I really loved Colleen's debut novel "Don't Stop Me Now" with it's funny, kick-ass, fearless approach to life changes and taking chances, so I had high hopes for more of this with her second novel "Reach For The Stars" and I can gladly report I was not disappointed one bit. This novel is every bit as fun and adorable, with loveable characters who really get under your skin and a feelgood vibe.

Evelyn's escape, against all advice, from her small village to Dublin is fraught with setbacks, however when nothing seems to be going to plan there forms the seeds of a possible future that she realises is what she craves more than anything. Can she navigate the insurmountable challenges and seize happiness?

Set in Ireland, I adored how you got such a sense of the character and variety of the country; from the quiet village where everyone knows your business to the crowded bustle of the capital. There was no shying away from hard issues too, especially homelessness and loss, the way that anyone can be displaced, lost, struggling. It really made me feel grateful for the stability and comfort that I have at home, at a time when I was getting fed up of the endless DIY list; that's the beauty of books like Colleen's, they're relatable and real, with plenty of positive, life-affirming stories.

Don't you just love it when you go into a book warily, fully expecting it to be mediocre at best, but then end up loving the hell out of it? Granted, there's something to be said about finding an author you can count on to never let you down, but finding an unexpected masterpiece where you didn't dare look for it... Heaven guys, heaven!

The way I see it, both this book's title (or you know, rather the labeling as a "laugh out loud romantic comedy") and its cover are totally misleading. They make it look so terribly chick-litty; superficial, sassy and slap-sticky, and while that genre definitely has a good share of fans out there, I am not one of them. I regretted requesting this book the instant I clicked on the button. Funny development, though: now I couldn't be happier about it!

This is the beautiful, heartfelt tale of a young woman, Evelyn, who longs for a new start after divorcing her high school sweetheart after 7 years of marriage. Leaving behind the security of her small town life, she heads to Dublin to start over. But, things don't work out the way she planned and she ends up tending the bar at a charming but rundown pub in the heart of the city.
Even more to her surprise, for the first time in years, she's finally, genuinely happy - making new friends, finding a new purpose, taking risks and falling in love again.
But, when tragedy strikes, she stands to lose all she has worked for.

Evelyn was such a phenomenal female lead, so full of hopes and dreams. I admired her courage to finally go after what she wanted, to take responsibility and pursuit her own happiness. She was smart, mature, passionate and kind, and I thoroughly enjoyed her voice.

It felt so genuine and authentic, and the addition of so many lovable secondary characters (I actually fell a little in love with Christy) made this even more enjoyable and hard to put down.

I loved the book's message and that it, despite what its title may suggest, wasn't solely focused on the romance part (though Danny and Evelyn's love story was definitely swoon-worthy). It was about friendship and love, stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time and taking risks in life instead of always taking the safe path. About making decisions based on what makes you happy and living your life for yourself, not those around you.

A powerful and inspiring feel-good book, funny, sweet and charming, and blessedly low on angst.
Absolutely safety-gang appropriate and recommended to anyone who's looking for an emotional yet light-hearted comfort read.

Evelyn Dooley is a twenty eight year old who's split up from Jamie her ex husband after some awful counselling, upped and moved to Tara's, her sister who lives in Dublin and has fate to thank when she soon meets Danny, a musician who busks by the cafe next door to the pub where she works with kind Colm and Christy as they need any help they can get and Evelyn had no luck with her creepy recruitment agency man finding her work.

Along the way there, she meets homeless Martin, Moira the landlady with a granddaughter who needs tutoring not just for school but in life too it turns out.

But when she finally returns home and Jamie shows up, will she trust her new feelings towards Danny and her knowledge of life with Jamie to make the right choice for herself?

This book really was great! I enjoyed the storyline as it went on, loved Danny and Evelyn's characters and the challenges they faced together and alone. I would have liked more involvement in the culture of the pub and evenings there where maybe Danny and Evelyn spend time when not working but there's plenty of time ahead for them characters...

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Such an apt title, as the book is all about Reaching For the Stars, and trying to achieve your potential, oh and the S Club 7 song by the same name does make one appearance too!

I really took to Evelyn quite early in her book, even while her marriage was falling apart. It was relatively amicable and then her first steps at striking out on her own, by leaving her small town and moving to the big city of Dublin.

I loved Evelyn's attitude to everything, and was laughing a lot at the scene where she first meets a teaching recruitment consultant! She then makes a rather rash decision and from there the book became even more engaging.

