UK Giveaway: Chocolate S.O.S by Sue Limb

As part of the blog tour for the recently released Chocolate S.O.S by Sue Limb, Bloomsbury UK have kindly  offered two copies of the book for giveaway. It gave me a good giggle with Sue Limb's hilarious writing and I especially recommend it for teenage girls- see my review here.

You can find today's post in the blog tour on Why Comedy Is Good For You here- it certainly made me feel like I should read more comedy books!

About Chocolate S.O.S (from Bloomsbury):

Jess has broken up with Fred, though really she is waiting for him to come to her door and beg to get back together again. But is that the sort of thing Fred would do? He has said himself that he has no backbone . . . Meanwhile, a gorgeous boy has moved in next door and, to Jess’s mingled horror and delight, is making it very, very obvious that he would like to be a lot closer than next door . . . Surely, now, Fred will be driven, in a fit of jealousy, to sweep Jess back off her feet? Won’t he? 

Giveaway Information and Guidelines (please read before entering):

• Entrants must have a UK postal address
• Entrants do not have to be a 'folllower' of this blog
• There are no extra entries for spreading the word but it would great if you did!
• Information on the giveaway form will not be kept
• Two winners will be selected by Random.org and notified by an email to which they must reply to within 3 days or another winner will be picked
• Giveaway closes on 30th January

ENTRY FORM

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Video: Sue Limb talks about Jess Jordan

This week, Bloomsbury are celebrating the release of Chocolate SOS by Sue Limb (the latest book in the hilarious Jess Jordan series) with a week long blog tour. Yesterday, I hosted a guest post from Sue Limb on Creating Jess Jordan so if you enjoyed reading that, you can find out more about Jess Jordan in this video:

About Chocolate S.O.S (from Bloomsbury):

Jess has broken up with Fred, though really she is waiting for him to come to her door and beg to get back together again. But is that the sort of thing Fred would do? He has said himself that he has no backbone . . . Meanwhile, a gorgeous boy has moved in next door and, to Jess’s mingled horror and delight, is making it very, very obvious that he would like to be a lot closer than next door . . . Surely, now, Fred will be driven, in a fit of jealousy, to sweep Jess back off her feet? Won’t he? 

Check back tomorrow for a U.K giveaway of 2 copies of Chocolate SOS and stop by Wondrous Reads for today's stop in the blog tour ON Sue Limb's fantasy dinner party!

Chocolate SOS Blog Tour: Author guest post on Creating Jess Jordan

Today I am very happy to be introducing Sue Limb, the author of the hilarious Jess Jordan series  to the blog today as part of the Chocolate SOS blog tour in celebration of its publication! I hope you enjoy reading her guest post on creating the main character Jess Jordan as much as I did. Welcome Sue:

People ask, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ and ‘Is your teen heroine Jess Jordan based on a real person?’ Sometimes a writer does build a character painstakingly, thinking, I need somebody who’s scared of life… maybe a hypochondriac… someone a bit like Auntie Mabel, only without the martial arts fixation…   But with Jess it wasn’t like that.

It was more as if a girl was stalking me. I wasn’t sure exactly what she looked like: whenever I tried to catch sight of her she seemed to dodge away behind a pillar.  She wasn’t a real flesh-and-blood girl: I knew she was a character and she’d somehow stumbled into my head, so I tuned in to her and started writing .  I suppose you could say she was Another Self.

Anybody who’s been a teenager vividly remembers the heart-stopping trauma, the skin-crawling embarrassment, the hot floods of terror that happen on a daily basis. So of course, in a way I’m remembering my own teenage years when I write a Jess book.

But I was a very different sort of teenager. I was a solitary, poem-writing nerd: a kind of Adriana Mole. Jess was herself, right from the start: feisty, sociable, wise-cracking, compassionate.  Perhaps she’s the teenager I wish I could have been.

            And her soulmate Fred is probably the guy I wish I could have met when I was at school. Their double act, with its effortless mutual understanding and mock-aggressive banter, is the place where Jess feels most at home.

            ‘I’d rather be marooned in the Gobi Desert and be groomed to death by meercats than marry you,’ says Jess.

