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Review - Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley

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Sophie dreams of building her own grand design, she just hasn’t got round to it yet... Meet Sophie Stone, a thirty-something serial procrastinator. Tesco knickers, Take That and tea with two sugars is about as exciting as it gets. Sophie’s life is safe and predictable, which is just the way she likes it, thank you very much. But when her boyfriend dumps her on Valentine’s Day and a mysterious benefactor leaves her an inheritance, even Sophie has to accept that change is afoot. There is a catch: in order to inherit, Sophie must agree to meet the father she has never seen. Not a fan of surprises, Sophie would rather not; why not let sleeping dads lie? Besides, her mother would kill her. With interference from an evil boss, bickering flat mates, warring parents and a sexy ex-boyfriend, Sophie has plenty to contend with without an architect who puts his foot in it every time he opens his mouth. But it soon becomes clear that she will have to face the past and learn some uncomfortable home truths before she can finally build a future on her own terms.


It's Valentine's Day and Sophie Stone wakes up next to her super-fit boyfriend, Marc, feeling flabby and unattractive, especially in her Tesco pants! Marc decides to call time on their relationship breaking poor Sophie's heart yet leaving her flatmates Jess and Emma thoroughly unsurprised yet worried for their friend.

Sophie drags herself into her job in advertising sales at local paper, The Herald, feeling utterly depressed and hopeless. Having to deal with her boring job and Donna, her cow of a boss does not help raise Sophie's spirits at all, just leaves her longing for a change in her stagnant life.

Out of the blue she receives a phone call from a solicitor which has the power to change Sophie's life for good. Her great-aunt has passed away, bequeathing her entire estate to Sophie. The only problem being that there is one condition...she has to meet the father she has never met after he abandoned her mother before Sophie was even born.

This news has the power to open a million doors for Sophie if only she would let it, but being one to always procrastinate and letting the thought of hurting her mother come before her own happiness she sticks to the safer option of burying her head in the sand.

She is lucky to have a wealth of support in best friends and flatmates, Jess and Emma, but sadly that commodity is lacking from her mother who is a Madonna tribute artist abroad (before she is usurped by a transvestite) and she is desperate to keep secrets and lies from the time of Sophie's birth from her, secrets she knows her ex-husband has the power to reveal.

Sophie has some tough decisions to make which will inevitably lead to someone Sophie loves getting hurt, but she knows that now is the time in her life to take action and begin to live her own life.


I absolutely loved this début novel by Cathy Bramley! It is full of LOL moments with tenderness that can leave your eyes filled with tears (or streaming down your face in a coffee shop if you're like me).

The characters are wonderfully created, hugely likeable and extremely relatable. I loved Sophie - she is the perfect heroine; funny, kind, caring...the perfect friend. Shy and sexy architect, Nick, has now joined the very exclusive list of my Book Boyfriends and Sophie's father and the Piper sisters and just fabulous. As is Sophie's botoxed boss, Donna, in a villainous kind of way.
I was not enamoured by Sophie's Mum!

Overall it is safe to say that this is one of the best bits of chick-lit (women's fiction if you'd rather!) that I've read in a very long time. I loved the subject matter and the sub plot of the Grand Designs-esque home building. It has a perfect ending which leaves you satisfied and happy, although I would really enjoy a sequel!

Thanks for a really lovely read, Cathy, a fabulous story of secrets, lies and overall love and self discovery. A definite keeper and HIGHLY recommended!

 
Cathy lives in rural Nottinghamshire with her husband, their two daughters and a dog called Pearl. She shares her time between her marketing agency, writing and taxiing the girls endlessly from one activity to the next.
Cathy is a fan of Masterchef, strong coffee, chocolate brazils and Marian Keyes books. She is addicted to her Kindle and has an irrational fear of bananas.
Conditional Love is Cathy's debut novel: "It was great fun to write as I've incorporated several of my favourite things into it. It's a 'Chick lit meets Grand Designs' romantic comedy set in Nottingham!"
You can get in touch with Cathy via her website www.CathyBramleyAuthor.com or her Facebook page Facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor and Twitter https://twitter.com/CathyBramley









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