*I received a free ARC of this book via Rachel’s Random Resources blog tour. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: Lance Parker is an arrogant know-it-all. As author of the bestselling book Your Soulmate Doesn’t Exist, he says love is for losers. Madam Love is a fortune teller and matchmaker who has brought hundreds of couples together.
When the two clash during a radio interview, she admits even someone as irritating and impossible as Lance has a soulmate. He says she’s delirious and a fraud. Then the gauntlet is laid down: Madam Love has two weeks to prove Lance wrong and find him a soulmate.
When Lance meets wonderful Emma by chance, he doesn’t know what to think anymore. But Emma has a secret. She’s Madam Love, actually. And it’s going to take a whole lot more than a crystal ball to get her out of this mess.
Madam Love, Actually is a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy.
For fans of Hollywood rom-coms the plot will seem quite familiar: two people with opposing ideologies enter into a wager that requires one of them to fall, or not to fall, in love. Naturally shenanigans follow, including cute dogs, cupcakes and a bit of Mrs Doubtfire-style character-swapping comedy.
Rich Amooi gives the classic formula his own twist with Emma’s genuine gift for psychic matchmaking, and the truly romantic dates that Lance organises for his mystery woman. Personally I particularly enjoyed the formula Emma follows of setting three tasks for her soulmate-searching clients, and seeing how that played out with the sceptical Lance, her biggest challenge to date.
I did think that Lance gets a bit of bad press at the start of the novel (and in the blurb), but I guess that he brings that on himself with his abrasive attitude and it was nice to see him grow as the story develops. Emma is adorable, but most of her problems are, of course, self-caused and I did occasionally grind my teeth with frustration as she took another step deeper into her tangled web!
In Madam Love, Actually, Rich Amooi has created a gentle, witty romcom with plenty of scope for further spin-offs in the characters of Randy the Cupcake King and long-suffering best mate Pete. Hopefully Madam Love will get on their cases next and help them find the soulmates they need!
Lance chuckled. “First… should I call you Miss Love? Or do you prefer Madam?”
“Madam Love, actually.”
“Okay… Madam Love, Actually. Tell me –”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“Feisty. I like that. But I need to know… how do you sleep at night?”
“On my side with a full-length body pillow. I snore less that way.”
Lance sat up in his chair and ignored her answer. “You claim to be a real fortune teller? That’s what you call yourself?”
“Yes,” Madam Love said. “I’m also known as a human whisperer, a psychic, a clairvoyant, and a medium…”– Rich Amooi, Madam Love, Actually
You can find more from Rich Amooi at his website here, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Madam Love, Actually is available on Amazon right now!
Bookshine And Readbows 