            ‘I’d rather be deep-fried in egg and breadcrumbs than be married to you for a split second,’ replies Fred.

            Sometimes writing is impossible. You get writer’s block and find yourself scrubbing at the kitchen floor with a toothbrush – the most meaningless chore is an escape from the blankness of the page. Occasionally you set out to write something, plan it, and just steadily put the hours in. But once in a blue moon, a character or two comes out of left field and takes you by surprise – you pick it up and run with it. That’s how it was with my adorable Jess and Fred.

            

Thanks for the interesting insight into the character of Jess! You can read the next part of the blog tour tomorrow at Wondrous Reads and the rest of the schedule for the week is shown in the banner below.

            
Description for Chocolate SOS (from Bloomsbury):


Jess has broken up with Fred, though really she is waiting for him to come to her door and beg to get back together again. But is that the sort of thing Fred would do? He has said himself that he has no backbone . . . Meanwhile, a gorgeous boy has moved in next door and, to Jess’s mingled horror and delight, is making it very, very obvious that he would like to be a lot closer than next door . . . Surely, now, Fred will be driven, in a fit of jealousy, to sweep Jess back off her feet? Won’t he?

Links to find out more about the Jess Jordan series or Sue Limb:

www.JessJordan.co.uk

www.suelimb.com/

Video interview with Sue Limb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv8k7UiiL4A

Chocolate SOS by Sue Limb Blog Tour Annoucement!

The blog tour to celebrate the publication of Chocolate SOS by Sue Limb (the latest in the hilarious Jess Jordan series) is starting tomorrow with a guest post here from Sue Limb on Creating Jess Jordan with more posts throughout the week! There will also be a UK give-away of 2 copies of Chocolate SOS kindly provided by Bloomsbury hosted here.

 

So far I've enjoyed reading 2 Jess Jordan books, both of which have been a good giggle and capture the ups and downs of a teenage girl's life really well. 

Links to find out more about Chocolate SOS, the Jess Jordan series or Sue Limb books:

www.JessJordan.co.uk

www.suelimb.com/

Video interview with Sue Limb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv8k7UiiL4A

Book Review: Chocolate SOS by Sue Limb

Amazon description

Jess has broken up with Fred, though really she is waiting for him to come to her door and beg to get back together again. But is that the sort of thing Fred would do? He has said himself that he has no backbone ...Meanwhile, a gorgeous boy has moved in next door and, to Jess's mingled horror and delight, is making it very, very obvious that he would like to be a lot closer than next door ...Surely, now, Fred will be driven, in a fit of jealousy, to sweep Jess back off her feet? Won't he? Full of Sue Limb's very funny take on early teenage life and problems, fans of Jess Jordan will be thrilled to have a new Fred and Jess story.

My thoughts

This is the second Sue Limb book that I've read and whilst I found the first rather funny, Chocolate SOS was even more hilarious and I only usually read a few books a year that make me laugh out loud! 

In this new instalment of the Girl 15 series, we find Jess breaking up with her comedic boyfriend Fred when he lets her down as they organise entertainment for an event. While maddeningly angry at him, she can't help wishing that Fred would make an effort to win her back, especially with her school mate Jodie giving him all the attention. The main character Jess' experiences of teenage life have a real light-hearted but predictable feel that were great for relaxing with in the Christmas holidays. 

Jess goes through a lot of things that are typical for every teenage girls and there were many times I knew exactly what she was feeling like. Sue Limb definitely deserves her place in my mental list of authors who capture the emotions of teenagers all over the planet no matter whether on make-up, break ups, crushes or even divorce and financial problems. Some of the embarrassments she concocts are a little over-the-top and the side of me that always looks out for how realistic a book is had to learn to realise the craziness of it all is what makes it such an entertaining and escapist read.

Although they are not incredibly fleshed out, the other characters are fun to read about too with Jess' new flirtatious and forward neighbour Luke and the witty remarks of her grandmother who lives with her. I Like in Girl 15 Flirting For England, I found her best friend Flora nice and well meaning if a little inconsiderate of her friends feelings when she complains, which was rather annoying.

