Reviewed: The Reading Group by Della Parker

TITLE: The Reading Group: December
AUTHOR: Della Parker
PUBLISHER: Quercus
PUBLICATION DATE: December 1, 2016

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Meet the Reading Group: six women in the seaside village of Little Sanderton come together every month to share their love of reading. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss . . . and don't forget the glass of red!

Grace knows that the holiday season is going to be different this year. No turkey, no tinsel, no gorgeously wrapped gifts under the tree . . . how on earth is she going to break it to her little boys that Christmas is effectively cancelled? And can she bear to tell anyone her embarrassing secret? Enter the Reading Group: Grace's life might have turned upside down but there's no problem they can't solve.

TITLE: The Reading Group: January
AUTHOR: Della Parker
PUBLISHER: Quercus
PUBLICATION DATE: December 1, 2016

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Anne-Marie has always considered herself a bit of a matchmaker - never mind that she's only got one real success under her belt. And this year she's determined to up her game: Little Sanderton's singles could certainly benefit from her expertise!

But while Anne Marie thinks she knows what's best for everyone else, her own life couldn't be less of a fairytale romance. Between looking after her cranky father and running her own business, she doesn't have time for a relationship. Her friends in the Reading Group know better though: after all, love can be found in the most unexpected of places . . .

This January the Reading Group is tackling Jane Austen's Emma . . . but who's got time for fiction when romance is in the air?

TITLE: The Reading Group: Feburary
AUTHOR: Della Parker
PUBLISHER: Quercus
PUBLICATION DATE: December 1, 2016

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Kate has tried to be a good wife to her husband Anton. Ever since he got demoted at work - answering to a woman no less - Anton simply hasn't been the same. Kate wants to help, but as the months pass and Anton pulls away from her both emotionally and physically, Kate can't help but feel a bit abandoned.

Then Kate means Bob: the handsome, blue-eyed carpenter that Anton has hired to refurbish their kitchen. Kate instantly feels a powerful physical connection between them . . . but dare she risk her marriage for a man she barely knows?

This month the Reading Group is enjoying Lady Chatterley's Lover . . . and trying not to giggle too much at the naughty parts!

The Reading Group: December is the perfect introduction to the series. I loved how in just a few pages, the author had me engrossed in the story, caring for a few of the characters already and picking up on some hints of where things will go for some of them in later novellas. Though we only meet the other members of The Reading Group briefly, their friendship and solidarity is evident and although like most book clubs reading wasn’t massively on the agenda, Grace, Serena, Kate, Anne-Marie and Jojo felt like a really welcoming group of friends and this made me want to dive into the first three books straight away.

December is Grace’s story and in the lead-up to Christmas, herself, her husband Ben and their boys (triplets!) are going through a tough time. I was moved by this story. I loved the dynamics between the triplets – a realistic representation of the chaos kids can cause, the kind that is fun to hear about but not so fun to deal with yourself! I also loved how Grace’s worries led to meeting the Reading Group and how understanding and willing to help they were. This was a truly heart-warming read.

The Reading Group: January is Anne-Marie’s story. Anne-Marie is a matchmaker – not a hugely successful one, but she tries! Spurred on by the news of her best friend’s engagement to a guy she set her up with, she decides to set some more of her friends up with new men too.

I really enjoyed Anne-Marie’s story. I smiled at her very failed attempts to read January’s book, Emma, and at how persistent she was with the match-making even though it never worked out right. There was less of the Reading Group girls in this book but instead we see more of her other friends, Manda and Sophie .Della’s characters always seem to be really well characterised as I feel like I can picture them almost instantly which helps me connect with the novellas more. I couldn’t put January down and found myself falling for one of the characters within the pages – so it’s always a bit of a shame when the book ends – but I couldn’t wait to read the next book either.

The Reading Group: February tells Kate’s story. Kate’s marriage to Anton has gone sour and things quickly turn on their head when she meets her new builder – Bob the builder. Bob is a hunk and Kate feels an attraction straight away. The theme of the classic the girls are reading in February is sex and infidelity – and Kate hates the thoughts it’s putting in her head. By now I really wish I was a member of the Reading Group. I love catching up on their meeting each month, keeping up-to-date on the lives of all five of them and seeing how things have changed for them. I like how the book they’re reading has links to their own lives and the author really captures their friendship brilliantly and their dialogue and the way their monthly book club goes really sets up each novella perfectly.

So far Feburary is probably my favourite of the three books so far although I love them all. Each story is entertaining and uplifting, full of laughs and romance and characters who feel more like friends than strangers. I’m so looking forward to the other novellas in the series.