Wednesday 6 June 2012

Review - What I did on my holidays by Chrissie Manby

Fanflippingtastic!

Sophie is really looking forward to her summer holiday with boyfriend Callum.  Even though they work at the same company, Callum  has spent the last month working away without returning home at all and Sophie has missed him like mad.

While Callum was away, Sophie has been preparing for this holiday, and has cooked a lovely Spanish meal for the night before the holiday to really prepare them. After waiting for him to arrive at her flat for hours and hours, he finally responds to her many many texts by saying that he's not going on holiday with her and doesn't think that they should see each other any more.  He admits that he's actually been home each weekend she thought he was away but didn't want to see her. 

Completely devastated Sophie tells Callum that she'll go away without him but when it comes to the crunch she doesn't feel that brave at all.  Sophie's colleagues think that she's gone off to Majorca on her own and think she is tremendously bold.  She therefore feels that she has no alternative than to play along with it, actually hiding out in her flat.  She feels that the best way to get him back is to let him think she's gone without him.  She scares her sister Claire in a hilarious way when she comes in as promised to water the plants. Claire comes up with an amazing plan and at first Sophie thinks she's a complete lunatic but then realises that she doesn't have much of a choice.  But what will the results of this hilarious plan be?

Another Chris Manby book which has completely bowled me over. This book is hilarious in many parts and again was another book that I started reading one day and finished the next. That would probably tell you enough about how much I enjoyed it.


It's a fabulous feel good book with loads of tender moments between two sisters who are also the best of friends.  I can relate to this very much as my sister is one of my best friends too.  It also makes you think about being careful what you wish for and wonder whether when you actually analyse a relationship in detail, whether it really is something that makes you really happy and whether people you think you know really well are really what they seem to be. 

You almost felt as if you were living in the flat with them creating this perfect plan to fool everybody. This book shows me completely why Chris Manby is the bestselling author that she is.   Her books are so entertaining and extremely enjoyable to read, that they give you true escapism from the real world into a world which is full of fun and colour.  


She writes with such warmth and a sense of humour and also manages to show kindness and compassion through her wonderful charismatic characters and the scenes that she creates. 

Another hugely enjoyable book that I will definitely be recommending to family, friends and readers alike.   An extremely talented writer, who somehow manages to write one book a year, each one different but with the same fabulous qualities.

Chrissie Manby grew up in Gloucester, with her beloved parents, her sister and a menagerie of pets.   Her English teacher encouraged her to write and her first short story appeared in Just Seventeen when she was just 14 years old.   She continued to write short stories for this magazine to help her to pay her way through university where she studied Experimental Psychology.   After graduating, she moved to London and took a series of temp jobs to support herself. It was while she was working at Prelude Audio Books, that she met David Garnet who after daring her to write, read her first manuscript and passed it on to his editor and she was made an offer for her very first book.   Her writing has gone from strength to strength and she has written over 15 books under various names. 

You can follow Chrissie on Twitter .
Her website is www.chrissmanby.co.uk
You can buy this book via Amazon

1 comment:

D.J. Kirkby said...

You do make me laugh. I think the first word of your review said it all really!