Love...From Both Sides by Nick Spalding.

I purchased Love...From Both Sides for my Kindle after seeing it on the Amazon Kindle bestsellers list for 99p (there is also a paperback version for £4.49 currently). It is worth remembering that books on the bestseller list are often just that, best sellers, and not necessarily the best. However for 99p I was quite pleased and entertained. It is a very short book which took me a little over a day to read (in reality probably only a few hours), according to Amazon the paperback is only 143 pages. To make it an even quicker read, the two characters write their version of events either in the form of a blog or a diary, which keeps the pace up and allows for easy character development.

Our main protagonists are Jamie Newman, who keeps a blog and has been single for two years and Laura McIntyre, who writes a diary to her late mother, and has been single for just over a year after her ex-boyfriend left her for a colleague. Initially we meet through their respective blog and diary entries discussing some disastrous dates they had been on. Eventually (or should that be 'inevitably' as this is a rom-com type book?), their paths cross and they arrange to go on a date. Of course, it would be an even shorter book than it already is, if that was all there was to it. It will come as no surprise to anyone that the path of true love for these two does not run smoothly. The events, during, prior and post their first meeting are written fairly amusingly by the author, Nick Spalding.

Spalding, (who has written a number of similar type books according to a quick browse on Amazon), offers up some interesting descriptive passages, especially regarding sex; which were often fairly candid, and at times leant towards the crude, but credit where it is due, certain turns of events I did not see coming which can only be a plus in this genre. Although sometimes we hear about the events of a certain evening from both characters, their stories don't overlap, so there is no repetition, and they tell of different experiences. You may have to suspend your disbelief in places, but that is often the case in these genres. Real life never quite works out how romantic fiction authors would like, but in this case, that may actually be a good thing...

The book bills itself as 'laugh out loud', and whilst I found it very amusing in parts, I can't say I actually laughed out loud. Entertaining as it is, I can't say it is particularly well-written, but it is engaging and the diary style format keeps your turning the pages.

Overall, this is a short but enjoyable read. Ideal for a short journey, as most readers would probably be able to finish it in one sitting of two hours or so. I would probably read other books by this author but would not go out of my way for them. I would recommend this at 99p, but don't pay any more as the book is so short. However, please be warned that it can be crude in places, and that is not everybody's cup of tea.