After reading two pretty dreadful excuses for books, I was desperate, gagging even (dunno why I used that expression, I hate it!!) for a decent read. I needed to check whether or not I had fallen foul of literary evils that had decided to rid the world of the enjoyment, the involvement, and the satisfaction that can usually be found within the pages of type that we call books.
And so, I checked. And I discovered that indeed, my two previous reads were not the shape of things to come. This book restored my faith in reading again!!


***SPECS AND STUFF***

Hot off the presses of Headline this year, expect this 566 paged paperback to poke you in the part of your brain that controls the excitement and whip you up into a literary frenzy.
The whipping, for me, created more of a stir because I actually managed to collect another Mansell novel along with this one FREE. That’s right F R E E! Read my lips. It ain’t often that I will admit to actually having a tinsy winsy soft spot for Tesco’s (long story, and one we won’t go into here, sorry) but on this occasion, I have to say it, I love them. Yep, that’s right, this little baby was in a ‘BOGOF’ offer (I’m not being rude, ‘buy one, get one free’ simple hey …?) and netted me in ‘Kiss’, another, later offering from the pen of Jill Mansell.
And what’s more, the R.R.P is currently £5.99, but anybody who pays that kinda money is a fool. A fool I tell you! Get ya butt’s down to the supermarket where every little helps and stick this in your trolley for ¾ of the price. You know it makes sense.
The cover, in keeping with Mansell offerings, is a simple vivid background, in this instance a kinda dark ‘turquiosy’ blue with a pair of womens legs on it. Beside the women’s legs is the cutest little Lab pub in sunglasses, awwwwww. But remember, when your maternal instinct runs amok, your hor
mones raging …….. A DOG IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR THE DURATION OF THIS BOOK!! (And anyway, they soon grow, and don’t stay cute for long, I know, I’ve got two of the buggers!!) Dunno why, maybe Mansell, or Headline likes dogs, but there has now been a couple of her other books with the cute little puppy dog on them? Does the presence of the Andrex dog make the sales figure rocket?? As I said, I dunno?
The blurb excites and entices enough for you to pick up this book anyway, and basically, you get what it offers.

ISBN: 0 7472 6486 4


***HOWS IT WRITTEN?***

In keeping with all of the accumulations of amorous adventures that the pages of a Mansell novel titillates, and tantalises our minds with. This book does not fail.
In short, Mansell does it again.

Its easy to read, and the characters not particularly diverse. They have a role to play, and play it they do. Kinda like the SAS, they get in, they do the job, and they get out again!! Actually, not unlike one of the characters in the book funnily enough?

Of course, as with the other 2 or 3 Mansell stories that have had the pleasure to feast my eyes upon, the plot to this one is pretty much predictable. But. And it’s a big but, we have a twist my fellow readers. A big twist. A twist that will make you run through a plethora of emotions before finally settling on my particular favourite, ‘Well, bugger me!!’
Believe me when I say, that unless you wrote this story yourself, you will not see it coming. In fact, the first time you will know anything about it is when it slaps you straight between the eyes with a satisfactory thud indicating that once again, Mansell has managed to dupe her readers into thinking that they ‘know’ what it going to happen.

I did, well until the bloody thing hit me that was. After that, I had a fair idea. It starts to get predictable again, but you are still reeling
from the sudden sharp slap of unpredictability that you are constantly on the look out for other slapping incidences. However, you are not in the slightest bit disappointed when they don’t occur. You have been satisfied already, and it wasn’t even anywhere near the end!!

We have a touch of humour spattered amongst the pages, but it’s not what you would call side splitting. More of a case of just laughing through recognision as the main characters go from day to day living ordinary lives.
There is a whole range of emotions spread out for us in the story line. None are dealt with in any depth however, just enough for you to detect a certain part of the characters lives that you are maybe living?

If you haven’t gathered by now, Mansell writes about you and me. Yours and mine. Ordinary people. Living ordinary lives. If you are looking for the razzle and dazzle of Hollywood, I’d look elsewhere? Unless Newquay is the new New York?


