Curvy girl, Charlene Winters, had it all: the great career, wonderful friends and a dreamy fiancé. With her wedding day just three weeks away, Charlene is dealt a devastating blow. Suddenly finding her life, hopes and plans in tatters, the jilted bride sinks into despair and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough. With the heartache of her fiancé’s infidelity still fresh, Charlene’s whisked away by her friends on a life-changing holiday. But how will this big fish cope now that she’s back in the dating pond and surrounded by slender trouts with Botox lips? Frustrated by best friend Adam thwarting her attempts at romance, and her girls Vanessa and Dana eager to set her up with a boy toy, Charlene decides the time for change is upon her. What she needs is a change of scenery, a change of dress size and maybe, a change of heart.
5 Stars
All I can say is “Grab this book!” I was thoroughly entertained while reading Charlene’s story. And I cannot tell you how many times I laughed out loud. Trust me it was many.
Charlene was supposed to be getting married in 3 weeks to her boyfriend of 4 years, Brad. But what does he do?? He breaks it off with her while he’s away in Ireland visiting family during Christmas. Really? What a low-life! A lot is told during this opening chapter of the book and Charlene is heartbroken, devastated & feeling really low. Not to mention, she’s not feeling very good about herself at all. But she has her friends there to help her get through this embarrassing, humiliating “walk of shame”. There’s Vanessa & Dana, her friends since college and then we have Adam. Charlene & Adam have been friends for over 20 years. And I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading about how they met one another back in school.
Adam has always been there for her through everything in her life. He’s funny, honest, has a big heart & would do anything to make his best friend feel better about herself & what life has thrown her way. Oh…and let’s not forget he’s sexy as hell. I loved how Marie Coulson’s words made me feel just what Adam & Charlene have together. I envied the relationship they have. But how doe you go from being best friends for so long to crossing that line. Neither one of them expected things to go this way, but sometimes they happen for a reason. Will their friendship ever be the same? Do these two feel more for each other than just friends and are afraid to admit what is long overdue? This was such a wonderful journey with this group of four friends. Charlene is also a little overweight and lacks self-confidence. It was such a joy to see her pick herself up with the help of these friends in her life & become determined to shed the weight that she had gained over the years. And there are plenty of funny scenes while she attempts it. She also starts to see things about Adam that she hasn't noticed before.
Adam & Charlene aren’t really sure what to do with themselves other than maybe enjoy the “friends with benefits” relationship while she‘s still looking for Mr. Right. At least this is what Charlene tells him. But Adam has been waiting for years to tell her how he really feels & when he does she doesn't know what she should say back. Does distance make the heart yearn for what she has always wanted?
And Charlene’s Gran….I cannot forget to mention this elderly woman with such sass & she doesn't hold anything back in what she thinks. I’m sure you’ll laugh as much as I did when you read the scenes this woman is in. She's a hoot!
Charlene’s ex, Brad, comes back into the picture at the end begging for forgiveness and telling her how sorry he is and that he messed up. Does she go back to him?
At first, reading the title, I wasn't sure what I was going to be in for. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I love her and how she carefully crafted this enjoyable and fun book to read. Everything flowed so nicely, the characters and what they were experiencing seemed real to me. And they are some of the best ones I've been introduced to. I highly recommend this book to read.
Reviewed by Jessie L.
Born and bred in Essex, England, Marie Coulson discovered her love of writing in her early teens. Beginning with poetry and song lyrics, she tried her hand at creative writing while studying for her English GCSE. It was love at first line. Unfortunately, Marie's career as a childcare and education practitioner soon took up most of her time and writing became something she only dreamed about. In the summer of 2012 she quit her job and enrolled at university, ready to start a new career as a therapist. This left her with a lot of time on her hands and on August the 20th she sat down and wrote the first chapter of Bound Together. Bound Together was a story that had been waiting three years to be written and when fingers hit the keyboard...Layla, Jared and Ollie's story was born. Marie has since written and released two novels in the Bound Together series and a novella. Her romantic comedy novel Diary Of A Dieter has also received excellent reviews and is the debut novel in the Confessions series.
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