So yesterday was a great day - do you know why? It was a day all Angela Clark/Lindsey Kelk fans had been waiting for, the release of the next I Heart instalment. I KNOW! Exciting right? I pre-ordered a paperback version pretty much as soon as it became available, and I think it's the first time I've looked forward to coming back from a holiday because I wanted to read a book. But I am, SO SO excited.
Because you know, Angela Clark is basically life.
To get myself ready for this momentous occasion, and to make sure I was fully prepped, I re-read all previous I Heart instalments (because it's not like I haven't already re-read them twenties times each anyway) and give you the run down on each one and explain why I'm completely besotted with this series. Then - I fully encourage you to go out, buy each one, laugh and cry while you read them, and then thank me with chocolates.
We first meet Angela at her best friends wedding, where she discovers her long term fiancé having sex in the back of their car with his long term mistress. So she does what any rational person would do, and hops on a plane to New York where she knows absolutely no one. Why not? Before long she meets Jenny, her New York loud-mouthed BFF, starts dating two guys and lands her dream job.
When we next catch up with Angela, she's happily settled in the Big Apple, living with Jenny and dating a super hot rock star. Then she's thrown a huge opportunity at work, and finds herself in LA with Jenny, interviewing huge Hollywood actor, and massive player, James Jacobs. Cue lots of drinking, adventures and massive misunderstandings.
With Jenny in LA, Angela is living on her own and trying to decide if she's ready to live with her super hot boyfriend Alex. When he suggests a trip to Paris she jumps at the chance, and uses it as an opportunity to further her career. However, all is not well as the trip starts with her suitcase getting blown up at customs (the Louboutins!) and sabotage is in the air concerning her job, and her relationship.
Angela is safely domesticated with Alex, and Jenny is back in New York making in-roads in PR. However, all is not well when Angela finds out she's being deported. She needs a plan pronto - so heads to Las Vegas for a girls weekend to drink away her worries. Within hours, both girls are up to their necks in relationship troubles, alcohol and fantastic outfits.
And she's back in London! Angela is forced to go home for her Mum's 60th birthday, but somehow things end up taking a different turn. Mix it all up with trying to launch her swanky new fashion magazine, meeting her London bestie's baby for the first time, Jenny having a full on crisis and running into cheating ex Mark, and you have a full on Angela adventure.
P.S. This is probably my favourite of the bunch. Just saying.
P.S. This is probably my favourite of the bunch. Just saying.
No one loves Christmas like Angela, and she's fully prepared for a week off with hot hubby Alex to celebrate. But things don't go to plan, when she's pulling into new responsibilities at work, Louisa turning up on her doorstep with baby (sans husband), and Jenny deciding she's ready for motherhood. Her Christmas week isn't quite what she had in mind.
Four years we've had to wait for a new instalment. Four years. So I cannot wait! But why do I love these books so much?
First off, there is Angela. I swear I am reading about myself half the time. She's probably the most relatable character I have ever come across in a book. Sometimes she has absolutely no idea what she's doing, what she wants or where she's going. She's very, very real. She sometimes forgets to wash her hair, drinks like a fish, eats M&M's like they're going out of style, and was majorly annoyed about Dan Humphrey being Gossip Girl. But she's also witty, funny as hell, and you just want to be her best friend.
Secondly, the supporting characters. They're an absolute hoot. You absolutely love Jenny, her confidence mixed with her underlying vulnerability. You just find yourself rooting for her through every single story. And Alex, dear sweet Alex. Quite possibly the best boyfriend/husband in the world. I found that I Heart Paris was probably my least favourite, and that was because I felt he wasn't portrayed his best in it - and I felt it suffered ever so slightly because of it. Also, Jenny was barely in it so that could be why as well.
Third, the writing. It's such easy reading, and it also completely draws you in. You feel every emotion Angela goes through, her childish strops, her cravings for pizza, her annoyance at her Mother. It's written so well you're just drawn to her. Plus, it's so relatable, and real - I said that with Angela as well, but everything about the emotions, the characters and the writing just feels very real. Yes - the plots are probably a little bit unrealistic, but the journey is real.
Whenever I read these books they put me in such a good mood, it's hard not to love them. And I can't wait for the next instalment.
Much love, Lisa Katharine May xx
I loooooooove the I Heart series; sometimes I feel like Lindsey's writing/Angela's adventures are pretty much my inner monologue! x
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