Book Review: Diary of an Adorable Fat Girl at Christmas by Bernice Bloom
Diary of an Adorable Fat Girl at Christmas
Series: Adorable Fat Girl #4
Author: Bernice Bloom
Published: November 5, 2016
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: December 17, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
Hooray It’s Christmas! It’s the Adorable Fat Girl’s favourite time of year and she embraces it with the sort of thrill and excitement normally reserved for toddlers seeing jelly tots. Our funny, gorgeous and bonkers heroine finds herself dancing from party to party, covered in tinsel, decorating the Beckhams’ Christmas tree, dressing up as Father Christmas, declaring live on This Morning that she’s a drug addict and enjoying two Christmas lunches in quick succession. She’s the party queen as she stumbles wildly from disaster to disaster. A funny little treasure to see you smiling through the festive period.
Jessica’s Review:
The Adorable Fat Girl series is a series of about 14 short novellas with more coming! These books can be read as the series progresses or as standalone novels. Our ‘Adorable Fat Girl’ is Mary Brown who is a Bridget Jones type character who is actually overweight and has all kinds of crazy chaos ensues (some her fault, some not!)
This is the fourth in the series, and sadly this one just did not really work for me. It seems to be missing the ‘magic’ that the others I have read in this series have. Maybe it was because this is an earlier novel in the series and Bloom was still figuring Mary out? I enjoyed the section that dealt with the Beckham’s and their Christmas tree, but the rest of the novel just did not really appeal to me.
Will this stop me from reading more of this series?? Absolutely not! There is a new one coming out on Christmas Eve called Marvellous Mary Brown gets a Christmas Puppy: Chaos, Mayhem and Madness that I look forward to reading!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blog Tour: The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two
Today I am one of the stops on the blog tour for The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two by Audrey Davis! This is the second in a three part novella series about a ghost that can’t or won’t keep away from his wife. I will be sharing my review today. This is an entertaining series that I can’t wait to find out how it ends!
In case you want to know about Part One before you learn about Part Two, my review for Part One is here.
Novella Description:
The story continues …
Hattie is used to her deceased husband Gary dropping in and out of her life. His timing might not always be great, but at least he’s still around. Although – when Hattie tentatively tries a spot of dating – his interference isn’t entirely welcome.
Best friend Cat is lapping up her new relationship with teacher Jamie, but ex-husband Stewart isn’t prepared to fade into the background.
Hattie’s mother Rachel faces a daunting battle, one she doesn’t want to burden family and friends with. But there’s someone waiting in the wings who might be more than a shoulder to cry on.
Gary still doesn’t know what his mission on earth is, and spirit guide Clarence isn’t offering any clues? Will an encounter with another provide him with answers, or put Hattie in an impossible situation?
Prepare for more laughs and tears in the second installment of a trilogy which takes a darkly comic look at life … and the afterlife.
***Warning: Cliffhanger Ending***
The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two
Author: Audrey Davis
Published: Today, March 21, 2018
95 pages in Kindle
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: March 12-18, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
I enjoyed The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One and was given the opportunity to be on the blog tour for Part Two. I could not wait to see where the story went next, so of course I said yes!
Part Two picks up where Part One left off which was a cliff hanger. Hattie is trying to move on but Gary just keeps showing up! Gary has helped Hattie in both positive and negative ways. He’s the ghost that just can’t or won’t stay away. Gary doesn’t know why he hasn’t moved on and what his purpose is, but he might be getting closer. These novellas will leave you laughing, but be prepared as they end with cliffhangers and leave you wanting the next novella now. Bring on Part Three!!
The lightheartedness is counterbalanced with some serious situations. I hope they have satisfying conclusions and I wonder what Hattie will do next. When the description warns you that it ends in a cliffhanger, be prepared: You will want the third and final part now!
I have enjoyed these first two novellas and look forward to the third and final part. I am attached to all the characters and really care and want to know what will happen next. I can’t wait to see how Davis winds down this story!
