It Happened In Venice: Number 2 in series (Evie Dexter) [Paperback]

Evie Dexter's job as tour guide takes her to faraway destinations, from the romantic island of Venice to the rising temperatures of Marrakech. The vivid descriptions of the exotic cities she visits makes them sound ever so inviting to the reader.

Upon first glance Evie's life seems quite perfect. However, her fiancé Rob (who cheated on her, though she has been able to forgive him his momentary judgement lapse) is slowly becoming more controlling as he first asks her to quit her second job, and then even suggests that she should stop touring as well. With the exception of the tours for which he can be assigned the driver, as they'll be together for those.

While I haven't read the first title in the series, 'It Happened in Paris', it was easy to get into this novel and be swept away by Evie's escapades and the vivid descriptions of all the places she gets to visit as a tour guide. As a seasoned traveller myself it was nice to be able to revisit cities I've been to in the past and also discover new exotic destinations that sounded so appealing that I wanted nothing more than book myself onto the next plane able to take me there.

And in between the detailed descriptions of the holiday destinations there is the solid story of Evie's turbulent romantic life and the crazy situations she often finds herself in. With an outgoing and bubbly personality, which seeps through the pages of the novel and defines its flirtatious tone, it's hard not to instantly fall in love with her.

However, despite Evie's fun-loving nature she was as a main protagonist quite weak. Throughout the novel I was hoping she would grow a backbone as she rarely (or ever, really) makes any important decisions for herself, but instead goes along with whatever the men in her life (Rob, John, Nikki) tell her to do. Had she been stronger I would've probably sympathised with her more.

The other characters were mostly well-written and provided a colourful background; rich and handsome business man John, Evie's temperamental boss Nikki (and his hilarious mother) and her best friend Lulu (who has an on and off relationship with her nicotine addiction), are the most prominent ones. Author Molly Hopkins managed to make them all very likeable and it quickly felt like I had known them for years. John in particular was well-rounded, and in fact I wish I had known him for years! I mean, who wouldn't want to be swept of their feet by this handsome man and fly away in his private jet? My point exactly.

In short: 'It Happened in Venice' is a quick and fun Summer read. Those who enjoy books from the likes of Sophie Kinsella and Lindsey Kelk will particularly enjoy reading about the adventures of Evie Dexter. Thrown in a healthy mix of eccentric friends and family members and, of course, available bachelors, and you've got yourself a fab chick-lit read to dream away with.

After reading her first book, 'It happened in Paris' I had high hopes for this book, and I wasn't disappointed. Her first book had me laughing out loud, and fortunately this one did too.
I love the characters, Evie and Lulu are so funny. I really hope Molly writes another book soon because I am a big fan and will keep my eye open for any future releases!

I have been a fan of Molly Hopkins ever since I read her debut novel `It Happened In Paris', which by the way, if any of you haven't read, then you need to try it because it is a truly fabulous book. Having loved Paris so much, I was very excited when I heard about `It Happened In Venice'.

I raced through this book, I enjoyed it so much and was reading at every opportunity I could get. The story opens with Evie and Rob on holiday in Barbados, which I became engrossed in immediately. I'd barely finished the first chapter and I was crying with laughter, and had tears streaming down my face. Throughout the story there are many more hilarious moments, most of which had me sniggering and bursting out loud with laughter, prompting many funny looks from my fiance.

Evie is everything you could want in a main character of this genre, she's hilarious, she loves beautiful clothes and drinks far more than she should! But most of all, she gets herself into crazy situations, and the way she deals with them makes for a gripping read. I really became involved in Evie's character, at times I was really rooting for her, and at other times I was screaming at the pages, wanting to give Evie a shake and to give her some much needed advice (you'll see what I mean). Overall Evie is such a likeable and relatable character and I'm sure everyone will warm to her.

All of the old characters are back for the sequel as well, firstly there's Evie's handsome now-fiancé Rob, who I think everyone couldn't get enough of in book one! Then there's Evie's housemate Lulu who thinks the answer to everything is to go shopping or drink more (I want to be her friend so badly!), Evie's sister Lexy with her two twin children Lauren and the evil Becky, who manages to frighten me from within the pages, I dearly hope my future children aren't like that!!! We also see the return of John, Insignia Tours' most valued customer, as he whisks Evie away to many different parts of the world on his business trips. I must say, I absolutely loved the relationship and the banter between Evie and John, I loved their friendship, their jokes and I always looked forward to scenes where John featured. My favourite characters however, have to be Nikki and his Greek family who work in the bar. I absolutely LOVE them, especially Nikki's mother Maria who made me laugh all the time. Nikki also had a special place in my heart, I fell in love with him during `It Happened In Paris' and was positively delighted that he featured a lot in `It Happened In Venice'. If the characters were real, I'd be in Nikki's bar from the moment it opened right up until closing time!

There are some surprises in store, sexy scenes, a lot of laugh out loud moments and hours of joyous reading ahead of you if you buy this book! Molly Hopkins you are amazing and I absolutely LOVED this book!

It Happened In Venice is the PERFECT sequel to Paris. It is hilarious, it is fun, and it is so well written that from the moment you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down!