Katy Birchall

The Last Word

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by Katy Birchall

Good writing enables me to forgive a lot of sins. And Katie Birchall is very good. Her narrative voice is very likable, and her effortless wit and humor are on point. The author I would most compare her to is Sophie Kinsella. Like Sophie, she has a gift for putting engaging, funny, if somewhat hapless heroines who don’t realize their own value into intriguing and entertaining situations. She has become an author I will be on the watch for. She is still library-waiting-list-level though, not a pre-order auto-buy. Yet.

This is not a dual timeline book although we do have flashbacks to 10 years earlier when the two protagonists, Harper and Ryan, first meet and develop a relationship. I listened to it on Audible which of course influenced my feelings about the characters. Our heroine, Harper, is an excellent even brilliant journalist with a genius for getting celebrities to open up to her and trust her. She is renowned and respected in the industry but discounted by her stupid boss, Cosmo. His fair-haired boy is Ryan who has just been hired as the magazine’s new Features Head Editor to Harper’s dismay. As the not-as-respected Celebrity Features Editor, Harper’s good relationship with Features is crucial. Most of the time, the romance takes second place to the workplace dynamic and Harper’s successful pursuits of getting attention-grabbing interviews with reclusive media-shy celebrities. And that was more than fine with me.

I loved the hero in this one. In our heroine’s eyes, he is uptight, cold, and looks down on her. Reading between the lines, though, the reader sees that he is just shy and socially awkward. I felt a real Darcy-Elizabeth vibe, always a good thing. It’s also pretty clear that he is absolutely smitten by the warm, upbeat, but chaotic Harper soon after their first meeting and, again, now in the present. Harper is the first-person narrator of her story so of course we get to know her pretty well. Mostly she is very charming, likable, and even admirable. But her flaws threatened to derail my ability to relate and empathize with her. First and most importantly, she acted very immaturely in both her professional life and her love life. She is very unfair to Ryan, always putting the worst spin on his behavior. She blames him for things that are not his fault and refuses to see any point of view other than her own. She reacts in knee-jerk fashion which she almost always has to apologize for later usually after a reality check from her wiser and more fair-minded best friend and workmate, Mimi. This lack of empathy for Ryan’s point of view led to their break up in the past and a leads to a crisis in their present relationship. When Ryan can not give her special treatment at two turning points in her career, she interprets it as a personal betrayal and won’t listen to him when he tries to explain. It is a bit more complicated than that and he did do wrong, but she over-reacted (as usual). I was disappointed in her, especially considering what their relationship had grown into. She breaks his heart breaking up with him. I couldn’t help but feel he might be better off despite their connection.

The second strike against her in my book was that she is a disorganized slob, which causes her to be constantly late for meetings and appointments as well as causing crisis after crisis. This was very irritating especially since she seems to be quite proud of this trait, thinking it is a sign of her creativity and individualism instead of self-involvement and bad manners. Sounds like I hated her, doesn’t it? But I really didn’t. I admired and liked lots about her especially how she did her job with the highest integrity and honesty. She was kind and good at heart. We see her charisma. When she did wrong she was usually quick to admit it and would try to make things right. I suspect though, that the narrator made her more likable than what I may have found her on the written page. She funny, charming, and endearing when she wasn’t irritating the hell out of me.

That she was raised by terrible parents also made her a more sympathetic character. They are both renowned lawyers who make their disapproval of Harper’s chosen career abundantly clear. They treat her with contempt and cold disapproval, constantly comparing her with her sister Juliet, their Golden Child, who dutifully followed their prescribed path. The inevitable showdown between Harper and her parents added suspense and anticipation. I couldn’t wait until they got their comeuppance and when it came it was a great scene and well worth the wait. It was everything I hoped for but didn’t get in  The Undomestic Goddess. Her breaking free of the heavy weight that the lifelong disapproval of her parents caused and her ultimate triumph in her professional life and over her bad boss really bumped up my enjoyment of this book.

