Holly A Harvey - Karma

Title: Karma
Author: Holly A Harvey
ISBN # 9871873671009
Publisher: Bookforce
First Published: 2006
349 pages
Format: Paperback
Rating: 8/10

Winner of the Undiscovered Authors 2005 General Fiction category for the North East Region

Synopsis:
Karma is a light-hearted, comical story about Paige, a 28 year-old northern woman whose life revolves around sleep, caffeine and VH-1 rather than sex, drugs and rock n roll. She has money problems to rival the national debt, more people walking over her than a 'Welcome' mat and the requisite ex-boyfriend from hell. Paige has always lived by the belief that "what goes around comes around," but after a betrayal by a friend at work and unhappy memories aroused by an invitation to a school reunion, she decides to give fate a helping hand.

Review:
I started reading this in my coffee break and almost snorted coffee out of my nose within the first couple of pages - this could have been written about me! All the mention of singing along to Adam and the Ants and seeing Biker Mice from Mars on the telly (it was a terrible cartoon!) could have been lifted straight out of my life. This is very funny stuff - light-hearted, but written with great warmth.

I’m not usually one to get gripped by “chick-lit”, but will freely admit I lay on my bed all evening so I could finish it in peace! It makes such a nice change to have a heroine who doesn’t have a high-powered job and pots of money, or start out with the perfect boyfriend – here the heroine is a normal, down-to-earth lass who is struggling to make ends meet and hasn’t had a boyfriend in as long as she can remember (put it this way – she can count the number of her sexual conquests in the past twelve months on one finger!). She makes countless mistakes in her life – just like everyone else! It’s refreshing to see a heroine who one could not possibly feel jealous about when looking at her life.

Comedic and tragic by turn - moving moments and pants-wettingly funny highs with a Geordie accent. I'd say this is my book of the month - excellent stuff!