Kept by Elle Field

Blurb

Life hasn't quite worked out how Arielle Lockley imagined it would. Becoming the next Coco Chanel was always her childhood dream, but she's spent the past four years living a dizzying whirl of glitzy parties, luxurious holidays and daily shopping sprees - all paid for by boyfriend Piers - and not doing anything to make her Coco dreams happen. When the recession hits, it's not just the economy that takes a tumble, and Arielle finds herself living back with her parents, on bad terms with Piers, and having a CV that's as welcome as a pair of knock-off Jimmy Choos. And maybe it's the location, but she's also finding unwelcome thoughts of her childhood sweetheart are popping into her head... What's a girl to do? Can Arielle figure out what it is she now wants to do with her life and move on, or will she be doomed to spend the rest of her life dwelling over her worst mistakes, stuck listening to her parents' embarrassing dinner table talk each night? Review

After an intriguing first chapter or so, Arielle began to infuriate me, and my irritation with her grew the more her character was revealed. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it allowed her to grow and develop throughout the course of the story. She certainly grew up (and boy! did she need to!).

I wasn't convinced about Piers - he appeared either too good to be true, or a bit of a psychopath.

I suppose the novel plays around with the idea of how first love can affect the rest of your life, but it didn't quite manage to pull it off. Still, it was a pleasant enough read.

About the Author

Ee Field writes coming of age chick lit books, and is the author of the Arielle Lockley series and Geli Voyante's Hot or Not. She grew up in Yorkshire, then moved to Scotland to study International Relations and Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews. Elle now lives in London with her boyfriend and their cat. She's a massive fan of sunshine, giraffes, The Killers, Audrey Hepburn movies, playing Scrabble, musicals and tea. Oh, and reading, of course! Find out more about Elle by reading her blog - http://www.ellefield.co.uk - or by following her on Twitter: @ellefie

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