Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson

I recently got some vouchers from my lovely fiance to treat myself with, and I immediately knew that I would have to get myself some new books with them, especially as I had about 5 new summer chick-lit reads on my Amazon wishlist which were all released in the past few weeks! So I shot down to Waterstones and grabbed 4 of my favourites, one of them being "Goodnight, Beautiful" by Dorothy Koomson, an author I have read and loved before. Nova and Mal have been best friends since, well, forever really. They grew up together and Nova thought they'd end up together as well. But when Mal met Stephanie, he fell in love and married her. The couple have a ...  Read the complete review

I am a big fan of Dorothy Koomson and will happily read any new edition from her. Goodnight Beautiful is Koomson's 2008 novel, and as usual she manages to grip her target audience and draw them into the book as if they are actually a part of everyone's lives. We meet Nova, Mal and their families at the start of the book. Over the course of the story we watch them grow from children into adults, and travel over the life path that they are given. Much of the book is situated around the characters as adults however so that is where I will concentrate my descriptions on. Nova is a positive calm person, who has had a happy upbringing with secure parents. ...  Read the complete review

I really enjoyed Dorothy Koomson's novel "Marshmallows For Breakfast" but wasn't so keen on the much-championed "My Best Friends Girl." However as the latter was written before the former I assumed that, as is the case with many writers, Koomson's writing had improved over time. Therefore I decided to read her most recent effort, "Goodnight Beautiful" to see if my theory was correct. And it certainly was as Koomson has excelled herself with this story. ++PLOT++ Nova and Mal have grown up together and have been best friends all their lives. Nova always assumed they'd end up together and found herself falling for Mal as ...  Read the complete review

Nova and Mal have grown up together as best friends, their lives completely intertwined. When they grow up they remain best friends, and when Mal asks for Nova's help in giving him and his wife Steph the one thing they can't get for themselves, a baby, Nova puts her own feelings aside and agrees to help them. Steph is troubled and insecure in herself and her marriage to begin with, and always has felt threatened by Mal and Nova's close bond, so when she finds a text one night saying "Goodnight beautiful", from Mal to Nova, she issues him the ultimatum of losing her, or never seeing Nova or the baby she is carrying for them, ever again. Mal chooses Steph and ...  Read the complete review

In my opinion Dorothy Koomson is one of the best writers of women's modern fiction around. I have read and enjoyed most of her books and I definitely think that this latest one really excels itself. She is not afraid to write about strongly emotional and sometimes difficult subjects and in this book she writes about surrogacy. This is no ordinary story about a woman choosing to have a baby for another couple though as there are lots of emotional twists along the way. Imagine tht your best friend is the boy over the road that you grew up with. Then imagine that you have been hopelessly in love with him for years even though it seems that your love is not ...  Read the complete review