BOOK OF THE WEEK

Falling by Jane Green is published in hardback by Macmillan, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.59). Available now

Moving to the suburbs and falling in love with a hunky man is a fantasy for many of us, but author Jane Green is proof of a success story. It's been 20 years since the former feature writer left journalism - and London - for America to work on her debut novel Bookends, and she has never looked back. Like many of her earlier works such as The Beach House, Summer Secrets and Girl Friday, Green's 18th book has been inspired by her own life. It touches on the familiar themes of class wars, love and family: the protagonist Emma Montague swaps her upper-crust English life and dull boyfriend Rufus for a financial career in New York, before switching up from the Big Apple to a beach cottage in Westport, Connecticut like the author herself. Emma immediately falls in love with her landlord (just as Jane did), who is also a father to six-year-old son Jesse. Together, the new couple have to learn to overcome their differences and deal with the curveballs life throws at them if they are to make their relationship work. Falling, also billed as A Love Story, is the perfect summer escapist read - it will make you laugh and cry, showing why Green continues to wear the 'chick-lit' crown.

Rating: 9/10