Author: Kirsty Greenwood
Publisher: Pan
Publication Date: 21st November 2013
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9781447247272
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon
Newly engaged Natalie Butterworth is an easy-going girl. She'll do anything for a quiet life and if telling a few teensy white lies keeps her friends and family happy, then so what? It's not like they'll ever discover what she's really thinking...
Until one night, thanks to a pub hypnotist, Natalie's most private thoughts begin to bubble up and pop out of her mouth. Things get very messy indeed, especially when some sticky home truths offend her fiancé.
Natalie must track down the hypnotist before her wedding is officially cancelled. So along with bad influence bestie Meg, Natalie finds herself in the Yorkshire Parish of Little Trooley - a small village bursting with big secrets, nosy old folk and intriguing Wellington-wearing men.
When the girls get stuck in the village with no means of escape and no way to break the hypnotist's spell, Natalie is forced to face the truths she has been avoiding her whole life...
You may have got the impression from my review of Kirsty Greenwood's The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance that I was a new fan. Well, after finishing Yours Truly I think I love her. I'm not quite Annie Wilkes level yet, but I am wishing that Kirsty could forget about her life and write that little bit faster.
Our main character in Yours Truly is Natalie Butterworth, described as an 'easy-going girl' and in the beginning it was clear that she was far too accepting and forgiving of the situations she found herself in. Not speaking up when her hair is destroyed nor when her mother and sister completely take over her wedding plans. Plus her fiance is a massive idiot who I disliked from the off. Plus, six-minute sex? Reason enough to ditch him but no, it appears Natalie is in it for the long haul. That is until best friend Meg drags her along to a hypnotist night at the local pub, and Natalie is inadvertently hypnotised into answering the complete truth to every question she is asked. As you can imagine complete chaos ensues and Nat and Meg must travel to the village of Little Trooley in search of the hypnotist to get the hypnosis reversed. Little Trooley really is a wonderful (and at times, unique) village with an eclectic mix of characters.
Natalie Butterworth? Amazing. I often read books in this genre and want to become the best friend of our main character but I especially wanted to with Yours Truly. Kirsty's talents lie not only in comedy and brilliant storytelling but in creating realistic and believable women. In Natalie we have a woman that I think a lot of female readers will have no trouble relating to or believing in, she is an everyday kind of girl and I had a lot of fun reading about her and particularly enjoyed her relationship with best friend Meg. In the beginning Natalie was a bit too nice for my liking and it was fantastic to see her being forced to come out of her shell and speak with nothing but honesty. Speaking only the truth allows Natalie to learn so much more about herself and those around her that as the story progresses she goes on quite the journey, almost becoming a new woman by the end of it all and I loved witnessing that change in her.
What I enjoyed about Yours Truly was that it didn't ever feel predictable and Kirsty does keep the reader guessing until the very end. I was almost screaming at the book as the pages dwindled down, unwilling to accept the story ending in any way other than the one playing out in my head! The ending really was fantastic. Yours Truly really is a brilliant read, and Kirsty Greenwood has shot right to the top of my must-read authors and so I am already wishing my life away for the release of the next Vintage Guide novel in 2016!
5/5
I haven't even read the Vintage Guide yet but really want to read this! Are you a Jenny Colgan fan?
ReplyDeleteBoth are must reads! And I am a huge Jenny Colgan, reviewed a few of hers on the blog.
ReplyDelete