Sometimes you just need a fun book. A book that will take you on a journey that doesn’t require too much on your behalf, yet is fun and entertaining. Recently stricken by a cold, I picked up this book to read (its weight was about my limit at the time). It’s what some may term a ‘bonkbuster’ – yes, there’s sex, but not as much as the Fifty Shades series and not requiring cable ties. There’s also glamour, fashion, beauty, intrigue and a lot of emotions (plotting, planning and parading). There’s a big cast too – it took me a little while to work out who was who and more importantly, who their allegiances were to! Once I had that sorted (a Penny Vincenzi style list of characters would have been helpful), I was ready to enjoy the ride.

Original Sin focuses on the Asgill family, who run a cosmetics empire that is fading. Their hopes of a boost in American society rest on Brooke Asgill marrying America’s answer to the Kennedy family. However, the rest of the Asgill family as not as clean as the head of the family would like, so mother Meredith hires a PR manager to ‘handle’ any items that come up before the wedding. Tess, an ex-tabloid journalist, certainly has her hands full! One Asgill has been snapped enjoying substances, another is blackmailed after an incident in a bathroom and another just seems to have plain bad luck. Can Tess ensure the wedding occurs and the Asgills fall into line?

I really enjoyed this novel. It was perfect to pop into and out of when I was feeling a bit dodgy, as well as eating in big chunks when I was awake but confined to the couch. There’s drama aplenty to keep you turning the pages. My main concern was that the characters initially needed a little more to distinguish themselves from each other, but I got that straight as I read further (and possibly as my head cleared). For those of you experiencing summer at the moment, this would be an ideal holiday read to while away the hours on the beach or aeroplane. Alternately, it’s a great book to snuggle under a rug with while you’re next to a fire! Original Sin is great escapist fantasy – plenty of money, sex, glamour and fashion. While the ending was unexpected for me, it fit in with the book’s themes very well.

Tasmina Perry’s books are not a cliché of this genre and well worth checking out if you’re after a lighter read.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com (My book blog) ( )

I enjoyed this book even though technically there weren't any surprises in it. You could easily see where each part of the story was leading and how things would turn out, but that didn't prevent it from being a good, easy read. The book is quite long (over 650 pages), but this enables the full story to unfold without being rushed and enabled the characters to fully develop. Some of the characters are easy to relate to where others are just plain nasty or annoying, but it's touches like this that stop it becomming dull - you can't like everyone! I would be interested in reading other books by this author. ( )