Skip to the End by Molly James:  a super-sparkling tale of kisses, sexual chemistry and kismet – book review -

If you like your escapist reading to be full of fun, get your hands on this magical (in every sense of the word!) rom-com starring a young woman desperately hunting her perfect love story.

Skip to the End – a super-sparkling tale of kisses, sexual chemistry and kismet – comes from former journalist Molly James, a bestselling author of captivating novels who is adding a new and exciting twist of magical realism to her warm, wise and witty romances.

And who could resist this gorgeous, heart-fluttering odyssey alongside the adorable Amy Daniels whose state of perpetual spinsterhood is thanks to a legacy handed down through the female line of her family… as soon as she kisses someone, she knows, in intimate, vivid detail, how their relationship is fated to end.

But, as we soon learn, it’s a ‘gift’ that can sometimes feel too much like a curse because so far in her life there seems to have been no end to Amy’s visions of unhappy endings, and any hopes of finally finding ‘the one’ are fast fading.

Amy Daniels appears to have a pretty good life. Her career is on the up, she is about to buy her very own flat, and she has a group of the four best friends anyone could ever want… eccentric twins May and Jay, beautiful blonde Charlotte, and dependable, tree-hugging Gareth.

And on a good day, lovable, lively Amy could be described as a catch for any man. So why is she perpetually single and why do her boyfriends hardly last a day (and in some cases, a mere five minutes)?

The trouble is, Amy can see something that no one else can… the end story. As soon as she kisses someone, she gets a strange ‘warp-drive surge’ and is catapulted into the future where she witnesses the end of the relationship.

Amongst others, she has seen a screaming argument in the middle of the supermarket over milk, an explicit email sent to the wrong address, a hasty escape through a bathroom window on the second date, and even an eye-popping scene as a runaway-bride at the altar.

And after twenty years of trying, and failing, to change a pre-written future, and despite a reminder from May that she’s got to keep moving towards that elusive ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, Amy has all but given up.

But then she drunkenly kisses three men at Charlotte’s wedding reception and sees three possible endings… two painful and one absolutely, wonderfully perfect. The problem for Amy is that she can’t really remember who she kissed, and worse, which ending belongs to which person.

The only thing she knows for certain is that – with the help of her eager friends who are all privy to her secret ability – she’s determined to find out!

James scatters her freshly conjured up magic over this original, kiss-and-tell tale which gives centre stage to not just Amy’s search for her happy ever after, but the fabulous friendship group whose balm and banter help to bring a feast of feel-good vibes to all the romantic adventures.

The dynamics of this lovable cast of characters is the glue that holds together and enhances a story with so much more than the sparkle and shine of a standard rom-com as the author sensitively explores the moving relationship with Amy’s mother who has dementia, and the hidden heartache and vulnerability that springs from a blessing that might well turn out to be a blight.

With its hidden depths, heartfelt emotions, humour, gentleness and irresistible sense of fun, Skip to the End will have your mind reeling and your heart skipping right through to the final reveal. Enjoy!

(Quercus, hardback, £16.99)