This week the heat gang popped our slippers on, took the phone off the hook and polished our spectacles as we sat back and enjoyed a spot of reading. On this week's heat bookshelf: The Power Trip by Jackie Collins and The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyles .

Here's what we thought:

The Power Trip

Jackie Collins (Simon &Schuster, £16.99)

The plot: Russian billionaire Aleksandr and his supermodel girlfriend Bianca invite five power couples to holiday on their luxury yacht. Among them are a famous footballer, a Latino pop star, a writer and a US Senator. A recipe for disaster? You bet your ass! Within days, secrets and lies are unravelled, new bonds forged and old relationships dug up. Danger appears on the not-to-distant horizon and – of course, this being Jackie Collins – there’s a whole lot of sex, too.

What’s right with it? Bin your Fifty Shades – there are no better bedroom (or any other room, for that matter) scenes than in a Jackie book. And with its backdrop of extreme wealth, enviable jewels and a whole lot of designer togs, you won’t fail to be seduced.

What’s wrong with it? Nothing! Oh, alright then, it’s huge, so it’s pretty heavy to carry around.

Verdict: The queen of the bonkbuster has done it again. Thrilling, sexy and totally compulsive. Get yourself a copy! 5/5 @StarStyleJo

The Girl You Left Behind

Jojo Moyles (Penguin, £7.99)

The plot: It’s 1916, and Sophie Lefevre lives in a provincial French town under the control of an aggressive and dangerously bored occupying German army. Unfortunately, they’ve taken a fancy to her prized possession – a painting of her by her husband Edouard, who is fighting at the front. We jump to 2006, and the painting now belongs to Liv Halston, a honeymoon gift from her dead husband. When her new boyfriend recognises it, the consequences are devastating.

What’s right with it? Sophie and Liv are both flawed characters – in a good way. You probably won’t agree with all of their decisions, but you still respect and like them. And the way the painting connects both their stories is clever and engaging.

What’s wrong with it? Two tiny things: in four dates, Liv never once asked her new boyfriend what he actually did for a living, which is a bit bizarre and ends up being very important. Also,
at the end (without giving anything away) Liz’s debt problem isn’t ever resolved. Why isn’t she skint any longer?

Verdict: A brilliantly written and constructed story that subtly reveals parallels between the two women’s lives and personalities. 4/5 @jousmar