Million Love Songs by Carole Matthews

Title: Million Love Songs

Author: Carole Matthews

Publisher: 4th January 2018 by Hachette (Australia), Sphere

Pages: 400 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: womens fiction, chick lit

My Rating: 4.5 crowns

Synopsis:

After splitting up with her cheating ex-husband, Ruby Brown is ready for a change. She's single again for the first time in years and she's going to dive into this brave new world with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. The last thing she's looking for is another serious relationship.

Mason Soames represents everything Ruby wants right now: he's charming, handsome, and perfect for some no-strings-attached fun, and yet Ruby can't help feel that something is missing. Joe Edwards on the other hand is also lovely and handsome but he comes with the sort of baggage Ruby wants to avoid: an annoyingly attractive ex-wife and two teenage children.

Ruby soon has some very tough decisions to make. Is she ready for a relationship of any kind, and what type of life does she really want? Because while Ruby may think she knows what she wants, is that what she needs to be truly happy?

My Thoughts

‘Life should get easier once you leave the playground, but it doesn’t. Then you think you’ll have it sorted in your teens and you don’t. So you hurtle into your twenties when you’re sure you’ll crack the meaning of life. Yet here I am in my late thirties and I’m still all at sea.’

When you are looking for a solid, reliable read with some quality escapism, then Carole Matthews will always provide. This is a highly entertaining read with many a humorous moment. As Matthews says, it’s just about an ordinary woman trying to discover what is right for herself with lots of bumps along the way. You have to admire the lead character Ruby as she tries to work through things:

‘I was a little bit frightened of change. That’s no reason to stay anywhere, is it?’

I always enjoy Mathews humour, there is much to smile about whilst reading - everything from Ruby’s friend pursuit of the boy band, to her search for potential hobbies, their ‘muffin top’ laments and just some great one liners that really resonated with me, thus making the characters and story relatable:

‘I’m fretting about catching pneumonia or pleurisy by going out with damp hair –the things that your mother tells you leave scars for life .’

‘I try to pull it down at the sides. ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it,’ Charlie instructs.

‘I don’t think I have got it. I’m pretty sure it went a long time ago.’

The two love interests for Ruby could not be more different - but I guess that was the point. Whilst I appreciated her indecision, sometimes her decisions were perplexing. But again, standing at the side, it’s easy for me to draw rational conclusions - this was Ruby’s journey I guess and she had to go through all the highs and lows. I also loved the whole 80s boy band saga but at times this too was drawn out just a tad too much for my liking.

Overall this is a fun book with much to endear itself to the reader. Do yourself a favour, take a break from the craziness of life and spend some time getting to know Ruby and the gang.

‘I’m content for the first time in a long time. Sometimes we hurtle through life, don’t we? I’m rushing off to work or racing round the supermarket, doing a dozen other things that I really don’t want to be doing and it’s easy not to stop and simply take a breath.’

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This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release