Danny and Evelyn's friendship was great, in fact I just really liked Danny and his busking, and general good naturedness. I also really enjoyed the other men that Evelyn meets in the pub, as well as the history of the pub itself.

Reach For The Stars is a charming, and uplifting story, where Evelyn's life changes for the better as a result of her being reminded to reach for the stars. And this message is also carried forward when she starts taking on a mentor role to a troubled teen, which again is a sub plot that I really enjoyed reading.

This is an entertaining story, written in an easy to follow style, and I really wasn't sure how it was going to end until I got to that point.

Thank you to much to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

When Evelyn Dooley married her high school sweetheart she thought the life she always pictured was coming. However, seven years later, at age 28 Evelyn finds herself divorced and unsure where to go next. She decides to quit her job and move to Dublin. When she arrives, Evelyn finds a temporary job at local pub. Soon, she is running the joint with the help of a local musician named Danny. However, when her funds run out she is faced with the decision of going back to her quiet life or fighting. Will Evelyn reach for the stars?

While it took me a little bit to get into the book, when Evelyn moves Dublin and gets the job at the pub suddenly I was IN IT. I am glad because this book was a fun Chicklit read. I think many people can relate to Evelyn and not knowing where to go next, having an idea of what you want at the end but not exactly being sure how to get there. While Evelyn's goals are not similar to mine at all, I really respected them and identify with her yearning for them. I do wish that I felt Evelyn's feelings behind the divorce a bit more acutely, I think it would have gotten me invested in the book sooner. But who am I to judge how people grieve (fiction or otherwise). I also would have liked a bit more description to paint a more vivid picture, but that would take away from some of the snappiness of the book.

All and all, I enjoyed this book and think it is a fun romance that is worth the read.

There is no blunt sex shown in this book, it is talked about after the fact one time. This book is definitely more about Evelyn, her goals and relationships.

Reach for the Stars by Colleen Coleman is the most realistic piece of fiction I've read in awhile. The whole story centers around finding finding oneself. The main character, Evelyn, hasn't found herself. She's not sure of who she is or what she wants. Currently married to a man due no longer loves, but tried to save what's left of their marriage led Evelyn onto a new path. From the moment she and her husband found out they were no longer in love, she left to discover what she needed. This journey took her to Dublin. Once there, she gets a job, makes new friends, and even finds herself a new man. It wasn't intentional. Evelyn even pushed the romance aside. One failed relationship was enough...but fate had other ideas.

Colleeen Coleman created many ups and downs in this contemporary tale. I felt everything Evelyn did. Like I was inside of her. Her new adventure sets off many positive vibes then comes crashing down upon her. Feeling small and lonely again, Evelyn returns back home. From there surprises await both for her and the reader (me). Hope, family, friendships, and new beginnings are explored throughout the book. Divorced to singlehood and from broke to making a life for themselves...Reach for the Stars was exactly that. Evelyn said, go big or go home. That phrase carried her through this epic yet emotional journey. I enjoyed reading it. Reach for the Stars was heartfelt, believable, and engaging from beginning to end. Overall, I highly recommend it to all.

I like this book. I didn't find it "laugh out loud" funny, but it's possible there were British jokes I didn't catch. It does have a strong female protagonist, which I like, and a sweet romance. Definitely one of the better women's fiction novels I've read lately.

Reach for the stars

What a beautiful uplifting novel about a young woman who eventually finds herself and where she's meant to be.
Evelyn is from a tiny town in Ireland where everybody knows each other. When she feels that her marriage is in a rut she tries counselling but to no avail so she makes some huge changes to her life.
The best bit about this book apart from the beautiful way that it's written is that it is so self enlightening and it caused me to look at things in life differently.
The warmth of the characters overflows from this book and the lovely Irish accent and humour shines through.
I loved the story so much and would love to spend some time in Rosie's which sounded like a fab place to be. Evelyn would make a wonderful friend, her innocent approach to situations unearths some really deep solutions.
I'm not sure if any of what I've said here makes sense but in a nutshell I think everybody should read this book because it's just wonderful and I loved every minute of it.
Thanks to Bookouture for the Arc which I've received voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers, Bookouture, for this advanced review copy which I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author, although she does have another book called Don’t Stop Me Now, which is now definitely high up on my To Be Read list! The story begins with teacher, Evelyn and her husband James. They are having some marriage problems and are attending their first marriage counselling session. Evelyn think that the counsellor will be able to tell James where he’s going wrong and they can go home and live happily ever after. The reality is that both Evelyn and James want different things from life. Evelyn wants a tidy home, a steady job and a family. James doesn’t want any of those! They agree to part their ways as friends on the steps of the marriage counsellor’s office leaving Evelyn to return home to live with her mum.

