Oh to have their problems! (Glitz - Louise Bagshawe)

Member Name: Chantelly

Product:	Glitz - Louise Bagshawe
Date:	16/11/08 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very nice bath

Disadvantages: Annoying characters especially at the beginning

Well, the weather really is turning chilly. For someone who spends her life in an ice rink that really is saying something. My absolute favourite thing to do when the cold hits the air is to sink into a bubble bath with the required chocolate, cup of tea and a good book. The better the book, the more prune-like I look at the end!

I like to read my way through an authors offerings if I like something they have written and I was very excited to find that Louise Bagshawe's new novel Glitz was coming out. It has taken the book a few months to get to the top of my 'to read' pile but it finally did last week.
Louise Bagshawe has written quite a few good novels and I have read nearly all of them. Most recently Glamour which came out last year. the plot to Glamour is quite similar to Glitz in that it follows the lives of a group of rich girls and the perks and problems wealth brings. I was quite worried that this book would be too alike but it didn't feel too same-y at all.

Plot
I'm not going to go too indepth here as it would spoil it if you ever decided to read this book. The story follows four cousins who on the surface are It girls. They have a trust set up by their Uncle Clement, they grow to rely on this money and the lifestyle it gives them but it comes at a price. When everything changes they have to learn to live life on their own two feet. The plot is easy going, it isn't edge of the seat stuff (lucky since I was in a bath) but it was enjoyable even so. I like relaxing after a hard day at work and not having to think too much. This is chick lit at its best. If I wanted high brow I'd go elsewhere. I did feel like I was in the book at times, the desciptions of the girls clothing, food, and jewels was fab. There is a particular scene where the girls are on a plane and are eating a spread of food and the whole table sounded good enough to eat and I could almost taste it all!

Characters
The characters at the start of the book are quite annoying, your typical blonde bimbo types. The characters themselves are well thought out and it is not a fault of the author that I don't like them, I don't think we are meant to like them much at the beginning. Gradually though they become more human and at the end they are a little more likeable, although maybe not totally admirable. This is certainly not the type of book that I would imagine me seeing something of myself in the heroine. The four girls are named after godesses; Juno, Diana, Venus,and Athena. Their Uncle announces his engagement to Bai-Ling and the girls characters really come to life as they pull together to cope with the news.

Inspiration
I was reading an article on a website with an interview with Louise Bagshawe on it, she said her inspiration came from Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes, which is odd since this is my all time favourite book. It is only very loosely like it in that both sets of girls find out how to cope when life changes dramatically for what they both think is the worse.

Louise Bagshawe
Louise is the conservative candidate for Corby and East Northamptonshire. Her sister Tilly is also an author who she dedicates the novel to. She lives with her husband and three children in Northamptonshire.

Would I read it again?
Well no probably not but not because it wsan't good, I'd only ever read a few books again I like the suspense a book brings and you only ever get that the first time. Also my pile of books to read grows at such an alarming rate I never get the chance to read a book again.

Was it a good book?
Oh yes, I was a true prune by the end of it and the book is a soggy mess. I like reading chick lit, much to my best friends disgust, I had to read more serious literature for my degree course and it just didn't have the same warm and fluffy effect. This book won't change your life it will just make for a few very nice relaxing baths and that all I ever asked of it.

I bought this from Asda it was £3 something. There are also plenty of these on readitswapit.com my fave website ever (after ciao of course). My copy was a paperback and had the same cover shown above which I really like, although I'm not too sure who the lady on the front is meant to be.
ISBN 978-0-7553-3607-4

Summary: A perfect bath book to accompany a cup of tea