Genre: Chic-Lit
About The Book
What do you do when the love of your life is already somebody else’s dad…?
Brown-eyed, brunette, 25.
Enjoys walking barefoot across shards of broken home. Likes loaded silences, resentment and insomnia. Dislikes romantic weekends, lie-ins and any chance of future happiness.
Former GSOH. Developing PTSD.
Ella Shawe was undomesticated, unattached and uninhibited.
Until she met Dan.
Sexy, charming and funny, Dan ticked all the right boxes and Ella threw herself head-first into the whirlwind romance.
But now she’s moved into his family home, complete with two demanding children and a hyperactive dog.
Throw in Dan’s impossibly perfect ex-wife, Ella’s interfering sex therapist mother and the snooty and dismissive mother-in-law from Hell, and Ella is almost ready to throw in the towel.
But, ready or not, Ella is part of the family now, and getting it right for Dan’s kids means getting it right for everyone. She just needs to figure out how to include herself in the mix...
My Thoughts
This had been a funny read but too real that sometimes you just wanted to hug our main character Ella Shawe.
Ella Shawe, is a single woman that has decided to start living with her boyfriend Dan, a father of two kids and a non-stop dog. Being single and starting to be a mum from one day to the other let me say it has to be quite difficult, and if the kids hate you, it could be impossible. That's what Ella will have to face in this story, being a "loving mum" and a girlfriend in a home when sometimes she doesn't really feel appreciated or loved. However, every time there's trouble she puts a smile on her face and tries to ignore the pain... I am not sure I would stay quite!
The story for the kids doesn't have to be easy neither, I had a few friends that their parents divorced when they were young, and I don't remember them being quite happy during that time. And of course the mother will not help in the situation as you can imagine... Be prepared for some laughing situations but some bittersweet too...
Be prepared for a sweet story that will melt your heart and put a smile on your face. Ready?
I have the honour to have a Guest Post from Patricia Caliskan, enjoy! ;)
I’ve always looked at life with a certain amount of humour. We’re all quite ridiculous in our own unique ways, and in my books, I like to take the reader on slightly whimsical journeys through situations we can all relate to.
In Girlfriend, Interrupted, when our leading lady, Ella, moves in with her boyfriend, Dan, their fledgling romance is abruptly met with reality. Divorced with two children, 12-year-old, Grace, and seven-year-old, Ethan, Ella quickly becomes part of a stepfamily – and her days of dating are quickly replaced by the chaos and conundrums of family-friendly weekends.
The inspiration is entirely personal. In my mid-twenties, I found myself in a similar step-situation. This is the book I would’ve loved to have read at the time. I’d been single for a few years, and never had the possibility of meeting a guy with a family ever cropped up when my friends were trying to play Cupid. And, apart from the traditional renderings of all stepmothers as wicked, and a barrage of gloomy self-help, there wasn’t all that much by way of advice, or even light-relief. I still felt like a child, myself, but I was trying to become fluent in the language of children, perusing supermarket aisles rather than cocktail lists, and spending Saturday mornings at outdoor adventure playgrounds, rather than hungover. It was a complete culture shock.
Ella tries to find the balance between having a relationship, with the added pressure of becoming a responsible role-model to two children. She moves out from sharing an apartment with her best-friend, Kim, to being part of a three-bedroom household.
It’s almost a coming-of-age for her, and along the way, her clumsy-attempts at domesticity, are equally matched by increasing demands at work. Meanwhile, her Media Darling mother is enjoying a glamorous career in the spotlight, and a dating renaissance.
I hope Girlfriend, Interrupted, makes my readers laugh and keeps them guessing.
Hopefully, all the step-dilemnas Ella finds herself in will resonate with stepparents, and give readers a slightly different kind of contemporary romance.
About The Author
Following a childhood spent writing her first books, most notably,Our Book about Jesus – a self-help guide for fellow young Catholics, and,The Sleepover – a compelling tale of a midnight feast, shockingly intercepted by fictitious parents with badly drawn hands, Patricia Caliskan always liked to play with words.
Patricia first saw her name misspelt in print aged 17, interviewing hungover rock stars and illegible actors for anArts and Entertainment magazine. After graduating from the University of Liverpool, Patricia joined Trinity Mirror Newsgroup, working as editor across a portfolio of lifestyle magazine titles.
Patricia likes a good pair of boots, wearing perfume with her pyjamas, and laughter. Lots of laughter. Because without it life feels far too grown up for her liking. Told with mischievous humour, Patricia’s stories explore family dynamics, office politics, and the divergent roles of women throughout their lives.
Girlfriend, Interrupted is Patricia’s second novel: her first, Awful by Comparison, will be reissued by Sapere Books this summer.
Labels: 2018, Blog Tour, Book, Chic Lit, Review
What do you do when the love of your life is already somebody else’s dad…? 
Following a childhood spent writing her first books, most notably,Our Book about Jesus – a self-help guide for fellow young Catholics, and,The Sleepover – a compelling tale of a midnight feast, shockingly intercepted by fictitious parents with badly drawn hands, Patricia Caliskan always liked to play with words.