Girlfriend 44 by Mark Barrowcliffe

Harry is looking for the One. He's spent years looking for her and tried out 43 women in his quest to find her. When she walks into his life, he doesn't expect it - and then realises that his best mate Gerrard is also trying to win her heart. It seems that there really is nothing fair in love or war, as both men try to sabotage each other - and themselves - in their efforts to make Alice the One.

I picked up Girlfriend 44 for a few reasons. The first is that Mark Barrowcliffe published his debut fantasy novel Wolfsangel under the name M D Lachlan last year - I loved that book, and was interested to see what he could do within a different genre. I'm also keen on men writing in the field of chick lit, since it seems to be an ideal way to see what men really are thinking! *grin* I was expecting a light, funny read that I could easily pick up and put down, and would be briefly amused by.

Rather than this, I got a biting portrayal of real life men in slightly farcical circumstances. The banter is bitter, the humour is puerile in the most part, and the men are distinctly unlikeable. But it does come across as incredibly realistic, as Barrowcliffe covers the ways in which men will dump women and the criteria they have for picking women.

The humour in the novel is uneven and scattershot, but I did find myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. More often I was slightly mystified, but I suspect a guy would have been howling.

I enjoyed the characters, which are larger than life and easy to poke fun at. I rather marvelled at the idea that people like this exist (although a brief conversation with Mark revealed that he based Gerrard and Farley on real characters, which is a massive worry of mine - because it means they are out there walking the street, and there is a faint chance I might meet them by accident!)

What concerned me about this novel is how missold it seemed. It carries the sort of cover that shouts 'chick lit' and I was expecting something along the lines of Mike Gayle - cosy and sweet and trying to present the idea of men as being nice people who don't try to pull women just for the sex. Barrowcliffe is the vicious antidote to Gayle's saccharine sweetness, and it takes some effort to get through the initial shock and embrace the darker elements of the novel.

As I've come to expect from Mark, it was well-written (especially considering this one was his true debut in the literary world, although not too surprising if you take into account his journalistic background), but probably overlong at nigh on 500 pages.

I will seek out some more of Mark's earlier work, but I won't revisit this novel again! For a single 30-something girl, it hit a little too close to home *grins* If you want to read this, I would suggest that you make sure you're in a wonderful and warm, loving relationship and then tackle it - so that you don't end up scared at the prospect of encountering these men when you put yourself out there!

The Importance of Being a Bachelor by Mike Gayle

Despite the example of their own parents' enduring marriage, the three Bachelor brothers show no signs of settling down. Adam has a string of glamorous girlfriends, but they aren't suitable wife material. Luke has just proposed to Cassie but his refusal to consider having children looks like an insurmountable barrier. And baby of the family Russell is in love with the one woman he can't have. Then their father announces he has been thrown out of the family home and this forces all three brothers to examine their own priorities. Are all three Bachelor brothers totally hopeless cases or just late starters?

It is a mark of how much I adore Mike Gayle's books that I brought The Importance of being a Bachelor the instant I saw it this afternoon; I put aside the latest in the Dresden series that I was reading; and I completed the book in one satisfying sitting. In fact, the only book of his that I have not appreciated to this extent is his non-fiction 'The To-Do List'!

This book sets out to explore the nature of relationships: that between a couple who have been together for forty years; that just starting up; the love between adult and child. It shows how relationships can be damaged and irretrievably broken, while it also offers a perspective on hope and forgiveness.

All those lofty ideals are couched in a novel that is easy to read, and flows tremendously smoothly. I had read the first 60 pages with no effort, and was instantly drawn into the lives of the Bachelor family. As an aside, that was the only part I found genuinely annoying - the little play on words with the surname Bachelor and the fact that these three Bachelor men were flirting with disaster and the possibility of remaining bachelors forever. It was a little too 'sly nod at the audience'.

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this lightweight story that pokes fun at the attitudes of men towards relationships:

" 'So what do you think the problem is?'

'The same one that afflicts blokes the world over but for some reason seems to affect our family more than most,' said Adam. 'We just don't know when we're on to a good thing and even when we do know we can't stop ourselves from screwing up.' "

The men were a little bit interchangeable in terms of characteristics - only their individual circumstances allowed me to really differentiate between them. The women were well written in the main: I really liked the Bachelor boys' mum, who was warm and realistic. I really sympathised with her situation, because I could almost imagine my own mum suffering like that after years of marriage (a really painful thought!)

This book is universally warm, in fact - rather like drinking hot chocolate or wrapping myself in a cosy duvet. And this is what I love most about all of Mike Gayle's books: although they may examine issues that are pertinent and painful to our own lives, there is always a happy ending. The comfort of this allows you to read and enjoy all manner of tense moments within the novel with the knowledge that it will all come good. I know that not all readers will appreciate this part (and certainly sometimes I like to worry about the characters a little more!), but now and then it is lovely to read a novel of this nature. Recommended for those looking for a light read on a summer day.

From Here to Paternity - Matt Dunn

Along with the rise of chick lit, there has been an increase in the books written from a male perspective, of which Mike Gayle is one of the major contributors. From Here to Paternity was the first book I have read by Matt Dunn, and I have to confess to being fairly disappointed.

The crux of this is that, no matter how funny the book was - and it definitely raised a few chuckles, including a rather amusing scene in a Gap changing room - I disliked the main character of Will. This is a man who has treated previous girlfriends abominably, who has brought a certificate off ebay so that he can set himself up as a life coach, and who decides that he wants to have a baby, regardless of who he might hurt to get to that end result.

The book suffers from this, because you don't actually want Will to achieve his goal, because you feel as though he would be a far from adequate father.

There are also some massive cliches in the book, including a visit from Will's father and realising that the girl he ends up with already has a child (something that is signposted so heavily that you are almost insulted!)

I did, however, like the characters of Barbara and Tom, who manage to dispense well-meaning advice to the prospective father, and provide a realistic picture of what life is like when a child (or children) come along to disrupt things.

So, not altogether bad but very disposable fiction I'd say, and not a book that I would pick up again.