‘Two days in Biarritz’ by Michelle Jackson

First-time author Michelle Jackson offers a satisfying summer read in her debut offering with Poolbeg entitled ‘Two days in Biarritz’.

The drama centres around the lives of the two main characters, Kate and Annabel, who have been best friends all their lives, and the action opens with the duo enjoying a holiday in the sun-drenched resort of Biarritz.

So far so good. There is plenty of sun, sand and sangria and men to whet the appetite of the thirty-something women, one of whom is looking for a fresh start after seeking a divorce and the other who is trapped in an increasingly unhappy marriage.

Both are, it’s fair to say, not immune to a bit of loving and so welcome the advances of the chat-up lines of Nico and Brett, two sexy surfers they meet on their holiday.

However, short lived holiday romances prove to be the least of their worries when too much wine forces Annabel to divulge a dark deep-rooted secret she has kept hidden for years– and one that will have catastrophic effects on her close friendship with her oldest friend Kate. It causes a major rift between the pair and though much of the book sees the friends struggle with personal trials and tribulations their falling out is never far from the surface and it’s clear both are desperate to patch things up. But will they do so?

Kate has plenty of baggage, a broken marriage with Stefan, teenage twins Ciaran and David and now her beloved mother Betty has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and urges her not to let life’s opportunities pass her by. As for Annabel she must cope with a crisis at home with her distant husband Colin and the effect on her children.

‘Two days in Biarritz’ is sizzling with drama, romance, friendship and intrigue and has all the ingredients of a typical Poolbeg bestseller to equal many of Jackson’s predecessors so she’s well on her way to joining the club of impressive female writers out there today. It is on sale in all good bookshops now, priced €8.99.

‘PERFECT MATCH’ by Jane Moore

Karen Eastman thought she had a happy marriage, in love as she was with her husband Joe, though they had gone through a rocky patch when he had strayed and had an affair. And they were dealing with the stresses and strains of bringing up a seriously ill eight-month old baby– Ben, who was suffering from a rare disorder which could only be cured by a bone marrow transplant.

Early in author Jane Moore’s book ‘Perfect Match’ the reader is dealt the devastating blow that husband Joe is not only not a match for Ben’s bone marrow but crucially could never be, because he is not Ben’s biological father but the result of a one night stand Karen had in revenge for Joe’s affair some time ago.

Ben’s health is deteriorating fast and there is only one way to try to save his life and that is to create another life and use the bone marrow of that baby. Karen must track down Ben’s true biological father. At the same time she has to tell her husband that he is not the blood father to the boy he has come to love with all his heart, the boy he gives daily injections to and soothes when he cries with pain in their aftermath. Moore paints an excellent picture of a family in crisis.

It’s a tough, challenging and emotive subject and yet there are moments of romance and humour thrown into the mix in this book which deals with relationships, friendships and fallouts in a way which will keep the reader entertained throughout.

Will Joe be able to continue to love Ben even though he’s not his own? Will he be able to love Karen again even though she betrayed him in the worst possible way? How will the biological father respond? Read ‘Perfect Match’ by Jane Moore, published by Century, available in all good bookshops now.