Despite the fact that this is the latest in a series, it could easily be read as a stand alone because I've only read the prequel and all the characters are easy to get to know quickly and although the story is continuous, it makes sense on its own too. The only drawback to this is that Fred might appear not very worthy of Jess in this book because his comic personality isn't shown as much but I don't think it would affect enjoyment.

 Verdict: Chocolate SOS (I have no idea where that name came from?!) is my favourite of the two Jess Jordan books I've read so far and more Jess's insane confessions and Limb's side-splitting humour had me in fits of giggles throughout. I recommend it for when you're in the mood for something you don't have to think about much but can just enjoy- I'll definitely be picking up another Jess Jordan book soon!

Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a review copy of this book. Chocolate SOS was published on the 5th January in the UK. I am hosting the first of the blog tour tomorrow- more information in a post later today =). 





You can find out more about the Jess Jordan books at www.JessJordan.co.uk or by watching an interview with the author Sue Limb at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv8k7UiiL4A

Book Review: Girl 15 Flirting For England by Sue Limb

Goodreads description

A hilarious prequel rounds out our funny chick lit series.

Jess Jordan is barely 15. Fred is her often-aggravating best guy friend; her father is a lonely bachelor; Flora is her gorgeous best friend, a constant liability; and Ben Jones is barely a twinkle in her eye. Into this innocent scene are dropped 30 or so helpless French exchange students. Jess and her mother are assigned to house Eduoard, a shy, awkward, and painfully English-deprived boy Jess’s age. To counter what Jess fears is Eduoard’s growing crush on her, Jess convinces her friend Fred to pose as her boyfriend, but he refuses to take their fake relationship seriously. Add a gorgeous, womanizing French student, an ill-fated camping trip in a student’s backyard, and Flora just being, well, Flora, and you have all the makings of an international incident. Will Jess be able to keep the peace, or even translate the whole debacle to the confused French students? The future of England is on the line. . . .

My Review

This book turned out exactly what I expected it to be: a humorous story about the many problems and boyfriend blues of a teenage girl. It is not the usual type of book that I would pick up but I found it a refreshing and welcome break. In the first chapter we meet Jess Jordan trying in vain to write the perfect introductory letter to her French exchange partner Eduoard who she is convinced he is going to be the hottest boy she has ever met. Suddenly she wishes she had paid attention in her French classes instead of messing around with her best friend Flora. When Eduoard finally arrives a few weeks later he is a far cry from what Jess imagined and her dream of a handsome French boyfriend is crushed......

Jess, the main character is one that I could relate to being around her age and the story revolves around her finding her place among her friends, experiencing her first boyfriend blues and coping with crushes as well as life's disasters and disappointments. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mum who works as a librarian (yay) and just like many teenage girls she is often embarrassed by them. They might not always be the best parents in the world and despite living apart it is obvious that they really care about Jess and want the best for her. One thing that stood out to me was that her mum was at home a lot of the time in the house scenes of the book for example chatting over breakfast with Jess and it was nice to see their relationship together. Jess also had to persuade her parents to let her do things and go out  and all this was a pleasant because in a lot of YA books the 'disappearing and non existent parents' theme is common.

I liked how I was left to imagine what Jess looked like for myself because she was never properly described in the book and I thought of her as not the most beautiful, smartest or most popular girl in the school but pretty and a good friend. Despite her many flaws, I thought she coped well in the situations she found herself and remained loyal to herself and her

friends.

The plot was lively and fast paced but preditable whilst the characters were sometimes a bit flat. For example the stock beauitfully gorgeous blonde haired best friend and the crazy and joke cracking guy best friend. However, Sue Limb's witty dialogue and banter made up for this. It had me in fits of giggles! There are some times when I'm just looking just for an escape or a laugh and not an amazing plot and exceptionally rounded characters. Girl 15' fitted this category very well and kept me wanting more.

Verdict:


‘Looking for a book that will give you a good giggle? The hilariously insane trials of Jess Jordan certainly did the trick for me and every teenage girl will relate to them. Read it if you're looking for a laugh.’

Rating: 3 stars