Being driven mad by her mum (and putting on weight by the hour due to the Irish breakfast served every morning) she decides to move to Dublin to room with her sister Tara in the hope of finding a temporary teaching job. This is easier said than done, and Evelyn drowns her sorrows in a pint of Guinness in the oldest pub in Dublin, Rosie Malone’s. Taking pity on the landlord, Colm, she decides to offer her services as barmaid, come cleaner, come chef, until a teaching job becomes available. It also means that she can while away the hours listening to handsome busker, Danny Foy who plays across the road from the pub. With the prospect of bringing Rosie Malone’s back to its former glory with music nights, Evelyn forms a partnership with Danny, but will they end up being more than friends?

So, where do I start with this one? I have to safely say that this book was absolutely fantastic! I enjoyed it that much that it has leapfrogged itself up to the top of the ‘Book of the Year’ list! This one just has that little something extra that the other books haven’t. I knew when I saw the cover that I was going to love it. It’s just one of those covers that says ‘read me!’ It has humour, it has romance, it has tears and it has music! What a combination – everything I could want in a book, the only other thing it needs is Guinness…..oh wait, it’s got that too!

I’ve never been to Ireland, but the setting described when Evelyn goes to Dublin makes me want to go right now! I don’t think a river could be described as anything more beautiful than the “River Liffey still as glass, sparkling in the midday sunshine”. It just reinforces how magical this Emerald City is. I also love Rosie Malone’s pub and it really sounds like somewhere I could lose an afternoon or three in. The characters are all so wonderful and very likeable. There aren’t any characters in the book which I didn’t like and even James redeems himself eventually. Evelyn and the gorgeous Danny make the perfect couple and Colm and Christy seem a pair who could keep you entertained for hours with old Irish tales.

Now, whilst we all know that a lot of these stories are predictable and you know there is always going to be a happy ending this one seemed different. Just when I thought that was it and it was coming to an end the story changed direction and carried on giving me more. I thought on more than one occasion that the story wasn’t going to end on the happy ending that I expected it would, and whilst there were sad moments that had me reaching for the tissues, they were quickly replaced with more happy times.

You’re probably thinking that I’m going a bit OTT about this book, but for me this was the best feel-good book that I’ve read in a long time (and I’ve had read some great books by some great authors recently!) The writing was perfect, it had something which kept me hanging on Every. Single. Word. (I do have a tendency to skip parts in some books, so this was something for me!) I literally spent the whole day reading this book and could not put it down until I had finished it. I got absolutely nothing done and my pile of chores got even bigger!! The only down side with the book was that it finished! I was so enjoying being wrapped up in that cosy Irish world that when I finished it and had to return to reality, it was a bit of a disappointment! I would love to see a follow up to this book to continue the story (I won’t say what parts for fear of spoilers!)….please!!

I cannot recommend this book enough!! 5 Big Guinness Pint Sized Stars! Thank you Colleen, you have made my year!

Reach for the Stars, Colleen Coleman

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: women's fiction, Romance

I almost didn't request this, having read some negative reviews for Colleen's earlier book, but it sounded fun so I took the plunge. I'm so glad I did, it was a really enjoyable romance. 

Its not a romance dominated book, I love those but also like to read books about People, their habits, faults, good points. you know - all the things that make book characters feel real.
And yes, there is a lot of artistic licence taken here that critics of book one might find irritating. Life does fall neatly into Evelyn's plans, the way the pub job pops up and turns into more, but it was such fun that I could very easily let go of that " its a dam n sight harder than that to run a business, to take over a lease, to drum up trade" feeling etc. Go with the flow and enjoy the story as it unfolds, and let fiction take over from the realities of life.
I'm the worst sometimes for criticising that kind of set-up but here it works. Dunno why, but it does and I had fun reading about Evelyn's journey. 

I love the characters here, loved seeing how they grew, how they changed.
James, he seemed a real jerk and i was thinking why did they ever marry, but later when we see things from his view I could see that it wasn't just him, that Evelyn too had changed such a lot.
She irritated me a bit in her intent to be such a martyr almost, she was such a "pleaser", hated conflict, and I recognise so much in her that I do, and I annoy myself with it ;-) so I wanted her to take the stance I find so hard...

The story is fun, the people wonderful, and the romance a slow burn one that ends beautifully. Its a great read, not sure I'd reread but one I'm so glad I finally asked for. 
 
Stars: four, a fun way to escape reality for a few hours. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers