All the Single Ladies by Jane Costello

Samantha Brooks' boyfriend has made a mistake. One his friends, family,and Sam herself know he will live to regret. Jamie has announced he is leaving, out of the blue. He is loving, intelligent and, while he isn't perfect, he's perfect for her - in every way except one: he's a free spirit. And after six years in one place, doing a job he despises, he is compelled to do something that will tear apart his relationship with Sam: book a one-way flight to South America. But Sam isn't giving up without a fight. With Jamie still totally in love with her, and torn about whether to stay or go, she has three months to persuade him to do the right thing. With the help of her friends Ellie and Jen, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he's giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting and a single aim: to win him back. But by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes up to what he's lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam's life. Which begs the question ...does she still want him back?

I was only introduced to Jane Costello through her previous book, Girl on the Run, and when I received this book to review, I was eager to get started.  I was not disappointed, a fantastic read, one of those books that you could be laughing out loud one minute and crying the next. One of those books that take you through a full range of emotions but is unputdownable until you get to the end.

The main character is Samantha Brooks and her long term boyfriend, Jamie, has just told her that he wants to split up with her because they want different things - she wants to settle down, get married and have children, while he wants to go travelling again.  Samantha has three months to persuade Jamie that they should be together - but will she manage to persuade him?

There are other subplots throughout the book along with many other great characters! Samantha has some great friends and they play a big part in the book too. One of the subplots within the book is one of Samantha's denial of her alcoholism and Samantha's difficulties in getting her to admit she has a problem - this was tackled sensitively and I am sure this story could of been continued further after this book had ended. 

There is also the story of Samantha's adopted sister, Julia, and her shock at her biological father contacting her out of the blue - this story is one which I found interesting and I enjoyed reading this story, another great idea which worked well throughout the larger story.

Jamie seemed like a lovely man at the start of the book but as I read further my view of him changed and I found myself hoping that Samantha would come to this conclusion too - I won't spoil the story by saying more about this, however it is a great roller-coaster! 

The story also includes Facebook, which Samantha uses to keep 'tabs' on her former partner and also the new man in her life - but as is often the case, beware you don't always like what you discover. 

As with Jane's books, the chapters are very short and it does mean that you can read 'just one more' before putting the book down, however it is very difficult to put down and although it is nearly 500 pages long, it is a relatively quick read. 

I would recommend this book to lovers of chick lit everywhere - be prepared to loose a few evening while you devour it quickly!

Thank you to the publishers, Simon and Schuster, for sending me the book to review.