I mostly loved the prickly relationship between Ryan and Harper, their tugs of war, and ultimately, the sweet romance between them. I marveled at the levelheaded, neat, and organized Ryan’s patience with her. Unfortunately they are so different that cracks in the relationship are going to be inevitable. I can only hope that they will balance each other out in the end and they both will be the better for it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Wedding Season

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By Katy Birchall

When you get dumped the day before your wedding in a broom cupboard, suddenly everything seems a bit shit.

“Look, Freya, this is kind of what I’m talking about. We don’t … mesh well anymore. You’re so pragmatic all the time. So together. Which is great. For you. But I’m, you know—” He searched for the words. “—I’m all over the place. Temperamental. Emotional. We can’t be good for each other. We just can’t. We don’t make sense.”

At last, a straight-up rom-com/chick-lit novel ala Sophie Kinsella that I really liked without reservation. It was effortlessly funny and romantic yet with just the right amount of seriousness and depth. Our heroine, Freya, is delightful and not a victim but with enough flaws, foibles, and insecurities to make her someone you can relate to and give her a path for personal growth.

In the first couple of pages, Freya is dumped by her fiance on the day before their wedding. To make this even more devastating, they have been together for 10 years, their lives are closely intertwined, and her family has spent a lot of money. It was to be a very big wedding. There is one side issue about this that I have to get off my chest. Nowhere is it mentioned that Matthew paid her back for the money spent. He cost her a lot of money by leaving it to the last minute to call off the wedding. And Freya or her family should have asked him to pony up. Anyway, Freya is heartbroken, stunned, and crushed. She really loved him. The objective reader knows that she dodged a bullet, but it takes much of the book for Freya to see Matthew and his actions clearly. It would have been easy for Katy Birchall to make him a real jerk and villain. But she makes it clear that he is essentially a good guy, but weak and immature. But She reveals this subtly and gradually while still giving him enough lovable qualities that we don’t question Freya’s sanity for being with him for 10 years and heartbroken at his loss. I appreciated this. Too often I start to dislike heroines I’m meant to root for because they are so clueless and blind to the vileness of the men they are married to or in love with.

The book is centered around a string of eight weddings that Freya and Matthew were meant to attend together as a married couple. Her best friends, another couple, devise a plan to keep her out of the dumps during this “Wedding Season” that will call up such pain and humiliation for her. They give her a task for her to accomplish at each wedding and it is one that will be a challenge for her being the kind of girl she is and help her to step out of her comfort zone. For example, she has to stand up to give a toast to the bride and groom when she is a terrible public speaker. Or Be the last one standing on the dance floor when she is reserved and not a good dancer. By the end of the book, she is well and truly over Matthew, in love with a great guy that we love too, and improbably reconciled with her estranged mother.

The way the book is plotted kept me always looking forward and engaged in Freya’s journey. There were so many opportunities for humor and drama. The romance was perfect. Her family and all of her friends were entertaining, supportive, and loving. And Matthew gets his comeuppance in a very satisfying fashion. And she didn’t stint on her mother being rightly told off either with the result that she finally takes responsibility for her actions. Lots of Catharsis. My only disappointment was that the author has written only 3 other adult novels, and I had already read one of them which I hadn’t realized! I was disappointed that I had to give that one 4 stars and was so happy that this one was a 5-star read.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Secret Bridesmaid

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By Katy Birchall

What?” I laugh, as though his throwaway comment is not affecting me to the core. “I don’t just watch rom-coms. I like lots of films.” “Only the ones when you know there’s a happy ending,” he notes, taking a sip of his drink. “Any hint that things might not turn out as they should and you’d scarper.” He sees my expression and grins. “It’s not a bad thing!”

“Always doing the right thing. Never breaking any rules. Playing it safe.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Something tells me you’re afraid.” … Suddenly Daniel flashes into my brain, his stinging comments about my love of happy endings and lack of brazenness to pull off red hair echoing in my mind. Ugh. “You’re afraid to get out there and take chances.” She sighs, tilting her head at me sympathetically as she twists the knife in further. “So you hide behind your brides, no eyes on you.” “That’s not true,” I protest, glaring at her. It’s a bit true, though. Isn’t it? 

