Jacquelyn Middleton

"London Belongs to Me" tells the story of Alex Sinclair, a 21-year old Florida girl who moves to London - a city she's always loved from afar - following her graduation from college. This novel from Canadian author Jacquelyn Middleton is part coming-of-age-story, part romance, with a diverse and likeable cast of characters, immersed in pop culture

London Belongs to Me

Amal Hassan

** spoiler alert **
           This book was amazing. The themes explored in this novel and the characters we get to know are the very reason I was so enamoured. 

However, I did have an issue with the elitist stereotypes cast over Olivia's character. Wealthy females in books tend to be devious backstabbing witches who care little for anyone who does not have a similar social standing as them. I understand Olivia's malicious behaviour was a driving force for Alex's evolution in the book, but I would have appreciated it more if she and Olivia struck up a friendship. Two young women from different worlds but with the same dream of becoming a play-write. Women supporting women in their field of work is a delight to see in a book. 

Having said that, I enjoyed this book immensely. The fangirl nerd culture backdrop was perfectly executed and very much overdue in a contemporary novel, with real world fandom Easter eggs (I loved the Sherlock references the most of course!) that made me squeal (when in the confides of my bedroom) and (unsuccessfully) suppress a grin while on public transport. The relationship between Lucy and Alex was always heartwarming and fun, which meant I spent the duration of my reading experience waiting for their interactions and wanting more. And then there is Freddie; Lucy's nerdy chic best friend, with the big mouth and even bigger heart. His bromance with Mark was endearing, and I especially enjoyed how protective they were of each other. Which brings me to Mark. What I enjoyed most about Alex's relationship with Mark was that, though it was sweet, it was a bit of a slow burner and did not eclipse the other relationships and themes in the novel. Mark was fun and patient and, although you cannot read an accent, just knowing he was from Dublin was all I needed (who doesn't swoon at an Irish accent, eh?). As a whole you could really tell that Middleton put a lot of time and thought into making sure these characters were memorable in all of the best ways. 

Alex's relationship with her dad and step-mum was also heartwarming. Let's not even get into her grandm- ehem, I mean Joan. She was fun, she was sweet and I loved that Alex's debut play was Thirteen, a play about time travel and focused on Joan's past regrets as an actress. That she did not need Suffragette to make it only highlighted the differences between her and Olivia, where the latter could not rustle up a single good concept for a play and had to stoop to stealing, Alex had the talent of taking an idea and turning it into a master piece. 

Anxiety and self doubt were huge themes in this novel. I found that I really appreciated how Middleton approached these topics with sensitivity and how Alex naturally evolved and overcame the hurdles life threw at her whilst still keeping a good head on her shoulders. 

The setting! Alex's love for London gave me a new found appreciation for the city. As a Londoner I took serious pride in the images Middleton conjured up about my city. Reading about streets I walked down or places I've given hours of my life to, particularly the pigeon riddled Victoria station, transported me back to the city I miss dearly. Even the mention of Quality Streets and Celebrations during the festive season made me squeal with joy.

Overall I found Alex and her friends to be incredibly relatable and I wish we could get more from them. I seriously recommend this book if you have a love for chick-lit and a general proclivity for all things Doctor Who or Sherlock.

Lauren Sullivan

This is a fluffy bit of geek girl wish fulfillment. Remember those 90s teen girl movies? Yeah, that's this, in book form.

Alex moves to London after graduating as a playwright. Her enthusiasm for London (a place she has never even visited before moving to) is simultaneously cute and annoying. Of course, Alex runs into various "obstacles" to realizing her dream, all of which are easily overcome, and usually by someone other than her. (view spoiler)[Play gets stolen by Olivia? That's OK, she'll write two better ones! She needs to move out of her apartment? That's OK, her dad will give her rent money AND her friend's roommates will magically need to move out. Her job at the cafe is too far from the new apartment? That's OK, she'll get a job at the theater she's obsessed with, because she's JUST THAT GOOD. (hide spoiler)] 

Alex is such a Mary Sue it's frankly annoying. She treats her friends like crap, and they still bend over backwards to help her. Large chunks of the conflict revolve around the "jealous other girl" stereotype, and God, I am just so tired of that. 

So why three stars? Because, at the heart of it, it's every geek girl's silly justice porn wish fulfillment fantasy. You know that, at the end, the girl is going to get the cute guy, the admiration of her idols, revenge on everyone who's wronged her, and a play that opens to rave reviews. A delicious homemade cake this is not, but sometimes it's nice to just eat the dang Ding Dongs.

Tânia Borges

Jackie

Eep! So if you don't know me, I'm a sucker for anything Britain. I always have been (and now that I've done genealogical research, I know why!) So of course I HAD to finally pick up a kindle copy of this when I saw that it was on sale for $1.99!

Jacquelyn gave me an even greater longing to eventually visit London (and try all of their scrumptious treats! - I mean, get it together, America! Only 10% cocoa when the Brits have to have at least 20%? Shame!) From the moment I read the first page, I fell in love with our main character! It's odd, she's sort of similar to me minus her being a playwright and actually born in the UK.

The only character I hated with a burning passion was Olivia, (PLEASE don't bring her back, Jax!) that brunette made inner child me sob because that's how I had pictured the mean high school girls acting - fortunately my town did not have those kinds of women. Plus Harry deserves a hundred percent better even though he was a pretentious arse to Mark (he was sticking up for Olivia though so I GUESS I can forgive him for being that blind. That woman could probably make a nun swear.)

I'm only three paragraphs into my review but I can already see that my rambly fangirlness is taking over so I will simply leave you all who cared enough to check out my review with this simple message:

Read this wonderful book! You won't regret it!

Thank you, Jacquelyn for writing such a phenomenal read and I'm sorry it took me a year to finally get my hands on it!

London Belongs to Me

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