Saturday 23 November 2013

Books Read: Clare Dowling - Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Clara's been away for too long. So, after ten great years in London, and with boyfriend Matthew in tow, she arrives home in small-town Castlemoy. The family welcomes her with open arms: her diet-shy mother, her closet-living sister and her actor brother who scratches a living doing voiceover ads for chicken. Not everyone is delighted to see her, though. Jason, her long-ago ex, seems to have old scores to settle. Soon Clara finds herself being watched, followed and manipulated from afar. 

As her dreams of happily-ever-after begin to shatter, Clara decides it's time to wrestle her life back before it's too late...



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Clara has been living and working in London ever since she arrived there out of the blue ten years previously.  So when her boyfriend Matthew suggests that they up sticks and move back to her hometown of Castlemoy she's excited about the prospect but is also a little apprehensive about the move considering the circumstances of her departure.  

How will her ex Jason react to the news that she's now back living in Castlemoy?  It isn't long before she bumps into him and then things seem to take a turn for the worse as it would appear that not everyone is happy that Clara has returned home... 

It did take me a few chapters to get into this book but once the story started going I found myself rooting for Clara to stand up for herself and not take what was happening to her lying down.

Clara and Matthew were definitely my favourite characters in the book as they were both extremely likeable and you could relate to them as if they were your friends.  There was also an interesting mix of secondary characters, which included Clara's family as well as her friends and neighbours, who all played their part to bring the story to life.

In Can't Take My Eyes Off You Clare Dowling tackles some serious issues, stalking, health issues, coming out in a small-town community and an unplanned pregnancy, that could be seen as depressing reading but she has managed to do this with touches of humour throughout to lighten the mood.  If you like your chick-lit with a bit of a twist then this is one that I think you would definitely enjoy.

I'd like to thank Emily at Headline for sending me a copy of this book to review.  

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