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By Bernadette Strachan

ISBN: 78-034-089805-5

Reviewed by  Lisa Nguyen

Author Bernadette Strachan is known for her ability to steal a woman’s attention through her writing, and her fantastic novel Little White Lies fails not to live up to this. The story is set in Sole Bay, a quiet town in East England and it is summer.

Strachan paints the scene so vividly, making is easy for your imaginative mind to linger. You can feel the warmth of the sun reflecting off the cobbled streets, and you can hear the crashing of the excited waves by the seaside as you are made to feel at home in the small town setting of this novel which you will grow to love.

Billie Baskerville has just moved to Sole Bay to escape the heartache from the break up with her fiancé that occurred on her wedding day. Billie has sworn to her loathing of weddings and white romance, declaring it a big waste of money that is a mere con for lovers.

Ironically, Billie embarks on her new journey by devoting her attention to her great Aunty Bab’s abandoned bridal shop, passionately driven to revive the shop from the dead. Billie is such a true character, her cynicism is bare and at times confronting but her honesty is endearing.

You will find yourself displaced, as though not reading about Billie in a book but sitting at a café listening to the heart of your dear girl friend.  It is hard not to fantasise and place yourself in her shoes. As Billie breaths hope and love into the defeated store and the life of so many brides, is there hope for Billie to defeat her own stonewall against love? How thick is the concept that you should never give up hope?

Billie’s friends include Dot the idiosyncratic shop assistant who is as delicate as a flower; she loves animals and would consider hurting a fly a criminal act. Zelda is the boisterous shop neighbour, the town suspected witch who brews secret recipes in her dark kitchen. Sam is the cool and smooth fellow out-of-towner who Billie appreciates a dry martini with and snatches up as her handsome best friend.

Strachan inserts these amazingly diverse characters into Sole Bay so well and they feel alive as you read and believe in them, empathising with their ups and downs. And of course, the ex-boyfriend James who we can definitely all relate to. You can not help but have a begrudging feeling towards James yet at the same time feel the love that once was. Strachan explores the notion that forgiveness is an open door, however this is a difficult concept for Billie to grasp as you are taken through her trail of pain.

The main reason that Billie is able to get the bridal store off its feet is due to her diva-esque client Heather, and the generous sum Billie is paid to organize her wedding. As Billie is kick starting her career as a wedding planner she is forced to relive the steps of planning her own non wedding.

The complication of Billie making a fresh start by creating the dream of weddings for others, the very dream she has killed for herself is a fascinating battle. The idea that love conquers all is surrounding Billie, but how is this particular happy ending possible for her? Billie is more than petrified of the omnipresent love, but you will find yourself willing her on to take a piece of the pie.

As the story unfolds, Billie discovers that Sole Bay is filled with little white lies. No one is as they seem. You will find yourself gasping and giggling as the layers of the town are peeled apart to reveal the surprise truths of each character. Strachan will have you turning the pages with ease as you enjoy the hearts that contain Sole Bay. Written with all the elements of humour, suspense and some vulgarity curl up with Little White Lies and allow you to be taken on a roller coaster of oohs-and-ahs! This is a truly marvelous read by Bernadette Strachan.

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