***WHAT’S IT ABOUT AND WHO’S IN IT?***

Millie Brady is in the habit of changing lives. Well, not actually in the habit. It’s not a thing she does on a regular basis. She does it twice. And ……. And well, one of them is only really changed cos the first one is changed . Hold on, let me start again.
When Millie changes Orla Harts life, she inadvertedly starts the ball of change rolling in her life too.
Millies ‘then boyfriend’ is about to pop the big question ….. dun dun dun dun …… no not that big question, he wants them to move in together! Instead of the arms being flung round his neck and the joyous claims of acceptance he felt sure were to be thrown his way, Millie ignores him and dashes from the car. He then drives off in a huff. Ah, men huh………!!

Millie wasn’t dashing cos she didn’t know how to say no, but she knew that the lady peering over the s
ide of the cliff with no shoes on and looking decidingly forlorn was not bird watching or looking at the cliff face. Nope, she was about to jump off.
The woman, best selling novelist, and wife of an errant husband, Orla Hart is about to end it all.
To become fish food. To wipe her existence from the world. Her choice. But an option that Millie will not let her take. Anyway, save her she does.

Millie is secretly relieved that she is single again. And looking forward to a peaceful and man-free summer down in Cornwall.
However, the person in charge of the life that she has just changed, Orla, has a little something to say about it. And as you do, when finding yourselves in these awkward positions, you don’t say no. Or rather Millie didn’t and so the story line evolves.

Although Orla is a best selling novelist, but her work is getting slighted by the critics. She’s not giving her readers what they want. She has to change her style. No more Hollywood and glitzy ritzy characters, she has to write about real people. Let the readers and the critics know that she can change her style, and change it successfully.

And so, through a turn of events, and 5 thousand squids later, Millie is Orla’s guinea pig. She is living her life for Orla’s pages of print. Millie’s man free summer becomes a thing of the past as Orla plays matchmaker with some funny, and unexpected results. Well, she needs a story doesn’t she?

Millies summer is anything but peaceful.

Usually, about here I stick in my favourite snippet from the book, this time I haven’t. It’s not that I’m being lazy or anything, I would love to, but when you read this book, and you really should you know, it will have ruined everything. For my favourite bit is the ‘slapping between the eyes’ piece. And it is one piece you have to read for yourself. Sorry.


***WHO SHOULD
READ IT?***

Any Mansell fan who hasn’t got round to reading this one should have this book next on their list. Get down to Tescos pretty smartish and you can pick two of her books up!!
Anybody that wants a light, easy and highly enjoyable book will not be disappointed.
The main character is about 25, she has a 25 year olds life, if you are around that age, you will identify with her everyday life problems and glitches.
This is a great book to read anytime, anywhere, on the beach or on the bus. I won’t say it’s unputdownable, it’s not, but it has the right level of excitement to let you close the pages and carry on with your lives. Oh, you don’t forget about it when your not reading it though, it as something that makes this stick out in your mind, especially the bit you did not see coming. You’ll be thinking about this for days.


***DID I LIKE IT, AND WILL I BE FEASTING MY PEEPERS ON IT AGAIN***

As a relative new comer to world of Jill Mansell’s novels, this one did, in no way, disappoint.
It had all I want from a book. Lets face it, it does makes life a touch harder if a book is unputdownable, (there’s nothing worse than having to leave a story for work or something equally as frustrating is there?) but it doesn’t worry me, or leave me unsatisfied to say that this book wasn’t.
It was just right.
I didn’t really identify with any of the characters myself, but I know people, family like the people in print that I came to know over the 3 or 4 days I was reading this.
No, it had all that I want from a book. The element of predictability that lets me think that I’m in charge. The element of excitement that tells me that I’m not in charge. Another chance for the ‘I’m in charge and I know what going to happen’ scenario to be played again, and then the happy ending.

And, it was a happy ending. For
me anyway. I hadn’t just wasted several hours of reading drivel. I hadn’t just closed the last page with despair and frustration.

I had turned the last page, and lost a friend.