Well, I did enjoy Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell. I thought it was charming. Debbie does the workplace brilliantly, the single girl even better, and impending single motherhood best of all. She explores the fragility of modernday relationships from fickleness to fidelity with unnerving accuracy, particularly the complexity of female friendships. Her heroine, Rachel, is refreshingly honest - the reader will veer from wanting to throttle her to wanting to scoop her up and give her a hug. To sum up, it's fresh, modern and funny - Marian Keyes without the blarney.

She's vain, self-obsessed and pregnant after shagging the office cad on her sitting room floor. Admittedly, Rachel Covington seems an unlikely heroine. Your first instinct is to roll your eyes in a silly-cow-should've-been-more-careful way. A few chapters in, though, and you're as interested in her and her unborn as you would be if she was your best friend. We're not quite sure how Debbie Carbin manages to hook us into caring about 'one of the best-looking people you'll meet' (Rachel's own estimation), but before you know it you'll be racing through the chapters so quickly you'll forget to eat or go to the loo. Of course, there's a romance too, with a man who she thinks is a stranger, but just happens to be her best friend's husband's brother. Yet it's Rachel's sweet, fresh and funny account of pregnancy that makes this such a good read.

Rachel's perfect yet somewhat selfish existence as a party-loving gal can't get any better. But then she meets Nick and suddenly her harmonious life is turned upside down when she discovers she's pregnant

Hilarious and honest

Carbin's brisk, funny first novel records the changes in a shallow, self-centered beauty brought on by a bun in the oven and an unlikely connection with a stranger. After being callous with many hearts, Brit Rachel Covington gets her comeuppance when her interoffice romance with superfoxy Nick Maxwell comes to an abrupt end. While pining for him and experiencing bouts of nausea, moodiness and ravenous hunger, she spies her friend Sarah McCarthy's husband, Glenn, passionately kissing another woman. Rachel also happens upon a lost cellphone and develops a friendship with its owner, charismatic Hector, soon revealed to be Glenn's successful older brother. When Rachel confirms her pregnancy, her decision to only let Hector know strengthens their bond and puts them on the fast track to potential romance, but circumstances prevent the would-be lovebirds from getting together. These are contrived in a necessary chick lit way, but Carbin fashions a convincing transformation for her protagonist. Other genre tropes abound (including the charged climax and Hector's wealth), but Carbin's engaging main character and swaggering sense of humor save the day

Debbie Carbin is a fresh and entertaining new voice in women's fiction. With an engaging style and an unrivaled sense of humor, she holds the reader willingly captive until the very last page. Do you see me sitting on my couch, reading this book until 3:00 in the morning? Notice how I just can't put it down. That's how much I loved it!

A lovely, thought-provoking tale

Touching and funny

The best book of its kind that his reviewer has come across in ages ... [Marian] Keyes has for years been the undisputed queen of applying the light tender touch to dark, painful subjects - well, Sinéad Moriarty is now a worthy competitor for that crown ... In My Sister's Shoes bounces with love, life and fun

Provocative

A good story, flourishing characters, and the most persuasive narrative voice

A classic tale of the triumph of youthful naivety over middle-aged cynicism

Classic coming of age novel