Lately I've got quite bored of Louise Bagshawe's books but this offering from earlier in her career appealed to me so much that I recently bought it again to re-read.

The two main characters are Rowena and Topaz, who meet at Oxford and form an unlikely friendship. Blonde, upper crust Rowena is a million miles away from fiesty American redhead Topaz but it seems that opposites attract. Until Rowena betrays Topaz, that is. After their far from amicable parting, both girls pursue their dream careers - Rowena is the male-dominated music industry and Topaz as a journalist. However, Topaz's dislike of her former friend is never far from the surface. Eventually their paths are destined to cross once again and not being one to forgive and forget, Topaz sets out to destroy Rowena once and for all.

I actually really liked both characters and unlike many chick lit characters, they are multi-dimensional with plus points and bad points. I did have sympathy for Topaz after Rowena's betrayal but on the flip side, Topaz's intense focus on this makes it easier to also emphasize with Rowena, especially as she is completely unaware of the real situation. Both girls are strong characters and I was really intrigued to follow their lives and guess at when the inevitable showdown would occur and how things would pan out.

There is a fair amount of sex in the plot but that seems pretty standard these days and it's nothing particularly offensive.