Brown Sauce

by Pauline Lagan

After taking a job as a receptionist in a plush hotel, Davina Brown meets distillery manager Hamish Hamilton, whose unwavering admiration for her fuller figure gives her the confidence to step out from the shadow of her slender younger sister, Marge, and grab life by the balls.

Encouraged by Hamish to make best use of her assets, Davina finds herself embroiled in a lucrative business and uses the fruits of her labour to make sensible investments for the future.

With only one missing piece remaining in her (somehow) near-perfect life, Davina - having acquired the self-confidence she so desperately lacked in her formative years - seeks to bag her childhood sweetheart, Logan McIntyre.

But, in her pursuit of happiness, family unrest and complex affairs of the heart raise their ugly head, putting Davina at the centre of a hive of dilemmas, secrets and lies, making her question whether she has the mettle to cut the right wires, restore family harmony and fulfill her heart's desire.

Straddling the genres of comedy, literary fiction, erotica and romance, Brown Sauce is a laugh out loud romp in the hay, but its tenderness and emphasis on family - big and dysfunctional in Davina's case - shines through like a peroxide blonde perm.

373 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2022

Reviews

[Erica Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun and gripping read. Moving and very funny. Found myself really rooting for Davina.

[penelopewanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came as part of a bookcrossing ring - part of the lead up to the Falkirk bookcrossing convention.
As is often the case, by the time this arrived with me I didn’t really remember what it was about, but plunged into it now while on holiday. I do enjoy the occasional steamy read, but wasn’t particularly expecting it to roll in as a ring!
I found this entertaining, and ever a fan of Scotland and especially Glasgow, was happy for the setting.
Davina’s antics were a bit surprising at times, and (potential spoilers follow?) I was waiting for the penny to drop about her dilemma… and was absolutely not surprised at how it turned out.
On the whole it was a fun read.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very funny, but also a very moving, book. I was originally told this family was like The Broons, a cartoon family published in The Sunday Post newspaper since 1936. It is, in that there are they are the same configuration, Grandad, Maw & Paw, the twins etc, but their family life is very different. I knew about the adult content but the speed it arrived did take me a little by surprise. However I developed a soft spot for Davina even if she sometimes needed a little slap. And I laughed out loud every time I read the word ‘fandango’.

[Katerina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do love a good erotica book. Unfortunately, this was just too boring, so I'm DNFing it.