It’s always such a pleasure to feature a new release from Ruby Fiction – the new imprint from Choc Lit – on publication day. Today it’s a delight to share my review of Evie’s Little Black Book by Hannah Pearl, published today (21st August) on all major e-book platforms and as an audio book. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy.
Is hunting down every man you’ve kissed the answer to finding Mr Right?
When Evie is invited to the wedding of the guy she’d fancied throughout her teens, it’s the final straw. What’s wrong with her and why can’t she keep a man?
In between consoling herself with ice cream and chocolate, and sobbing her heart out to her cousin Charmaine, Evie has a brainwave – and it all centres around her ‘little black book’ (well, more floral patterned notebook really) – which contains the details of every man she’s ever kissed or dated. Perhaps the cure for her disastrous love life has been nestled within its pages all along …
Does Evie’s little black book really hold the answers, or will she learn that exes are exes for a reason?
I’ll be honest and admit that – before I started reading – I wasn’t sure this was entirely a book for me, perhaps aimed at a slightly younger reader. But how wrong can you be? I really liked Evie – her sense of right and wrong, her air of determination, the issues of her past, her hopes for the future – and the friendships in this book (Charmaine is a particularly wonderful character) are perfectly drawn and infused with love and warmth.
The premise of the book is original and well-handled with the search for her exes and lessons learned by finding out what went wrong and why, with some real surprises along the way. The developing relationship at the book’s heart was beautifully done – and I also liked the introduction of a hidden slightly darker theme and edge as the story developed.
I really rather enjoyed this one – and I’ll be looking out for future books from Hannah Pearl because she writes so very beautifully. One for a sunny afternoon in the garden, one for your holidays… recommended by me.
About the author
Hannah Pearl was born in East London. She is married with two children and now lives in Cambridge. She has previously worked as a Criminology researcher, as a Development Worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.
In 2015 she was struck down by Labrynthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning eReader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing.
In 2017 she won Simon and Schuster’s Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day. Hannah is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.