Mary Jayne Baker

Favorite Quotes:

I’ll never get the British pantomime tradition. Still remember the first time I saw one. I thought you must be slipping psychedelic drugs into the tea.

Him? I wouldn’t widdle on him if he’d been stung by a flock of jellyfish then set on fire.

‘She’s volunteering me for stuff again,’ Gerry muttered. ‘I’ll never get a moment’s peace while I’m married to that woman.’ ‘You’ll get plenty of peace when you’re dead,’ Sue told him. ‘I bet even then I show more won’t be allowed. I bet you’ll be there, standing over the fresh-shoveled earth.’ He put on a high-pitched voice, jamming his hands on his hips. ‘“Gerald! What’re you lying about down there for? Don’t you know it’s lambing time?”’

‘You gotta have Baby Jesus at Christmas,’ the child repeated stubbornly. She puffed herself up. ‘Last year I was Mary and I had him. Hid him in my dress so’s he could pop out when Miss said and I put him in his manager.’ ‘Manager?’ Marcus said. ‘’S’like a cot what cows eat their tea off.’

It was a baptism of fire, for Dad especially, but he took to it like a duck to hoisin.

‘You’re, er, a bit lopsided there.’ Gerry glanced down at his bosom, which had deflated on one side. ‘Oh. Right. Just a sec.’ He started pumping his arm like a one-winged chicken, and Yolanda giggled as his left breast grew before our eyes… ‘Now you’ve got one bigger than the other,’ my dad told Gerry. ‘You’re just jealous.’

‘My official age is forty-five, thank you, and I plan on keeping it that way until I’m at least seventy… Well, I think I can pass for forty if the lighting’s right.’ ‘She means if there’s a blackout,’ Sue whispered to us.

My Review:

I smirked, giggle-snorted, and gleefully barked my way through this delightfully witty and deftly crafted tale. Written from the first-person POV of returning village resident Becky Finn, this wily author’s highly engaging and deliciously alluring writing style left me unable to put my Kindle down. Her clever and enticing arrangements of words were laced with humorous observations and perceptive insights that were keenly honed, brilliantly paced, and vividly detailed in a highly comical manner. This quirky little village housed an odd assortment of uniquely dynamic personalities who were lured into staging an original pantomime performance to raise funds to save their community center. Bedlam and chaos befell the unusual production at various times throughout their rehearsals with an ever-changing script, wardrobe, ego, and talent issues that caused an alarming eye-twitch to the beleaguered director and new alliances and interesting exchanges among the cast and crew. I had a fantabulous time in the Yorkshire Dales and hope to return soon.

Mary Jane Baker is a comedic genius and I covet her mad word skills and creative imagination. In addition to an excellent day of indulgent reading, she has also provided me with two new words for my Brit Word and Phrases List with widdle – urinate; and manky – worthless, rotten, in bad taste. While the later does not apply to this book, the former may have occurred during reading due to uncontrollable eruptions of mirthful amusement. show less

Oh, Mary Jayne Baker. It's like you wrote this book just for me! It's 100% British and took me back to my youth when my Dad used every British slang word and saying he could all day, everyday. Meanwhile, it's a cute, comedic romance that reminds me I'm an adult. It's safe to say, this book was a nostalgia trip for me and a half!

If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be quirky! It doesn't totally fit into one category for me, and that's totally okay. It has a lot of comedy, show more a pinch of romance, some epic drama and lots of fictional heists to follow. Just labelling it one of those words (or genres) would be a tragedy! This book is just too good to be put into one little corner.

So, down to the meat of it: Lana Donati is our lead, but her brother Tom, friends Yolanda, Gerry, and Sue, a sexy television star named Hunter, and the love interest/former pro cyclist Stewart all take part in this story too. This book starts out seeming like it'll be your typical romance: Lana and Stewart have a date but then... oh yes... the date goes sour. Stewart doesn't call Lana and life goes to the pits. Her Father passes away and leaves the siblings his restaurant and the Tour de France is coming to town! Big things are coming Lana's way...

For reference, I'm Canadian (half British, but good ol' Canada is my home) so I don't have many British references to give you. If I had to pick one that the masses from North America and the U.K. would understand, I'd relate this book to Coronation Street. It has the fun and quirky characters, the dramatic plot and British-ness I love about the show. But, sometimes that show can get depressing so imagine the funny and romantic storylines.

