Four friends, one wedding. Therein lies the foundation for this second novel written jointly by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees.

It doesn't sound very exciting does it? It doesn't even sound very interesting when I think about it. But it is actually very enjoyable.

Now, I've said already that this novel is the second to be written by said authors, but what I haven't mentioned yet is it's the sequel to their first, 'Come Together'. They like their barely borderline risque titles don't they? What I want to point out first is that this book stands alone. And I'm not saying this based on assumptions after reading both, because I haven't read both. I do, however, have the first novel waiting, amongst an increasing pile of others which are looking more and more like my life's work to wade through them, than anything else.

The story centres around four friends of the betrothed couple. They are four friends whose lives only really intertwine in the lead up to their mutual friends' (Amy and Jack) wedding, and it's the intertwining of their lives which makes this novel.

Every chapter is written from the perspective of one person, which not only allows you to know each character more deeply than if it had been written from just one person's perspective, but also allows you to see each situation from a different angle.

So, who are the characters? Well the person to start the story is H (Helen). H is a highly strung career woman who, despite being highly strung, still cares deeply about her friend Amy. She'll do anything for Amy, but she feels her slipping away from her. But that's what friends do when they get married isn't it? The ties are cut somehow and they just drift away slowly, but surely.

H is an extremely likable character. The balance between career woman and devoted friend is perfect. She's never too soppy, but neither is she too harsh...

"... despite the fact that the last time you helped them move, they swore blind it would be their permanent address for ever and ever, you find yourself sweating at the top of yet another flight of stairs going all Talking Heads and thinking, how did I get here? This is not my beautiful home."

Next in the roll call we have Stringer. Oh boy, do we have Stringer! He's the Adonis you never thought you'd meet, because he has no overblown ego to go with his chiselled looks. He's catering the wedding and it's his first chance to prove his worth in the catering business. He doesn't expect to fall for a friend of the bride though, and things do get a little complicated when he does. Why? Well, you'll have to find that out for yourself, won't you!

He's had a hard time, bless his heart. He finally managed to quit the coke, and that was over a year previous. He's making a go of things, working hard to prove himself to himself, as much as anyone else. But he still has his hangups. He still doesn't let a woman get too close because he fears they'll laugh at him (or more, what he believes to be his inadequate 'parts'). Bless. And yeah, that's exactly the word that kept coming to mind when I read his accounts throughout the book. Bless. He's funny, he's down to earth and he's exactly the kind of friend everyone wants to have...

"He hasn't got so much as a hair out of place. He's a cool one alright. I'll give him that. He's exactly how he was when he used to hang out with Barbie and my sister. Well, fuck him. The past means nothing. No one messes with the Stringer Man and lives to tell the tale. I tighten my grip and twist, and then it happens: his head comes off in my hand."

Next we have Susie. Susie sells hats at the marketplace, and lives life the only way she knows how; with as much alcohol, fun and sex as possible. She doesn't regret her encounters, not usually anyway. But she's beginning to want more from men. Well, actually, she's beginning to want more from herself. She wants to have a relationship with a man where sex isn't an issue at all. She wants to connect at a deeper level than the physical. She wants to, but can she do it?

Another of Amy's friends, she's as devoted as H is. She's more down to earth than H is, though. And to say that the two don't get along, well it could be a little of an understatement. But they do try. Susie seems to think she tries harder than H, for the sake of her friend, and tries to extend more than common courtesy to her. But they're jealous of each other and the friendship Amy has with each of them. But it doesn't make either character less likable.

Susie is like the dippy blonde with hidden depths, and she's the kind of friend so many of us can recognise in our own...

"You're fine if you're a frigid blushing violet who has a low libido and lots of patience. If, on the other hand, like me, you happen to have the sex drive of your average stallion and the self-control of an escaped bumper car, then getting a boyfriend is a bit harder."

Finally we have Matt. Matt is Jack's best friend and ex flat-mate. He suddenly feels lonely and that he's been left behind when Jack moves out, and in with his fiancee. The poor soul. He needs a new flat-mate and a girlfriend. Or he thinks he does. And he does everything he can to find both.

He's the jack-the-lad of the novel, and he's so lovable with it. He never pushes too far, and is also never 'drippy' with his feelings. You understand him and his motives before he does (isn't that usually the way with this kind of novel?), and you want him to find everything he's looking for. He's the grown-up with the cheeky grin and the glint in his eyes, and he suddenly finds himself wanting everything his best friend has.

"It's one minute past nine and the moment of decision is upon me. Pizzas are chargable to clients from nine onwards, my stomach is rumbling. I've yet to follow Amy's advice of getting myself an alternative obsession, and denial will only make matters worse. With this information at my disposal, it's not a tough call. I reach for the phone to dial up some dough."

All four characters are likable. That's how they've been written, after all. Let's face it, even bad guys, to some extent, are likable. But H, Stringer, Susie and Matt are more than likable. They're real. Each one of them I could see in my own friends, and I loved it.

At times the situations which the four of them are thrown into seem farcical. But that doesn't last long, because the authors manage to bring back reality very quickly, and it's thanks to their understanding of their own characters that they're able to do this with such ease that you rarely notice.

All the loose ends come together fairly neatly, but it's still left open enough to allow for another novel or two, or three, or however many they feel like writing. I just hope they don't carry on for the sake of it and spoil a good thing. There are no huge hidden messages or morals, other than the importance of friendship, true friendship, and being yourself. At least, that's what I got from it, as well as entertainment. What you get from it may be different, and that's good. Being different is good, you know.

This is an amusing and entirely addictive novel, not only because the characters are so real, but because the humour is real, too.

You'll not belly laugh at most of the jokes, but you will chuckle, or titter, or just make that weird 'hmph' sound from the back of your throat as the humour hits you from nowhere.

Don't think you have to read the first novel to 'get' this one. Because you don't. I didn't, anyway. Just enjoy it for what it is - fun - and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Rating 4/5

Publisher: Arrow Books
ISBN 0 09 927928 2

All quotes taken from 'Come Again', by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees.

Copyright © K Wakeman