We all know a good book can keep you awake until the small hours whilst you scramble to finish it. When you've been up since the crack and driven for miles with a baby and small boy yet still want to keep your eyes open to see how the book ends, the chances are that this is some kind of fabulous book. Girl From Mars by Julie Cohen is most definitely to blame for the bags under my eyes.
Philomena Desdemona Brown - or Fil for short, is a blue haired, coffee loving, comic drawing kind of genius. Ever since her best mate Jim showed her a copy of a comic about the Girl From Mars she has loved her. Fil then made it her mission in life to become one of the artists who draws the battles and adventures of the female superhero. Now grown up and drawing her heroine she lives with Jim and also has two other male best mates. Stevo and Digger. But then Stevo falls in love and drifts away from the tightly knit group. The remaining three make a vow never to have a relationship and to keep things the way they are.
This is fine. Except a short while later Fil meets a man in the coffee shop. A man she is somehow drawn to. Even if he did like decaf. How on earth is she going to explain this to the others? To make matters worse it seems life at the comic cannot stay the same. Things are going to be shaken up and Fil, happy with the status quo, does not approve.
This book is about friendships, romance and the fear of change. The latter being something I can completely identify with. I thoroughly enjoyed it as you could probably tell from my opening paragraph. I can't wait to read her next one, Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom, out next Spring.
If you haven't come across her before Julie Cohen writes (in her words) fun, emotional, and sometimes quite strange romantic novels for Headline's Little Black Dress imprint. Ever since I picked up One Night Stand I have loved her writing style. Julie is currently writing a full length commercial women's fiction novel with Headline Review. This will be published as a hardback in November 2010.

Cool I have 2 of her books I will have to read the up the tbr pile!
Posted by: Amy | 11 August 2009 at 10:48 AM