This account is not in use anymore, please remove me from your COT if I'm in there! My new account i...
This account is not in use anymore, please remove me from your COT if I'm in there! My new account is JessL. If you want an explanation, see inside my profile. x
Member since:09.02.2003
Reviews:80
Members who trust:17
Mel is a likeable, unambitious twenty-something who works for a stationary company, who's life has been slightly a mess since her commitment-phobic boyfriend upped and left for America a year ago.
She lives with a dumpy recluse called Linda who she knows nothing about, and her best friend is Fran, a sarcastic man-eater aspiring actress. The two of them have a vague 'friend' called Amanda, who announces she's getting married. To Mel's old university crush, Fraser, who owns a pile of rubble (unknown to Amanda, who is busily an at home feature deal with OK), inherited from his father.
Amanda is a petite blonde PR girl, all sports cars and leather trousers. She's snobby, gorgeous and all the men love her. She also happens to be filthy rich, thanks to her father who spoils her mercilessly. It is obvious that Amanda is marrying Fraser because he is a Scottish Laird, and she is desperate for a title, to be
SOMEBODY, and well, also because she wants to appear in Hello magazine.
She despises Fraser, and sees him as a nobody who doesn't deserve her. However, he is completely blind to her hatred! Mel and Fran, spurred on by their bitter memories of the stuck-up bitch when they were at school, enlist the help of Fraser's brother and set out to sabotage Amanda and Fraser's wedding.
Along the way, she has to deal with aforementioned ex Alex turning up out of the blue, being demoted at work, finding out that her flatmate has a supposed illness, and also a few other nasty surprises.
She also begins to fall in love with Fraser, which is complicated enough as he is getting married (but she hopefully can stop) but she also has feelings for his younger brother, Angus, who is helping her wreck the wedding. Will she succeed in her plan? Will she chuck loser Alex? If she does, which lovely Scottish brother will she go for?
----
I love chick-lit. I love anything by Wendy Holden, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and now, Jenny Colgan. The most intellectual book I have read is White Teeth by Zadie Smith! I know a lot of people turn their noses up at stuff like this, but at the very least, it makes a good beach-read, doesn't it?
My favourite chick-lit books are Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes and Simply Divine by Wendy Holden. Both of which I know have had slatings on Ciao, but I love them! This is that little bit different, however.
In some books, the main character's are glamorous size-eights who come out with the sort of quips we mere mortals think of hours after the chance we get to say it, but this isn't the case here. Mel is disorganised, messy and doesn't know what she wants from life, just like everyone else.
You learn pretty much everything you need to know about her, all the good parts as well as the terrible. She bites her nails. And has frizzy hair. And she's freckly! Perfectly normal and not at all intimidating, like all the usual blonde main characters without a hint of cellulite who complain and whinge all the time.
This is what makes the book work. You get right inside her head. Sometimes she makes stupid decisions, sometimes she makes the right one, but you can always empathise with her, and can imagine yourself doing the same thing!
It is an enjoyable read. Not the most deep, intellectual book you'll ever read that leaves an imprint on your life, but it really is enjoyable, and one of the best chick-lit books I've ever read!
It's light, frothy and sweet. I sound like I'm advertising sweets here or something, but honestly - dont't turn your nose up at it! Do give it a try, and don't dismiss it until you actually try reading it.
It's definitely a page-turner, but not horribly addictive so you can't put the book down! You'll be laughing and cringing until the very end of the book, and there are a few twists, although nothing spectacular, to keep you guessing.
I think anyone who likes chick-lit will like this book. It's quite witty and funny, and I laughed out loud at parts. It's a hell of a lot better than I expected - it was on the cover of my sister's magazine and she gave it to me, but I never read it until now, not expecting a book that comes free with a magazine to be any good!
It makes a perfect read on the beach, when you're travelling, when you have nothing better to do really, as it's very easy to read, easily understandable and requires minimum brain power!
Try it. What's the harm?
--- It's published by Harper Collins and the RRP is £5.99, but I've seen it a lot cheaper. Jenny Colgan has also written Looking For Andrew McCarthy (haven't read it) and Talking To Addison (just as good as this one).
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90s girl-about-town Mel is adjusting to life without posh-boy Alex, whose attempts to make ... more
it big in the music biz have propelled him to the land of the free and Bruce Springsteen. Having omitted to mention his grand tour to Mel however, he has left ou...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
90s girl-about-town Mel is adjusting to life without posh-boy Alex, whose attempts to make ... more
it big in the music biz have propelled him to the land of the free and Bruce Springsteen. Having omitted to mention his grand tour to Mel however, he has left ou...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Quite funny, Loveable characters, Entertaining read, Good story, Can't put it down Disadvantages: Similar to a lot of other books like it (but still really good)
Apr 29th, 2003
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