London Calling (London Romance Series)

Jess Sharp has been in Oz for 3 years, trying to live her dream of an adventurous life. But when she finds herself bored with her job and losing her girlfriend London is calling her home. Single, jobless and living in her parent's spare room wasn't part of her life plan. But as she starts to re-establish herself a new Jess emerges. A change of careers, a friends spare room and a whole heap of matchmakers make for an interesting life. When she meets the woman of her dreams her heart is smitten, but a series of events involving one night stands, tequila shots, hen nights and ex-girlfriends may be too much for their fledgling romance. Can they work through the chaos or will Jess drive her away with silly mistakes? ----------------- London Calling - what an apt title. Clare Lydon's first novel is a wonderful Rom-Com that follows a traditional romance plot, but is far better than the average LesFic fare. The plot is full of comedic opportunities. It is well thought through and works well as a coherent storyline, creating a fast moving page-turner where we soon wonder what could possibly go wrong next. The sup-plots are clever, weaving in and out of Jess's life, adding variety, and building her characters, but always adding to the main story. Ms Lydon's descriptions of London are excellent. Just enough to build up a scene around the plot, but not too heavy handed or long winded. For those of us who know London it hits all the right buttons for recognition. For those who don't it will give you an excellent taste - Clare has caught the tone of the city perfectly. The characters are people we would recognize on the street. From the self-centered girlfriend to the angry one night stand, the drunken best friend to the manic bride to be, Ms Lydon has an amazing talent for capturing the essence of a personae with light brush strokes. Jess's constant self-doubt is something we will all empathize with, and Lucy is just adorable. In among all the chaos is a lovely tale of a hot crush and new love, starting with a wistful hope and building into a life changing want. There is a great sexual tension and the sex is hot and steamy, but without being unrealistic - for once the heroine doesn't morph into a porn star in the bedroom... or the lounge.. or the hall. But for me what makes this stand out head and shoulders is the comedy. It is quintessentially British, a tale of minor disasters which constantly derail Jess's hopes without being too heavy. Our heroine has to work to get out from one thing after another. The farce is clever and witty - hugely entertaining and a joyous read. And for our American cousins this will be a great adventure. British wit, London geography, and English idioms that might be a challenge, but are well worth the effort. Altogether a top-notch Rom-Com that will keep you rooted to your seat, a page-turner without any unnecessarily dramatic twists, but realistic characters which make you want to know what happens next. Well crafted, well written - well done!

Great story, enjoyed to reading

Loved this so much!!! Jess is back home in London after breaking up with her ex Karen in Australia. Starting again after the devastation of the break up, Jess is finding her feet with a new job and a new love interest but there are few people standing in her way of happiness. Bumping her way through disaster, Jess has to get some perspective and make choices about what she really wants from life and the happiness she has dreamed of. I loved this first book in the London Romance series! I had read the last three books in the series and knew I needed to read it all and can honestly say that although this was Clare’s debut novel and the first of the series, it is my favourite so far. It had all the elements of Clare’s writing we know and love and was the perfect rom-com. Every minute was exciting, especially with all that kept turning up and changing in Jess’ life and you couldn’t have predicted some of the awkward moments she managed to get herself caught up in. I was laughing and crying with this book and Jess. Oh Jess, what to do with you! There were moments when she was a complete dork and your heart went out to her, and other’s where you wanted to shake her out of her own destructiveness. Purely brilliant. Such a rollercoaster with Jess as she was literally unpredictable with what she would say and do. She really was one of those characters who infuriates you because you can’t help loving her and her disastrous nature. I had so much fun reading this and couldn’t put it down. It really is filled with fantastic moments from cute and funny, to romantic and sweet, to full on carnage and it was fantastic. Can’t wait to read more of this fabulous series.

This isn't the first book I've read by this incredible author. Yet again another brilliant read. Escape into your very own rom com, relatable, hilarious, incredibly well written and the best bit, this is only book 1 of the series! I can't wait to continue with the rest.

The plot trots along very pleasantly. There is psychological suspense. Will she manage to keep the love of her life ? However, there are too few intimate details of their lovemaking. Underwear ? Hairy or shaved ? Smell and taste of secretion ? It all remains rather abstract.

