and got her HEA!
Katy a secondary school teacher and aspiring author who believes she has found the one in her fiance James. Katy is in need of help as she needs to prepare for a dinner party for James boss, as this will help him with a promotion. She turns to her best friend/colleague Ollie for help. The way James was being described made me hate him. I really was close to putting the book down because of James mother, she really annoyed me. Like annoyed me, her character seems like a right out drama queen and you could sense that James is a mummy’s boy. Hats off to Katy for managing her anger so well. James is a manipulative cow, and you could see who he got it from. What really got to me was James comments towards being teacher, thinking it easy because of all the holidays and finishing off at 3:30, being a teacher myself, his comments really did annoy me.
OMG! Ollie and Katy cracked me up especially with the lobster, (which she somehow managed to stop him from cooking ) and to top it off she named him Pinchy. Ollie invited his cousin Frankie (his gay cousin) to the dinner party and brought a cactus as a gift. The dinner party was everything and more, I was smiling and laughing throughout it! Pinchy escapes the bathroom, James office has been destroyed by Sasha (Ollie dog), and then of course James the cactus meets James the fiance. I am so happy the dinner party was destroyed, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during this dinner party.
We soon learn that Ollie was right about James (wanting to be with Katy because her Auntie Jules had money). After a health scare, Katy decides she needs to start her life again, so she leaves her job and moves to Cornwall, to be with her best friend Maddie, but Maddie has forgotten to pick her up from the station, and in comes Gabriel Winters, an actor, and Frankie crush. Katy has been seen with Gabriel at the local pub and now journalists are fans are wanting to know the story, Gabriel and Frankie had previously met and they both like each other, and Gabriel wants to pay Katy to be his girlfriend to keeps the press off his back. James just doesn’t seem to want to leave. I swear this guy!
I absolutely love Katy and was smiling that she was living her dream (author/screenwriter) and got her HEA!
October 27, 2022
I listened to this on Audible. This was an easy listen and was light hearted.
Katy is a teacher and writes romance novels and dreams of a more exciting life. Her fiancé James is a businessman and has a very serious outlook on life. Katy hosts a dinner party for James' work colleagues, but it is a disaster and she ends up with Pinchy as a pet lobster.
Katy ends up going to stay with her friend Maddie and her husband who is a Church minister, and who does not approve of Katy's unconventional behaviour.
I laughed a lot reading this book and I'm glad that there is a 2nd book about Katy's life. I can't wait to see what she gets up to next.
Katy is a teacher and writes romance novels and dreams of a more exciting life. Her fiancé James is a businessman and has a very serious outlook on life. Katy hosts a dinner party for James' work colleagues, but it is a disaster and she ends up with Pinchy as a pet lobster.
Katy ends up going to stay with her friend Maddie and her husband who is a Church minister, and who does not approve of Katy's unconventional behaviour.
I laughed a lot reading this book and I'm glad that there is a 2nd book about Katy's life. I can't wait to see what she gets up to next.
October 20, 2019
This is just a terrible book. I want to find something that’s redeemable in the book, but there is absolutely nothing redeemable. You cannot like Katy Carter because she’s not likable at all. The plot is inordinately stupid. Every interaction between every character is so idiotic and would be so easily resolved if they actually opened their mouthes and talked to each other. I did skip over whole sections of this book to get to the end in hopes that the ending would be somewhat better, but it was just as ridiculous as the rest of the book.
Do yourself a favor and read any other book.
Do yourself a favor and read any other book.
May 27, 2023
Cute, campy story similar to Brigitte Jones about a schoolteacher who secretly writes a trashy historical romance and is always thinking about finding her romantic hero. It is not her fiancé who turns out to have only been with her thinking that she was going to inherit mega money from her Godmother. She does think it is the teacher friend that she has known for ages, nor is it the dashing actor who asked her to “play” his girlfriend. More predicaments ensue.
January 21, 2024
The ending was put together very well...i have to say though that this story I did struggle to get into it, I had given up with the first attempt only to find I was still curious to find out where the story was going....I struggled to visualise the characters, some of the wording was far too similar to that of the other Ruth saberton novel I have just read but....I'm going to continue reading their novels as the twists are put together great
March 15, 2019
Читала это по-русски и перевод иногда удивлял своей буквальнотью. Тем не менее, юмор автора мне пришелся по вкусу, хотя сюжет ближе к середине начинает "заедать" - как ириска, которая уже понятно что за конфета, но всё никак не прожуется. Вторую начала читать по-английски, но, видимо, не продолжу - она последняя в серии, что показывает на то, что возможно другие работы автора лучше.
March 21, 2025
I have to admit - if you listened to one of Ruth's books, you listened to them all. Characters are the same, even though they're different on paper, plot is the same, no surprises. This was my third one and it became too boring even for cute romance brain reset. Too long and predictable. I liked little inserts of FMC's book and the narrator was ok.
July 30, 2025
This was just awful, and I gave up after a couple of hours. It so wanted to be Bridget Jones, but was nearly 20 years too late for that back in 2012 when it was first published. The ideas, the plots and the tropes are stuck in the 90s, and the author's fatphobia and homophobia should have stayed there too, along with all of her extremely unlikeable characters.
Read
June 19, 2022Got it included with my Audible membership - I tried I really did - but once it moved to Cornwall and the 'star' and the vicar arrived I just gave up. I couldn't face another 200 pages of no-one actually being honest with anyone else.
Just not my kind of thing.
Just not my kind of thing.
August 25, 2017
More like a 3.5. It was cute.
September 8, 2017
Oh my I just loved it. I died laughing (almost!)
December 18, 2018
This is a really cute book. Perfect for easy beach/vacation reading.
May 30, 2020
It was cute but man was Katy dense. I needed more Ollie too.
July 13, 2020
Pure fantasy but such fun and beautifully written as always. Loved it. Glad Pinchy came back for a cameo at the end. He was truly the star of the show!!!
February 25, 2021
not a bad book in the end but quite long and maybe too much happening
November 18, 2021
To be honest I did not see the plot coming, apart from the happy ending.
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