When my birthday rolled round, I only wanted this book for one reason, so I could finally have all of Melissa Nathan's books. Not only has it shot up into my top 5 favourite books, it may have even taken over an old Nathan favourite of mine, one that's held it's place for a long time!!!

~~About the author and book~~

Melissa Nathan has written 5 books, her previous one, the nanny, got to the top ten best seller lists. After she published this book n 2004, she went on to finish the learning curve, published posthumously in 2006 after her death in April of that year.

~~ The Story~~

After meeting the guy of her dreams at a party, Katie Simmonds knows her life is about to get better. She will become an educational psychologist, despite her old ambitions failing. Like when she wanted to be a teacher the week before, and a film director the week before that. Until then, she'll have to make do being a waitress. But when the date with dream guy goes wrong, and she has once again failed at her latest ambition. And with a rather large amount of money at stake on whether she can makes her mind up or not, Katie's life is not looking up. And then the cafe is taken over, and things seem to just get worse...
Once again, Nathan shows her ease with creating funny, emphatic and believable characters. She also performs the trick every good chick lit writer needs, creating that bitch that keeps everyone reading. (Revealing herself by page 2.) Though there is not as many sub plots in this story, there is just as much character building. The story falls into place, and, despite being a bit predictable as to who ends up with who (what chick lit isn't?) it does make it an enjoyable thing, and uses other plot twists to keep you occupied. Also, the ending to this book gave me a big grin I haven't had with a lot of books in a long time/

~~The characters~~

I love every single character in this book, and the plight they are all dropped in. They are never over the top, they're funny and light hearted but still have a deep personality to them, whether it's when their happy go lucky facade snaps, or when their manipulation catches up on you, the way they react and act is so close to real life.

~~Conclusion~~

For only £5.49 from amazon, this book offers a perfect light hearted read, and at 510 pages, it will probably keep you going for a while too! I'd recommend this book to anyone, it's got everything you need, and I can easily say, it is one of Melissa Nathan's best works, and will remain in my favourites for a long time.