BLOG TOUR - Book review + giveaway: Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley

My edition: Ebook, published on 4 October 2013 by Createspace.

Description: All her life she has dreamed of a home of her own, so what's holding her back?

Sophie Stone, thirty-something serial procrastinator, lover of Take That, Tesco knickers and tea with two sugars, rarely steps out of her comfort zone.

So when an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt she's never met forces her to meet her father, it threatens the very foundations of Sophie's world.

What did the old lady want her to discover? Was there more to her parents' break up than she was led to believe?

Sophie will have to face some startling home truths before she can finally build a future on her own terms.

Rating:


I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley! I absolutely adored this novel; it was cute and charming and incredibly funny. Find my review and a fab giveaway below.



Sophie thinks that her gorgeous boyfriend Marc might be the one, so when he breaks up with her on Valentine's Day she's heartbroken - and also horrified at the thought of having to change her Facebook status to 'single' on the most romantic day of the year.

Thankfully Sophie has her two close friends Jess and Emma to distract her and if that wasn't enough there's also the arrival of a mysterious letter from a solicitor on her doorstep. In it it's explained that she's a beneficiary in the will and testament of Mrs Jane Kennedy. Sophie has no idea who this woman is, but the letter sets into motion a series of events that will change her life forever...

Even though I instantly took a liking to the character of Sophie I did think that she was very naïve and a bit of a pushover in the earlier chapters. She let Marc and her mum waltz right over her and on more than one occasion I wished she'd just stand up for herself. Thankfully, as the story progressed, Sophie really found her feet and she grew into a more confident and independent woman.

Some new characters are introduced because of the mysterious inheritance and I instantly fell head over heels in love with the socially awkward architect Nick. More comfortable in the company of his dog than that of other human beings he was rather endearing and (of course) I instantly started rooting for him and Sophie to become more than just friends.

Another thing that I really liked about the novel was the home makeover aspect. I'm at a stage in my own life where I feel ready to have my own place to renovate and decorate to my heart's content, so I completely understood Sophie's desire for exactly that. And as she put all her ideas and creativity into turning the property into a home, I was vicariously living through her.

Conditional Love was also incredibly funny. There were many hilariously awkward situations that made me chuckle and I have quite a few post-its scattered across my room with phrases that I wrote down while reading. Two of my favourites were: "Today she had bags under her eyes that wouldn't pass the Ryanair baggage allowance" (I was properly laughing out loud at that one) and "She was to cooking what Heston Blumenthal was to hairstyling: a total stranger".

It's hard to believe that this is Cathy Bramley's debut novel as it reads as if written by a much more seasoned author. What's even more amazing is that this is not only her debut, but it is also self-published. Having a publishing company backing a book release means that a lot more people can give their professional input and polish the novel, yet even though Conditional Love did not have this privilege, you wouldn't be able to tell from reading it. It looks professionally put together and has one of the most eye-catching and cutest covers I've seen all year.

In short, Conditional Love is cute, charming and very, very funny. I adored this novel, which is similar in feel to the books by Lindsey Kelk and Abby Clements, and I can promise you that you will too, so purchase your very own copy now from Amazon.co.uk.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Would you like to know more about the author? You can connect with her online at:

Website: www.cathybramleyauthor.com

Facebook: facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor

Twitter: @CathyBramley


Many thanks to Fiction Addiction Book Tours for organising the tour of Conditional Love!