The banter itself is golden. I started highlighting all of the hilarious comments on my ecopy and I almost highlighted half the book (whoops!).

Since I don't want to deal with too much copyright, here's two excellent comments that made me laugh hysterically and giggle and chuckle and all of the fun laugh terms:

"Scott Spen, 26. Looks like a sheep, sounds like a sheep, may actually be part sheep." Like, dude, who doesn't look at dating profiles and think stuff like that?! Just me? Cool.

"A honking good pair." Without context, sounds brutal. Read the book and you'll be giggling along with me.

Comedy like THIS is what gets me laughing. Witty sarcasm is the best kind of humour, so I absolutely loved this novel.

Did I have negative? Of course I did! No book is perfect.

In some places online, this book was marketed more like a romance, and it's not a pure romance. It's more comedic romance, not Hallmark or Harlequin style romance at all. If a reader comes specifically for that romance, they will be let down. But... does that ruin the book? Heck no! That's just my point of view.

Overall, this book is an absolute delight and totally fits into my wheelhouse! I love Mary Jayne Baker's writing and will definitely be sticking around for the long haul. This book was marvelous!

Five out of five stars!

I received a book for free from the publisher (Mirror Books) in exchange of an honest review. show less

A Question of Us is a charming and funny contemporary romance from British author, Mary Jayne Baker.

The friends to lovers trope in romance has always been my favourite, and it’s the focus of A Question of Us. Clarrie and Simon have been best friends for over twenty years (since they were four) and both have harboured unacknowledged romantic feelings for each other since their late teens. Now in their mid twenties, Simon is ready for Clarrie to to take him seriously, but Clarrie, show more desperately worried that giving in to her attraction to Simon will eventually spell the end of their friendship, prefers to deflect and deny. Clarrie’s concerns are understandable, and relatable for anyone who has been in a similar position. Her fears are also magnified by what seems to be mild social anxiety.

In the attempt to convince Clarrie to give him a shot, Simon offers her a bet - if their team wins the trivia league she agrees to a date, and if the The Mighty Morphin’ Flower Arrangers lose, he will never ask her out again. The weekly trivia competition is a great framework for the story, allowing the author to bring her characters together naturally (and it’s fun to answer the questions).

Probably my favourite element of the novel is the dynamic between the group, which includes Clarrie, Simon, Sonny, Gemma and and Davy, who have all been close friends since high school. A lot of the banter involves the pushing of each other’s buttons in only the way people who have known each other forever can, and while much of it is hilarious, if juvenile (and un-PC), the affection between them reads as totally genuine. Each of the characters also have their own story, and unusually, so do their parents.

I also really enjoyed the ‘Britishness’ of A Question of Us, Baker freely makes use of British ‘slang’ and the story largely takes place in a variety of quintessential English pubs, resulting in the downing of several pints of Guinness, lager, and cheap wine. I’ve noticed some (American) reviewers complaining it’s ‘too British’ but as an Australian, with plenty of exposure to British culture and TV, it felt familiar, and honestly refreshing.

Witty, fun and engaging, I was delighted with A Question of Us. show less

The Runaway Bride by Mary Jayne Baker appears at first glance of the bright fun cover, to be a rom com about a wedding gone wrong. Well, there was trouble at the wedding, but this book is not a straight forward rom com. Instead we follow Kitty as she flees her husband of only hours without a cent, phone, or vehicle. She just knows she has to get away and figure out what to do. She is picked up off the side of the road by wandering children's author and illustrator Jack. Jack has his own show more complicated back story that has him wandering the back roads of the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. Kitty and Jack find a comfortable companionship, but can their lives be ironed out enough for them to have a future together?

I loved this book. It was not, as I said above, the rom com I was expecting. While it did have some cute moments, it was the harder hitting moments that made the book for me. I loved how both Kitty and Jack are made to look at their lives and learn from their difficult experiences in anticipation of a different kind of future going forward. There were some unexpected things that happened that made the book more interesting. I was drawn in immediately and the book kept my interest all the way through.

My sincere thanks to the publisher, Aria, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it. I look forward to more from this author. show less