The Birds and the Bees

Romance writer and single mum Stevie Honeywell had 39 days till her wedding when a large man with a wild red beard appeared on her doorstep. He informed her in his Scottish accent that her fiancé Matthew, was in 'bloody Magalluf with ma Jo!' Translation: Stevie has been cheated on, again.

In this quintessentially British novel, Stevie is determined to play it cool; she is simply going to pretend to let Matthew go whilst she pursues a mad course of dieting, exercising and self improvement. Adam MacLean, he of the red beard, is equally determined to win back his girl through basic psychological tactics but his plan involves he and Stevie giving the impression that they are dating, despite having been told she's greedy, lazy, rarely sober slob. Stevie has her misgivings too. She's been informed that Adam's a control-freak nutter who bashes up women. What's a girl to do?

Like the Scottish country jig, the couples alternate partners and skip around each other, learning some revealing truths along the way. But what happens when Adam's master plan actually starts to work? And just who will Stevie be dancing with when the music stops?

Milly JohnsonFive-foot-tall Milly Johnson is half Barnsley, half Glawegian writer of greeting cards, novels and shopping lists featuring gin and buns. She has ghostwritten for the Purple Ronnie series and had her debut novel, The Yorkshire Pudding Club, published last year. When not writing she is either reading, learning Italian, mixing with the Yorkshire glitterati, getting up the council's nose about a pedestrian crossing or ironing school clothes. She lives with her two boys and a quartet of mad animals near her Mam and Dad in South Yorkshire.

The Birds and the Bees
Simon and Schuster
Author: Milly Johnson
ISBN: 9781416525912
Price: $19.95