Bella - Jilly Cooper

...into also had some secrets, Bella found herself in danger.

I usually find Jilly Coopers books very romantic and sexy in places. I felt that this was lacking, only because of the nature of Bellas relationship in the first part of the book. She seemed to be avoiding passionate relationships in favour of a safe and secure relationship. She also wanted to protect her reputation as a stage actress. Whilst the book still did make a good ...
...book were not happy for Bella to marry Rupert. There was opposition for different reasons. I was waiting with baited breath for Bellas secret to be revealed. It was not exactly jaw dropping, a bit of an anti-climax.

There was real danger at the end of the book. I found this more difficult to follow as this stage as it was less believable. The danger came form dealings of Ruperts family in the past. Bella being his potential wife became ... more

I have read several Jilly Cooper books. This one, though just as easy to read as other Jilly Cooper books that I have read, was not quite as gripping in my opinion. Bella, although categorised as a romance, was not as romantic as I would have liked. The romance at the begining was not like romance, more like an arranged marriage though not exactly. There was promise of real heart raising romance with someone else, but this did not happen. Eventually romance came along from an unlikely source, though it was rather predictable as a reader in my opinion.

First of all, Bella, the main character is a successful actress. She had the offer of marriage from a very succesful, handsome and rich man. She was terrified that a secret from her past would be revealed and ruin everything, especially as someone from that past had reappeared. In addition, her potential husbands cousin was trying to prevent the marriage. The family who she was about to marry into also had some secrets, Bella found herself in danger.

I usually find Jilly Coopers books very romantic and sexy in places. I felt that this was lacking, only because of the nature of Bellas relationship in the first part of the book. She seemed to be avoiding passionate relationships in favour of a safe and secure relationship. She also wanted to protect her reputation as a stage actress. Whilst the book still did make a good read, I was waiting for Jilly Coopers usual passion, which did not really appear.

It seemed that a lot of characters in the book were not happy for Bella to marry Rupert. There was opposition for different reasons. I was waiting with baited breath for Bellas secret to be revealed. It was not exactly jaw dropping, a bit of an anti-climax.

There was real danger at the end of the book. I found this more difficult to follow as this stage as it was less believable. The danger came form dealings of Ruperts family in the past. Bella being his potential wife became entangled.

Almost predictibly, the book ended on a good note. Bella was safe and in love. But who with?

I did enjoy the book, even though I did not think it was as good as other Jilly Cooper novels. It was still easy reading and a good storyline. It was interesting the main character being an actress. It showed some of the difficulties of keeping a personal life with the pressures of the job. All in all I would recommend the book but not as a first choice for a Jilly Cooper novel. 

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