Lila Glover Wants A Lover, Book Two of the Teapots and Tequila Shots series by K L Crear
Amusing, Entertaining, Spicy
Lila Glover Wants A Lover, Book Two of the ‘Teapots and Tequila Shots’ series bykl K L Crear, Author 
‘Don’t fully commit your heart to a man….if they don’t own it, they can’t break it’.
Lila Glover knew that ‘50 and fabulous’ wasn’t just a motto, and that when it came around, it would be entirely accurate. Living her best life, with a prosperous job that she loved, a small but perfectly formed group of girlfriends who were loyal as the day is long and would always have her back, and a Tinder account at her disposal for when life needed a bit of a zing, not that she was adverse to taking care of that herself! Things had definitely taken a positive turn since getting her divorce, in fact she wasn’t the only one, it was turning into a bit of a theme in her life, for her clients and most recently her bestie, Lottie. She also had a confidante in her friend and work colleague Seb, their association had only ever been platonic, and he was handy when she needed a male point of view. Her firm had recently hired a trainee solicitor, a woman, and Lila really wasn’t sure how to feel about her. First impressions hadn’t landed well, ‘sultry’ and ‘slutty’ were the adjectives that had sprung to mind. It hadn’t taken her long to alter the dynamic and it made Lila very uncomfortable indeed….. 
Reading the first book in Karen’s ‘Teapots and Tequila Shots’ series earlier this year, it was so refreshing to read a narrative that was so light with so many laugh out loud moments, and this second book didn’t disappoint. Between the combination of Lila, her best friend Lottie and Lottie’s mother Evelyn, the stories will be relatable to a wide range of women of a certain age. These ladies are so different and yet work so well together. The first novel was based on Lottie, whilst this second book, focuses on Lila. Karen’s writing conveys how well she knows her characters, she has a confidence that to me, demonstrates that she is very aware of what she wants to achieve in her writing and that this particular genre, humour, comes to her effortlessly. Crying with laughter is always a frequent occurrence reading this series. The cover art and the motifs adorning the start of every chapter really work with the narrative. 
Both Lila and Lottie are mothers of grown-up sons, although I suspect that they had very differing parenting styles. They are both down to earth, warm women, but Lila is sassy, used to getting what she wants, does not suffer fools gladly and is always accompanied by her beloved Dior and Chanel. Plus, she prefers to frequent establishments that attract a certain kind of clientele and will only break her rules for her girls. Menopause and the ‘twilight of her life’ won’t be upsetting Lila’s life, it wouldn’t dare! Lottie has had quite a remarkable change of mindset within the last twelve months, kicked off by her liberating change of lifestyle as told in the first novel, which also gave way to many a guffaw. However, she is still the comfy, cosy mum and housewife at heart with an instinct to nurture, just now, with the addition of designer items of clothing, bling and lippy, never taking herself too seriously. Far from being yin and yang, they compliment each other and make for a sensational friendship in which there is a great deal of mutual admiration. Lottie’s fashion show sponsored by Lila’s firm, the precariously named ‘Fluck, Young and Glover’, the sign for which ended up saying something very different, had me in stitches. I could barely breathe. I was keen to learn more about Lottie as, after reading ‘The reinvention of Lottie Potts’ my impression of her was quite a sharp and disparaging person when interacting with others, even her friends. But she actually has a dry, considered wit, and wouldn’t hurt her friends for anything. Her sexual exploits are great entertainment and the top 10 of her Tinder dates that she regales her bf with when drinking in a spit and sawdust tavern are extremely eye opening, especially number one! In fact the book opens with her being wined and dined by her latest ‘swipe right’, finding the cuisine more favourable than the company, and she doesn’t even get to finish it! Toffer’s inventive employment of the acronym PHD was certainly an unexpected tittering twist. 
I found the name that the author had given to Lila’s latest sparring partner, quite hard to remember. It put me in mind of an attractive, dark haired and dark skinned woman. However, I did notice that the description of her hair varies three times, initially strawberry blonde, then dirty blonde and lastly toffee streaked, it left me quite confused as to this character’s identity. She obviously has shares in Clairol (other beauty brands are available). The tactics used by both women for avenging the other’s antics, mainly involving coffee, were articulately written, providing a moment of much mirth. The description of Lila’s attired post spillage, particularly the owls, was another side-splitting howler. Her client describing it as ‘a fun fashion choice’ gave me the perfect image. 
Seb’s defending of the creatively named ‘Jocasta’ was the bumblings of a typical man trying to play devil’s advocate between two women, not helping himself by using an array of unfortunate phrases that a man should never use when trying to placate the fairer sex. The almond milk mishap actually left me feeling that whilst it was a comedy moment, it was quite a wicked thing for someone to do and Lila’s inner monologue about the merits of green boiled sweets, was relatably random. Another thing myself and Lila have in common, is how we feel about spa’s, so I was totally sympathetic towards her plight. I could absolutely relate to her menopausal denial, I think we’ve all been there! For Seb to defend Jocasta’s next low blow, lowered him drastically in my estimations. With Lila having been his friend for years, his go-to without thinking should have been to unequivocally defend her. 
Lottie’s wholesome sex analogies were very endearing, but the author using a ‘baking theme’ twice, I thought was a bit of a missed opportunity to maybe use another creative metaphor. I was pleased to see the re-introduction of Leo as he was a character I very much warmed to in the first book and he makes Lottie happy. 
When Lila makes her Jason Mamoa beverage blunder, I wouldn’t have expected her to feel so awkward. Having the commanding presence with men, that the reader has been led to believe, casually laughing it off and carrying on, would have been instinctive. Propositioning men in eateries probably isn’t Lila’s style, but likewise it isn’t something that I would put past her either. I felt that Lila was losing her sense of self between Seb’s opinions and Jocasta’s behaviour. I was thrilled when Lila is gifted the upper hand, but thought it would have given her much more power, had she made it known at the time. 
The culmination of Lila’s story did have the expected conclusion in some ways. The actual ending was unexpected, leading me to wonder where the author will take it.
Together with her date with ‘Merv the Perv’, ‘In for a penny, in for a pounding’ another of Lila’s amusing motto’s and Lila and Lottie’s ‘rude flavours of ice cream’, this series is so far, one of the funniest I have ever read and I look forward to reading what Evelyn gets up to in the final of the trilogy. 
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