Wednesday 13 January 2016

Holding Out for a Hero by Victoria Van Tiem

Published: 14th January 2016
Publisher: Pan
Pages: 261
Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Blurb
The problem with first love is that it never truly dies . . .
Libby London fell in love with the eighties, came of age in the nineties, and now the twenty-first century is baffling her. Her New-York-City style is more, erm, vintage tragedy than retro babe and her penchant for All Things Eighties might just be what's holding her back in matters of life and love . . .
At least that's what her well-meaning friends think. They've staged a #80sIntervention in an effort to bring Libby bang up to date. What with her dreaded birthday party, friends' madcap ambush, and being forced to relocate her vintage shop, Libby's nearing breaking point!
Will she ever be able to move on when the one she loves keeps her in the past?

Review
Holding Out for a Hero by Victoria Van Tiem was a book that arrived through the post one miserable wet morning and it instantly brought a smile to my face, how can it not with such a lovely fun looking cover? This was the first novel that I’ve read by Victoria and I was instantly hooked with her hilarious writing style and quirky characters.


Libby London loves the Eighties so much, her clothes are from the Eighties, she has an Eighties hairstyle and even her job is based on selling Eighties memorabilia. She evens spends most of her time reliving moments from her favourite films from the Eighties. With her thirty-third birthday looming her friends have decided enough is enough and Libby must join them in the twenty-first century. They stage a 80s convention to give Libby an updated make-over and convince her to get back into dating. Can Libby move forward when she’s clinging to the past by holding onto her vintage shop and pining for her first love?


I loved this book, I was laughing nearly all the way through. Libby and her friends Dora, Finn, Dean and Jas were just wonderful to read about and I loved the dynamic between them all. I loved how Libby got so mad with them for various madcap ideas but in the end she realises their only doing it because they care about her. All the characters in this book had their own little quirks and the various “dates” Libby goes on were just brilliant.


There are a lot of references to Eighties films and music in this book, many of which I didn’t get despite being born in the Eighties myself. I don’t think this spoilt the book in any way for me and if you are a fan of this decade then you will no doubt adore all the references and understand the significance of them.


Despite this book being full of comedy moments it also has a serious tone with dealing with Libby’s depression. I thought this was done really well and leaves you thinking that even when life is horrible and you can’t cope keep going because you will get through and you will be alright in the end.


This is a small book at around 250 pages so I managed to read it in a couple of afternoons. It’s jam packed with drama all the way through and I feel Victoria has captured Libby’s story perfectly. I’m so looking forward to picking up Victoria’s first novel Love Like the Movies as I just know I’ll love it.


Thank you so much to Pan for sending me a copy to review. I loved everything about this book and rate it five out of five.


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