I absolutely LOVED this debut novel! Its an easy read with a writing style that grabs you from the beginning. The characters are loveable and very real - one in particular is extremely yummy!! I felt totally lost in the world of Jess and her life. I really looked forward to travelling, as it gave me a perfect opportunity to read, undisturbed & guilt-free - I wanted to get to the end, yet am now sad that I have finished it. I literally laughed out loud, sat with a silly grin on my face, and frowned in concern throughout. I can't quite believe the standard that Clare Lydon has set for her debut novel, and cannot wait for further releases!

I enjoyed reading Clare Lydon’s two short stories It had to be you, and London Calling Prologue. So, I was looking forward to reading London Calling, I was not disappointed. It’s refreshing to read a book that is set in the UK. Well written witty story. Excellent talented writer.

I was immersed into Jess's life from the opening paragraph. Well, Clare Lydon had me at September 2009,Sydney, who doesn't love a romance set in their own country? Jess, Kate, Lucy and friends feel like people you know, they feel real. I'm sure we have all known a Karen in our lives? We get to follow the highs and lows of dating and their relationships. Be it best friends, lovers, family or work mates. I started this book in the early morning when I couldn't get back to sleep, with plans to get out in the garden on what promised to be a spectacular spring day. However, apart from remembering to eat I was so caught up in Jess's journey and the only thing I managed to achieve yesterday was to finished the book. If this is what Clare Lydon's debut book does to my life then I'm quite happy to spend my life indoors reading her other books. So if you like to laugh out loud, scream at characters and feel like you are actually part of their lives then London Calling is the book for you. Like all good books, when it ends you feel like you have lost a best friend, but having had a great time along the way. Luckily for me the next instalment is already in my Kindle.

Fantastic love story

This is a brilliant first effort. The characters were entertaining and varied. The book actually kept me guessing for longer than would normally happen in a standard romance, which is good. I've read far too many disappointing stories in this genre that has the couple promising lifelong devotion to each other within the first fifty pages. The subplots were nicely interwoven, without detracting from the interest of the main storyline. Jess' emotions and reactions seem very realistic, which helped keep me in the story. Although she did seem to have a run of very bad timing (to say the least), but sometimes life is like that! The comedy was good, the scenes/locations were nicely set. Also, the chemistry in this book is really amazing. The sexual tension is palpable and the interactions are smoking hot, without being overtly graphic or crude. Not that there is anything wrong with a bit of smut, but some books take a really jarring, completely unbelievable leap from the couple barely noticing each other, to karma sutra level in half a page. The author really effectively conveys that edgy excitement of a huge crush/new potential relationship. Plenty of lovely, realistic butterflies in the stomach moments. I can't understate what a rare find this is in this genre. A really sweet and sexy romance. I have read a lot of lesfic, including many titles by the "big names". This is by far, one of the best I've ever read, in both quality and entertainment value and at a very reasonable price! I was expecting a much shorter story for the price I paid, but this was a nice amount of pages to really get your teeth into. Well done to the author and please gift us with more of your stories soon!

I really wanted to love this book but sadly I had mixe feeling about it. The work is well written I have read far worst stories then this one and I wouldn't have read it all if it was bad. The story and the caracters are great. The caracters in the book are pretty interesting, and the genra is good (first person sotry). But it's a really slow burner. At some point I was like if they didn't meet in that chapter I will stop reading. But finaly somthing happen. So it's not my favorite book and I probably would read it again, but I think is a good read not a great but a good one. I also think that if your not like me (impatient) and can wait the style of the book could be to your liking. It seems for me more a exploration of the life and throught of someone falling out of love and in love again then a love story.

This is Clare Lydons first novel she published. When I picked this up I had just finished reading her most recent publication and you can definitely see the improvement in her writing between the two. This one was a fun and breezy romcom. It had elements that I could relate to but I did think some scenes were only added to make up word count and could have easily been deleted and the story would not of been affected. Overall, I enjoy clare’s writing. Her books are good if you’re in the mood for something light, sweet and fun.