Review: "From Notting Hill With Love...Actually"

Scarlett O'Brien (get it?? get it??) loves the movies. Her life in Stratford-Upon-Avon is a bore, with her conservative, popcorn-machine salesman of a father, and DIY-obsessed fiance. Why can't her life be more like her favorite movies, especially those starring Hollywood's rom-com heroes, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Richard Gere, and Johnny Depp?

When she gets the opportunity to house-sit in the posh, Notting Hill section of London for a month, Scarlett finds some things that are missing in her life--like her long-lost mother, and true love, in the form of her new next-door-neighbor, the adorably named Sean Bond (Sean Connery and James Bond...get it?)

Craziness ensues, and the story flows along at a good pace--the requisite cliches are accounted for: the gay man who befriends Scarlett early on, the new love interest who's been burned before, the circumstances that allow our heroine to grow up a bit and realize what's important in life. There's "top of the Eiffel Tower" angst, a last-minute wedding reprieve, and, of course, more cheesy movie quotes than you can shake a stick at.

Overall, I enjoyed "FNHWL...A". It's stock full of cliches, but it's supposed to be, isn't it? The heroine believes in a world of happily-ever-afters, and of course, she gets one in the end. Scarlett's an enjoyable heroine, Sean's almost too perfect as her new love interest, and the rest of the supporting cast is just there to get us from point A to point B.

I'd recommend picking this one up at a used book store. Not worth full price, but a good afternoon read.

Review-One True Theory of Love by Laura Fitzgerald

Meg Clark is a single mom, and she and 9-year-old Henry don't need, or want, a man in their lives. However, when they meet Ahmed in a local coffee shop, their man-free life changes, and Meg's life becomes infinitely more complicated.

Meg and Ahmed fall for each other, hard and fast. But there are some issues to consider: the reappearance of Meg's long-lost ex, who's never even met Henry; the deteriorating marriage of Meg's parents; Meg's unhappily married sister; and Henry himself, who is becoming more and more interested in having a man in his life, whether if be Ahmed or his real father.

Things I liked about this book--

*Meg, who's smart, and has a wonderful, embrace-life attitude, despite her history of love and loss.

*Meg and Henry's relationship, which is healthy and thankfully drama-free.

*Ahmed, a strong, sexy Iranian who loves both Meg and Henry the way they deserve to be loved.

Things I didn't like about this book--

*Henry way too precocious comments--he's a little too wise for a boy of nine, and some of his words and actions didn't ring true with me.

*Ahmed (I know I listed him in both my like and don't like columns, but tough). He's a little too perfect. He refers to himself repeatedly as "Persian", which is just weird. Rugs are Persian--modern day people are Iranian.

All in all, a good read.

Saturday Silly--Review of "The History Of Lucy's Love Life in 10 1/2 Chapters" by Deborah Wright

Talk about chick-lit silliness--this book is a keeper, although at times I wanted to punch Lucy in the face for being such an idiot!

Lucy's a twenty-something singelton in London, working for a nutty scientist and dating Anthony, her boyfriend of two years. But Lucy's prone to boredom, and she's a bit of a flirt, so when she breaks things off with Anthony, for no real reason other than her apparent inability to recognize what a great guy he is, I almost quit this book. But luckily, I hung in there, because what happens next is a hoot!

Lucy gets fired from her job, but ends up with a crazy time machine that, through a series of cute maneuvers, actually works. Before long, Lucy's joy-riding through time, meeting up with the likes of Byron, Da Vinci, and Casanova. She even takes Anthony (who's now relegated to "best friend" status) on a trip to meet Al Capone, with somewhat disastrous consequences.

Through these trips, though, Lucy realizes that (a) it's time to grow the f&$#* up, and (b) Anthony truly is the love of her life. By the end of the book, we have Lucy taking Don Juan to a modern-day hen night, and Anthony engaged to another woman, but not to worry, everything works out in the end.

Like I said before, Lucy is truly an exasperating character. However, I fell head-over-heels in love with Anthony, and if he wanted Lucy, then I wanted him to have her (even if she might not deserve him).

I recommend THOLLLITAAHC (how's that for an acronym)--it's a crazy ride with a satisfying ending.

Book Review: Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon

I'm slowly falling in love with Paige Toon, and one reason is because of "Pictures of Lily", a great chick-lit standard with just the right amount of romance, humor, and British colloquialisms.

The book begins in 1999, when 15-year-old Lily is uprooted from her life in London by her slutty mom, who tends to use men like hand towels, and runs from location and location in search of Mr. Right. Mr. Right Now is Michael, a middle-aged Australian who lives in Adelaide, has a nineteen-year-old son, and works at a wildlife conservation center. Lily is (understandably) pissed to be there, and pretty much sulks around the house until Michael (who's actually a really nice guy) invites her to join him at work.

While helping out at the conservation center, Lily meets Ben, a 28-year old caretaker of koalas. Lily develops a crush on the older man, and soon the crush becomes something more, as Ben and Lily find a connection that knows no age difference. But Ben's a good boy (of course), and keeps his hands and thoughts to himself. We end the first half of the book with Ben leaving for London, to marry his fiance Charlotte, and Lily heartbroken and alone.

Part two picks up ten years later--Lily's now legal (26, to be exact), living in Sydney, and engaged to "her" Richard, a sweet, good-looking bloke, but let's face it, he's no Ben. Her life's on hold--her love of photography and animals has been abandoned, as they now trigger nothing but painful memories of the past. Of course, Lily runs into Ben at the Sydney Zoo, where he's now working. He's conveniently divorced, and Lily's feelings for him are reignited.

Does Ben still love Lily? Will Richard fight for his fiance? Who will Lily choose? The predictable but still emotionally satisfying ending made my romantic heart melt a little, and even though there was no (I mean, zero, zilch, nada) sex in the book, and I don't usually cotton to that, I was still completely satisfied with this lovely tale.