Today we are hosting the blog tour for As Good as it Gets, the brilliant new novel from Fiona Gibson. A huge welcome back to Novel Kicks for Fiona who has kindly shared an extract from her latest book. Enjoy.
Chapter One
Present Day
‘Hey, beautiful!’ the blond boy yells, nudging his friend. They watch, admiring, as the shopping crowds mill around us. There are more glances as we walk: some fleeting, others more direct. All this attention isn’t for me; Christ no, that hasn’t happened since Madonna vogued in a gold conical bra. Even then, it pretty much amounted to a bloke up some scaffolding yelling, ‘Your arse looks like two footballs!’ I’d adored my stretch jeans until that sole cruel comment killed the love affair stone dead. Not that I’m the kind of woman to take any notice of construction workers’ remarks. I mean, I’ve only festered over it for twenty-three years… Anyway, of course it’s not me who’s causing virtually every young male in this over-heated shopping mall to perform a quick double-take. I am thirty-eight years old with wavy, muddy brown hair that’s supposed to be shoulder-length but has outgrown its style, yet isn’t properly long – it’s just long-ish. That’s what my hair is: ish. I am also laden with copious bulging bags, like a yak. Judging by the odd glimpse in mirrored surfaces, I note that I have acquired a deathly pallor beneath the mall’s unforgiving lights. I also have what the magazines term ‘a shiny breakthrough’ on my nose and cheeks. Continue reading →
byAs Good As It Gets is the latest novel from author, Fiona Gibson.
I enjoyed Take Mum Out so I was looking forward to reading Fiona’s new novel. The book is told from the point of view of Charlotte Bristow. She is the wife of Will (who has been unemployed for a while and who is not her daughter’s biological father,) and mother to two teenagers, Rosie (who has just been spotted by a modelling agency) and Ollie. She was abandoned by Rosie’s father before she was born and hasn’t heard from him since. Charlotte and Will are in a little bit of a slump at the beginning of the novel.
At Rosie’s first photo shoot, Charlotte is talked into having some photos taken with her daughter for a feature a magazine is running and Charlotte ends up telling a couple of fibs. Before she knows it, her parents have received an e-mail from Frazer – Charlotte’s first love and Rosie’s father . He is wanting to make contact.
First of all, I wanted to say how much I love the cover of this book. So pretty.
I liked the main family. They seemed real and relatable. Charlotte was an interesting character. I found Will a little sulky at the beginning (understandable though considering his job situation,) but he changed gradually throughout the book. There were a few supporting characters but you don’t really get a chance to see them that much as the main focus is on Charlotte, Will and Frazer.
byNovel Kicks is a blog for story tellers and book lovers.