Review: Love Under Different Skies

Synopsis

Sometimes, the hardest part of staying together is keeping a straight face...Ever wish you could leave all your problems behind and make a fresh start somewhere else? Trade the stresses and strains of everyday life for your own slice of sun-kissed paradise on the other side of the world? Jamie and Laura Newman certainly have. When Jamie's spectacular meltdown at work results in him being handed his P45, and Laura finds her working days end up with her rugby tackling defenceless pensioners in the high street, a move ten thousand miles away sounds ideal. After all, it might mend some of the cracks that have appeared in their marriage over the past few months...

So when Laura is offered a new job in Australia, the Newman family think their dreams have come true. But as the old saying goes - be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. As the hapless couple soon find out, problems have a way of following you, no matter how far you go to avoid them. Can love survive under different skies? 

Review

I should start off by declaring my love for Nick Spalding, my love for his books that is. He's the author of romantic comedies, Love from Both Sides being the most successful. When I first picked up Love from Both Sides my life was brought to an embarrassing standstill. I refused to leave my bed for an entire day until I devoured it in one sitting. It was a delicious Wednesday afternoon in which I was introduced to Jamie and Laura. Nick Spalding is funny, charming and utterly compelling with his brilliant one liners i.e. "Her breath smells like the gates of Hades have opened." I was hooked on that book like a drug addict to a needle. 

Like a true devotee, I devoured the next book in the sequel, Love and Sleepless Nights. Hence why when I heard he would be releasing a third book in the sequel I was more joyful than mouse in a cheese factory. I danced around in circles at the prospect of reading his new book with more enthusiasm that should probably not be acceptable for a woman over the age of 18. The third book in the sequel is different not because it is set in Australia but the mood of the book seems sombre.

Laura and Jamie are clearly past the honeymoon phrase and are experiencing some marital problems.  Love under Different Skies started very promisingly with Jamie losing his temper along with his job. This is the third book in the series therefore I wasn’t expecting the magic that illuminated from the first one (Love from Both Sides) but I did expect great things. I think that’s where my problem began, I was expecting laughs with every line, I was expecting to fall in fits of giggles, I was expecting to be wowed with every anecdote. I did giggle a few times; the image of poo wrapped in cling film in kitchen foil was priceless.

 However I did feel like  some laughs were forced. Nick Spalding's obsession with bowel movement is at times worrying. Jamie's got the bowel movement of an ice age pensioner. He's inclusion of poo in every book is a concern although I do find these poo chapters extremely funny. 

I love the realism Spalding brings to his characters, the descriptions are so vivid I thought I was right there with the characters experiencing vertigo. I will never tire of Jamie's antics although at times I did find Laura a little overbearing and condensing. Poppy is great character, her charm is infectious and her quick comebacks legendary. I would recommend this book 100%, it's a guaranteed laugh.