Book Reviews Lifestyle

Book Review: I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk

08/08/2012
The cover of "I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk" features a woman sitting on a bench, holding a pink umbrella and gazing at the iconic Big Ben clock tower. The title, written in large, playful script with pink heart accents, stands out against a backdrop adorned with delicate pink floral designs.

I actually bought and read this book months ago now! But I was wary of putting up a review because normally I adore this series and I didn’t want to write anything negative! However, what writer would I be if I only wrote about the good stuff?!

Lindsey, if you’re reading this sorry in advance… (I still love your writing though!)

I Heart London picks up where I Heart Vegas left of. Angela and Alex are engaged and it’s finally time for Angela to come home and pick up the pieces she left two years ago. The story centres around planning their wedding and Angela dealing with all the things that have changed since she left. As well as the things that haven’t changed and she’d forgotten about when leaving.

The blurb reads –

Home is where the heart is. Right?

Angela Clark has fallen in love with New York – and it’s starting to love her back. But when she’s summoned home to England, she’s at risk of losing her shiny new life to rain, warm beer and bad memories. Talk about stepping back in time.

There’s Mark, the ex-boyfriend – who she ran to New York to get away from.

There’s Louisa, her best friend, with her terrifying new baby.

And there’s her mum, still talking to her as though she’s fifteen.

Now there’s a wedding in the offing – and everyone remembers how well Angela behaved at the last one…Can the arrival of boyfriend Alex and new best friend Jenny save her from a re-run of her old self?

Read more: My Review of The Single Girl’s To-Do List by Lindsey Kelk

I was really looking forward to I Heart London, not only because I love the I Heart series but also because it was the last book in the series so I was really eager (and sad!) to find out how the story would end.

I thought this book was good – as always, Lindsey Kelk proved that she’s still a brilliant writer – but personally I felt this book didn’t really have that extra something special that the other books did. The other books always left me feeling inspired and more so passionate about my own life and making something out of myself, but this one did not. This book WASN’T bad. It was still really good! Just definitely not as good as the other I Heart books, in my opinion.

I felt disappointed with quite a few things in the story. The ending was a bit standard I think. I expected it to end on more of an inspiring or romantic note. Although I thought the ending was sweet, as I’ve read all of the books and come to love the characters of Angela and Alex, I definitely expected a bit more.

I also felt a lot of the storylines were left unfinished. Without wanting to spoil this book for anyone who hasn’t yet read it – there is a prominent side storyline throughout the book and I definitely felt this was left at a loose end. In fact when I put the book down when I was finished reading the story, I’m not even quite sure what the final verdict/end was regarding that storyline. I definitely felt there should have been a more defining end to that.

For example: Jenny’s storyline. Although she ended up happy, I would have loved to find out more in regards to the issues surrounding her and Jeff. I thought that particular storyline ended quite abruptly without much explanation. Finally, I felt the return of some characters such as Cici and Taylor was a bit pointless. Although the brief return of Taylor made sense, the small return of Cici was definitely pointless. Although we’ve come to love the storylines such as Angela finding herself in trouble and having to fix things, I didn’t think this particular situation was necessary.

However, overall I did really love the book, just perhaps not as the last book in the series. Understandably there was a lot of pressure being that this is the 5th and final book. But I think Lindsey tried just that little bit too hard. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it wasn’t the final one. Simply because I felt there were too many loose ends! The characters of Angela and Alex didn’t get the impressive ending that they deserved.

But perhaps this means there is going to be another sequel soon? I hope so! Have you read I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk yet? Let me know what you think!

Louise's review of I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk - she has scored if three stars out of five.
  • Reply
    Sweetaholic Rachel
    10/08/2012 at 10:22 am

    I still have I Heart Vegas to get myself through yet and this is on order, I hope I actually mange to read them as I am slowly going off ot the reading scale at the moment, ekkk!! xxx

    • Reply
      Louise Joy
      16/08/2012 at 12:49 pm

      Oh dear, at least you're taking your time though! I tend to rush through books and have to re-read them again later on to really enjoy them haha 🙂 xxx

  • Reply
    Adele
    10/08/2012 at 3:58 pm

    Oh I hate it when there are loose ends when a book finishes, soooo frustrating!
    Would love you to check out my latest outfit post 🙂
    Happy weekend Hun xoxo
    http://www.intotheblonde.com/

    • Reply
      Louise Joy
      16/08/2012 at 12:51 pm

      It is! But nevermind 🙂 Thanks for the comment, I had a look and subscribed and I really love your camo trousers! xxx

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