The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two is recommended.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Audrey Davis survived secondary school on the West coast of Scotland. Rubbish at science but not too bad at English, she originally wanted to be an actress but was persuaded that journalism was a safer option. Probably wise. She studied at Napier College in Edinburgh, the only place in Scotland at that time to offer a journalism course.
Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, less farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: ‘There’s been a murrrrder!’
After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for ‘artistic’ use of naked men’s bottoms.
Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between them, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn’t bode well …
Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it’s packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we’ll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.
It wasn’t until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an online Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Part Two is published on 21 March 2018, with the conclusion following in May/June. After which she might have a wee lie down …
Contact Audrey:
Facebook
Twitter @audbyname
Check out the whole tour: Coming to a blog near you!
Publication Day Push: The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One
Today I am helping get the word out on a new novella. It is the first part in a three part trilogy: The Haunting of Hattie Hastings. I will be sharing my review.
Novella Description:
Some people just won’t take death lying down …
Part one of a fun-filled trilogy about life, death and letting go.
Hattie Hastings is happily married, even if husband Gary drives her up the wall at times. When tragedy strikes, she is left alone and heartbroken, with only an assortment of family and friends to prop her up.
Struggling to cope, she is left reeling when her deceased other half returns, popping up at the most inappropriate times.
Hattie can’t convince anyone that Gary has returned. Not even best friend Cat – now free from the cruel and controlling Stewart – will believe her.
Why has Gary returned? And what will Cat do when her slimy ex-husband tries to worm his way back into her affections?
The Haunting of Hattie Hastings will make you laugh, cry and count down until Part Two …
The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One
Author: Audrey Davis
Published: November 24, 2017
90 pages in Kindle
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 20-23, 2017
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Hattie’s husband Gary tragically dies. Hattie doesn’t really know what to do next then Gary reappears as a ghost…. Without warning…. And he keeps reappearing… He can’t control this…He has interesting timing in his appearances….
This is the part one in a trilogy of novellas. After finishing this first part I am looking forward to reading part two. I want to see where this story goes next. You can’t help but like these characters. This is a comedy that is filled with great one liners. I won’t say what he said but Gary mentions the first thing he noticed about Hattie since his death and well…. Just read this!
The only ‘negative’ I can say is that just when The Haunting of Hattie Hastings really gets going you have that cliff hanger. I NEED the second part now! If you download this, be prepared! You’ll want the second and I’m guessing the third parts to read all at once.
The Haunting of Hattie Hastings is recommended.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Scottish-born Audrey studied journalism in Edinburgh more decades ago than she cares to admit. She cut her writing teeth on provincial newspapers (using a typewriter) and a London-based video magazine (another sign of her advanced years).
Engagement to her now-husband Bill took them to Singapore, Australia and Buckinghamshire, England, before they settled in Switzerland in 2002. Along the way they had two boys, both all grown-up and living in the UK.
Her journey to becoming a published author began with an online Writing Fiction course. It took well over a year but, in June 2017, Audrey published her debut romantic comedy novel, A Clean Sweep. It was quickly followed by a shorter and darker prequel, A Clean Break.
The idea for The Haunting of Hattie Hastings came from nowhere, just a random title that popped into her head and from there grew into Part One of a trilogy. It comes under the same genre, but has some poignant scenes and – hopefully – lots of laughs! Audrey admits to being a worrier, and has always used humour as a defence mechanism, as her friends will attest.
When Audrey isn’t writing, she loves shows like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and Strictly Come Dancing (a strange mix, she knows). Her interests include cooking (and eating pretty much anything apart from oysters), travelling and going to the gym. OK, the last one is mainly to compensate for her passion for food!
Audrey would describe herself as a ‘pantser’ rather than a ‘planner’, preferring to run where a story takes her and scribble copious notes along the way. She’d love to write a page-turning thriller, but fears her natural tendency to see the comic side of life might be an obstacle.
Contact Audrey:
Website
Facebook
Twitter @audbyname