Niall O'Dochartaigh

Advantages: Hilariously funny and romantic
Disadvantages: Erm... none!

...You know those freaks on the train? yes you do! The ones who inevitably come and sit by you and start making strange noises? Yup, well that was me last week. I just happened to be reading 'Well Groomed', a book by Fiona Walker... and as a result I was struggling not to laugh out loud. Instead, I looked like an idiot. But this book was so good that I really didn't care! 'Well Groomed' is the sequel to 'French Relations' and chronicals the life and loves of Tash French following her return to Berkshire with Niall O'Shaugnessy in tow. It begins two years after the first book ended and introduces new characters, like Zoe (Penny's sister) to inspire even more laughs than the first book did. We see Tash becoming accustomed to being an actor's girlfriend, a stable girl and being madly in love with... well, no - we won't go there! Niall... Read review

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Advantages:
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...In ‘Well Groomed’, Fiona Walker continues the story of Tash French, started in the novel ‘French Relations’. A misunderstanding leads to Tash and her actor-boyfriend, Niall, getting engaged – not that they mind as they think that this is exactly what they wanted anyway. There are plenty of the old characters from ‘French Relations’ here: Alexandra, Pascal and Hugo are all there, along with some new characters who all add to the madness of the story which centres the time leading up to Tash and Niall’s wedding. I thought that this book was even funnier than ‘French Relations’ and the final outcome is absolutely brilliant.... Read review

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Advantages: funny, warm, witty, great characters
Disadvantages: could have done without the horses!

...is her younger son a pot-smoker, but her elder one is about to clamber out of the closet. There's random strangers who just appear seemingly from nowhere, like the randy biker Todd. And then there's Hugo Beauchamp, the gorgeous, charming bane of Tash's life. She used to adore him when she was younger and yet he never noticed she was alive. Now, in France, he hates her - and all because she won't sell him the beautiful horse her mother and stepfather have just given her as a gift. But IS this the real reason why he despises her so much? Or is there more to it than that? Just when things couldn't get any more crowded, Walker adds a famous Irish actor to the mix - Niall O'Shaughnessy. He turns up as a guest of Matty's, grief-striken and alcohol-dependent since his wife Lisette left him. He is not the most sociable of people because... Read review

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