It's their party... Meet Melissa and Paul: Five years after they split up he's still looking for love in all the wrong places while she wants the one thing she can't have: Paul. Meet Chris and Vicky: They're so in tune they even brush their teeth in time with each other. So what is Chris doing risking it all for a meaningless affair? Meet Cooper and Laura: He wants to settle down, she wants to take a grown-up gap year ' but can their relationship really survive a year apart? Set across a year of leaving dos, birthday parties and anniversary celebrations The Life and Soul of the Party is a warm, funny and moving tale celebrating love, life and those special moments we've all spent in the kitchen at parties.

Mike Gayle has contributed to a variety of magazines including FHM , Sunday Times Style and Cosmopolitan . His bestsellers, My Legendary Girlfriend , Mr Commitment , Turning Thirty , Dinner for Two, His 'N' Hers, Brand New Friend and Wish You Were Here are available in Hodder paperback. To find out more about his novels, visit Mike's website at www.mikegayle.co.uk