This was an engaging funny 4-star read right out of the gate (or should I say, from the first step down the aisle?) At one point I thought it just might be a 5-star chick-lit comedy but when something inevitable happened, it did not happen in the way I wanted it to, so it stayed a 4-star.

Sophy has carved out a successful career as a professional bridesmaid. This is like a wedding planner, but she acts more as a buddy and “girl Friday” to the bride. She is a confidant, go-fer, advisor, and troubleshooter. Her professional identity is a secret to everyone except the bride. She’s just a friend with a cover story of why no one else in the wedding party has ever heard of her before. Her goal is the happiness and satisfaction of the brides under her care, and Sophie is a master at it. It’s not only what she does but who she is.

When a satisfied client refers Sophie’s services to the mother of the bride of one of the first families in England to help her daughter with what is destined to be the wedding of the year, Sophie knows that much is riding on the success of the Bride-to-Be’s big day and her experience leading up to it. Unfortunately, the bride, Cordelia, is a very difficult person at the best of times and does not want Sophie’s help. Just to give you an idea, Sophie is the only bridesmaid because Cordelia does not have any friends. With good reason. Her goal is to make Sophie’s life so difficult with outrageous demands that Sophie quits.

It is a great setup for comedy, family drama, relationship development, suspense, and romance. It mostly lives up to the promise. We learn that Cordelia is beloved and respected by some surprising people in her orbit, including the groom, despite her well-earned nasty reputation and nasty behavior toward Sophy. How can this be? So that’s intriguing. Another reason I enjoyed this book so much was Sophy. She is so funny and nice. And she is so good at her job, that despite some reprehensible behavior and tricks on the part of Cordelia, she just refuses to quit trying to make her happy. Of course, Sophy has some growing to do as well. She is too nice. She is too eager to please and be accepted by Cordelia. As Cordelia herself points out, she is a “goody-goody.” She finally is driven to the end of her rope and decides to give up. Something the reader wonders why she didn’t do 120 pages earlier. Her mother convinces her not to quit and reminds her why she is so good at what she does. When she takes her mother’s advice on how to turn things around it is a turning point. And could it be possible that Cordelia may have had an ulterior motive for putting Sophie through fresh hell? Sophie’s best friend Cara points out, “I hate to say it, but this Miranda Priestly bride of yours isn’t a complete idiot. She may have gone about it in a weird way,” she says, taking a sip of wine, “but she pushed you right into your spotlight, whether you wanted it or not.” She finally wins Cordelia over, but we know, this being the kind of book it is that disaster awaits before the happy ending is achieved. How all was made well and smoothed over was why this wasn’t a 5-star read for me. **Big Spoiler**

A scandalous secret that Cordelia shared with Sophie in confidence finds its way to the British press the next day. The family somewhat understandably thinks Sophie is to blame. But they persist in blaming her despite her assurances of innocence. They know she has proven to be a person of honor and has been unfailingly loyal and supportive in the face of extreme challenges. They know what a great person she is. They know what a “goody-goody” she is. And she has no motive. Their faith is only restored when the guilty party confesses (thanks to Sophie.) Ironically, the guilty party is someone that was discounted and forgotten about, which only serves to bolster British upper-class stereotypes. Cordelia was supposed to be different. So that, along with Sophie jumping at the chance to too eagerly resume her bridesmaid duties after their apology further weakened the book for me. **end spoiler**

 If this would have been handled more thoughtfully and less patly it could have reflected some real growth on the part of both Cordelia and Sophie. It was an entertaining and engaging book in many ways and I would recommend this book to any and all chick-lit readers who don’t need a romance front and center taking up most of the book. Rest assured, Sophie does find romantic love, but she is much too busy with Cordelia (and her other weddings) to give it too much of her time. It was so close to being a 5-star read, it is frustrating.

Rating: 4 out of 5.