The writing pulled me right in, and I had to stay up late to finish because I had to know how it would end! This sample shows how well Claire captures the thoughts and emotions we don’t usually take time to examine in the midst of daily activities: “When a call comes in the middle of the night, you are prepared. Or, as prepared as you can be in the time it takes you to realise that the phone is ringing, that you were asleep and now you are awake, and that the combination of those things means that the ensuing conversation is unlikely to be pleasant. You, therefore, assume your serious, sombre voice and brace yourself. But when the phone rings during the day, when you have just a towel around you and are dripping swimming pool water across the kitchen floor, when it's sunny outside (which, this being Southern California, is almost always), a crazy hot late-July day, sometimes you don't even check caller ID before you pick it up and breezily greet the person on the other end.” (p. 124)

I was completely engrossed in this debut novel by Claire Handscombe. Throughout, I really wanted to know what happened to each of the characters and was extremely pleased with the way the story resolved... it was the ending I had hoped for. Each character was easy to feel sympathy for. Plus the themes of the novel - extravagant dreams fulfilled yet failing to deliver as hoped, as well as enduring self-sacrificial and enduring love, greatly appealed to me. I greatly look forward to whatever Ms Handscombe publishes next.

What a lovely book! The story manages to deal with some pretty complex and realistic issues without being depressing. I find books like this, that are both thoughtful and hopeful, difficult to come by. The settings play a huge role in the story, and each one is depicted so vividly. The story is told from multiple points of view, and each character's voice is so distinct. I could have read any given chapter without the name and identified whose it was. I definitely recommend Unscripted, even if this isn't your usual genre. I found it refreshing and enjoyable.

A beautifully written novel that thoughtfully explores what it means to chase your dreams. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. I really enjoyed that each chapter switched between the perspectives of the four main characters. It makes you fall in love with each one individually!

I absolutely love discovering new authors and Claire Handscombe is definitely a new author for me. I read the synopsis for 'Unscripted' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book that I would read and enjoy. I wasn't wrong either because I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Unscripted' but more about that in a bit. I couldn't help but take to the character of Libby from the first moment I met her. She certainly has a vivid imagination and you can't fault her ambition. She is a huge fan of a Hollywood film star and she is determined that she is going to get together with him. I could understand where she was coming from as I have a bit of a crush on Liam Hemsworth and he isn't married any more...……………. Anyway that's enough of my fantasies so back to the review I do go. There were elements of Libby's behaviour that irritated me at times but that's ok. I loved the way in which Libby and her friends share stories from their student days, as it made me think of my own student days all those years ago. Does Libby achieve her dream? Does fate throw something in her way? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourself to find out as I am not going to tell you. It didn't take me long to get into this book. After the first couple of chapters, I found myself becoming increasingly drawn into the story and therefore increasingly addicted to the story. The more I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I just had to keep reading to discover what fate had in store for Libby. I binge read the book over the space of a couple of days because life got in the way a couple of times and it meant that I couldn't read the book in one go. I soon got to the end of the book, which I was disappointed about. I don't mean that in a negative sense but I was enjoying the author's writing style, the characters and the storylines so much that I just wanted the story to continue for longer than it did. 'Unscripted' is well written. Claire certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into the story from the start and before you realise what is happening, you are hooked on the story. I did find the storylines fun and overall the characters were certainly intriguing in more ways than one. Claire wrote so realistically and uses such vivid descriptions that I did feel as though I was part of the story myself. This book did get me thinking...….what if? Anyway I am getting carried away so back to reality. In short, I did enjoy reading 'Unscripted' and I would recommend it to other readers, but especially to those who enjoy a fun and light hearted read. I will definitely be reading more of Claire's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.