Kirsty Greenwood's 'Yours Truly' gets a gorgeous new paperback cover!

Ebook sensation, Novelicious creater, champion of women's fiction and all-round lovely lady Kirsty Greenwood has already dazzled with her debut novel, Yours Truly, which rocketed to within the top 10 ebook sales soon after its launch. Now, having signed on with Pan Macmillan, Kirsty has today revealed the new cover for the paperback edition - due out in November - and it is GORGEOUS!

Courtesy of @kirstybooks

Here's what I thought of this delightful debut!

Books of 2012: My Highlights

A lot of great books hit the shelves in 2012. Some highly-anticipated novels left many readers underwhelmed, while other quiet debuts proved that you don't have to have a well-known name to write a quality piece of fiction. 2012 also saw the welcome return of much-loved author Marian Keyes and brought British expat Jane Green briefly back to her native England.

This year, Young Adult fiction became my new favourite genre. Having adored the imagination and complexity of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, I had been searching for something to fill that void. The release of the Hunger Games film earlier in the year sent me to the book trilogy and I managed to devour all three in a very short space of time. It was similar in plot to that of Battle Royale (one of my favourite films!) but it brought a sick reality TV element that made it all the more sinister in its glamour. The Suzanne Collins trilogy was simply the beginning of my YA enjoyment this year though, with an impressive debut from Louisa Reid and a dramatic change in style from world-renowned author Jodi Picoult.

Firstly, Reid's dark book Black Heart Blue blew me away. There is nothing worse than finding something written for teenagers that is filled with a patronising attitude and simplicity - as if they are incapable of grasping anything more. There is none of that here as Reid deals with abuse, neglect and disability with grace and intelligence. The book, about the twin left behind after the death of her beautiful, more socially accepted, sister, is heartbreaking but gripping in its style. An eye-opener that promises more exciting work from an immensely talented author.

Completely different in style to Black Heart Blue, Picoult teamed up with her teenage daughter Samantha Van Leer to write the simply magical Between the Lines. The story, which sees the division between reader and fictional character blurred, saw a teenage girl fall for a character in a book - who wants nothing more than to leave his world and join hers. With gorgeous images in the margins and an utterly captivating and imaginative story, it's pure unadulterated escapism. A delight.

Another impressive debut this year came from Karen Thompson Walker who took a slow and menacing apocalyptic look at the end of the world in The Age of Miracles. It's completely captivating throughout and the prose is just gorgeous.

For the more adult reads this year, highlights have included Jane Green's The Patchwork Marriage, Dorothy Koomson's The Rose Petal Beach and the welcome return of Marian Keyes with her first novel in a few years, Mystery of Mercy Close. Green handled the contemporary issue of blended families with impartiality and understanding. Koomson brought a hidden darkness and humanity to a mystery and Keyes brought her own battle with depression into a courageous book about Helen Walsh.

2012 was also the year when Novelicious creator, Kirsty Greenwood, self-published her hilarious debut novel, Yours Truly. The book is filled with northern charm, humour and endearing characters. The premise - that Natalie Butterworth, people-pleaser and all round wallflower, is hypnotised into telling the truth - is inspired and loses nothing in the execution.

For the even more adult readers, of course, this was the year of 'mummy porn' Fifty Shades of Grey. The writing of this phenomenon was poor but the book was a guilty pleasure enjoyed by millions of readers across the world. The series spawned lots of copycats who tried to follow on from the success of E.L. James's books but only one managed to come close. With the creation of her crossfire series - which began with Bared to You - Sylvia Day created a brilliantly written tale of two dysfunctional people far more equal in their partnership. It's dramatic, naughty and devilishly exciting. Well worth a read.

What have your book highlights been for 2012? Share your tips in the comments below...
 

Book Review: Yours Truly by Kirsty Greenwood

There comes a time in every reviewer's career when someone they know and love publishes a book. Do you dare read it? What if it's awful? Usually, I have no qualms giving low ratings to books when I think they're horrendous (just check out my Danielle Steel review if you don't believe me!) When it's somebody you know, though, it's harder to be mean, to be honest - that is unless the book is so brilliant all you have to do in your review is lavish it with praise! This, fortunately, is what happened when I decided to download Yours Truly by Kirsty Greenwood, the ever-fearless leader of the Novelicious team. Believe me, if I'd hated it, I would have kept shtum, not told her I downloaded it and just not done a review. Because who wants to be mean to a friend like that? So Kirsty, thank you for writing a book I can proudly share with fellow book-lovers!

Natalie Butterworth (best name ever!) is nice, a people-pleaser who avoids confrontation like the plague. She is looking forward to settling down with dream-man Olly after their impending wedding. Her mum and sister are excitedly 'helping' organise the wedding, arranging everything - even the dress. Though Natalie hates the dress, she wouldn't dream of taking the joy that comes with organising her own daughter's wedding away from her mother. After all, the wedding isn't just about her, and she doesn't want to seem ungrateful.

Natalie is horrified then when, after a night out with best friend Meg, she realises that she's been inadvertently hypnotised to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth whenever somebody asks her a question. When does she realise this? When her fiancé turns to her in bed and asks her "How was that for you?"

Natalie's adventure gets underway when she starts her search for the elusive Amazing Brian to get him to un-hypnotise her before anything can ruin the wedding (as if telling her fiancé he's bad in the sack didn't already do that!). It is an adventure that will take her to the quaint village of Little Trooley, where she meets the rather gorgeous Riley, owner of The Little Whimsey pub, and a whole host of brilliant village characters.

Yours Truly by Kirsty Greenwood is a fun, hilarious adventure that will have you laughing - rather embarrassingly - in public on numerous occasions. Natalie is a great central character and seeing her get in touch with her own hidden honesty is endearing, awkward and brilliantly funny.

5 FOBLES