Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell

I'm now a Jill Mansell junkie!  Perfect Timing is an ironic title for this British chicklit novel because nothing is perfectly timed in this novel, from Poppy's last minute decision to jilt her fiance hours before their wedding to finding her biological father after years of not knowing she wasn't living with him.

"'The thing is,' Poppy prevaricated, 'my room's only tiny.'

'And who am I, two-ton Tess? All I'm asking for is a bit of floor space.'  Dina was wheedling now.  'I'll sleep under the bed if it makes you happier.  In the bath, even.'"  (Page 106 of ARC)

Poppy Dunbar is a twenty-something mess of a girl, who thinks she has her life figured out until she meets Tom at a bar during her bachelorette party.  After giving Rob the brush off, she packs up and moves from Bristol to London to start her life over and to find her biological father.  She works two jobs, lands a room in a house with a famous painter Caspar French and a haughty socialite Claudia Slade-Welch, but seems content.

"'Try patches.  They worked for my agent and he was a twenty-a-dayman.'

Only a lifelong non-smoker, Rita thought affectionately, could think twenty-a-day was a lot.

'I was a fifty-a-day woman.'  She looked depressed.  'Anyway, why d'you suppose I'm wearing long sleeves? I've already got a week's supply slapped all over me.  Underneath this dress I look like Mr. Blobby.'"  (Page 391 of ARC)

Mansell's writing style draws readers quickly into the drama as they watch Poppy grow, mature, and find her center.  The dialogue between Poppy, Caspar, Claudia, and Poppy's boss, Jake, will have readers laughing out loud on their transit commutes, in their bedrooms, on their sofas, or wherever they happen to read.

Poppy is a disaster, but so are Caspar, Claudia, and Jake.  It's a wonder they ever get it together in this book.  Some of the funniest scenes are when Jake leaves Poppy along to bid at auctions and estate sales.  Readers will enjoy how easily Poppy takes leaps into the unknown and how blind she is to the love and family she has in front of her.  Mansell has another winner with Perfect Timing.

Additionally, I would like to thank Jill Mansell and Sourcebooks for sending me a free copy of Perfect Timing for review.  Clicking on title links will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page, no purchase necessary.

Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

Jill Mansell has surpassed herself once again in Millie's Fling. Chicklit and women's fiction readers will enjoy this spontaneous journey in Cornwall, England.

"Having ignored his plea, Millie promptly cannoned into the lamp-post behind her. Clutching her left shoulder and trying to pretend it hardly hurt at all--ow, ouch--she wondered why her life had to so closely resemble Mr. Bean's. What she wouldn't give to be sleek and chic and in control at all times." (Page 108-9 of ARC)

Millie is a down-to-earth girl, whose life is a bit like Mr. Bean's because she tends to fall into ridiculous situations unwittingly. Her roomie, Hester, is in a long-term relationship with an up-and-coming chef, Nat, but still has a flamethrower burning for an old love, Lucas Kemp. Millie's Fling is the age-old search for love and happiness, but this serendipitous journey is rounded out with Orla Hart, a highly successful author with marital problems whom Millie befriends atop a cliff.

Happily single, Millie consistently tries to keep her roomie on the right relationship track since Hester's boyfriend has taken a job in Glasgow to further his career as a chef. By chance, Millie stumbles upon a lost wallet in the bushes--a wallet that becomes the tie between her and Hugh Emerson, a young recently widowed computer specialist. Readers will giggle, tense up, and shake their heads as Hugh and Millie fumble through getting to know one another under impossible circumstances.

"'Two more things I can't stand,' said Hugh. 'Violent women. And girls who can't take a joke.'

'I hate men who wear nasty cheap aftershave.'

'What really annoys me is getting phone calls from people putting on ridiculous accents, asking me the answer to crossword clues.'

'That isn't true!' Millie exclaimed. 'You asked me to give you the clues. You were bursting to show off how clever you were. And that's something I really can't stand in a man.'" (Page 398 of ARC)

Mansell's dialogue between Millie and Hugh is fresh and witty; some of the best sequences involve them rattling off their favorite words or their most hated things about people, particularly at times when they are awkward with one another. Although there are some cliche moments in this novel, Mansell has well-developed characters on the edge of reality who bounce dialogue off one another in a way that makes the pages fly in Millie's Fling.

If you missed Mansell's guest post about writing, check it out and enter the giveaway for this fun book.

Guest Post: Jill Mansell, Author of Millie's Fling

Millie's Fling, which hit stores on Sept. 1, continues Jill Mansell's invasion of the U.S. market and stars kind hearted Millie and her friend Hester, as they search for love.

Jill Mansell, author of Millie's Fling, offered to share with my readers a bit about her writing life. Please give Jill a warm welcome:

Have you ever wondered what a writer’s life is like? Honestly, it’s so weird. There’s nothing else like it. So many mundane household tasks. If you didn’t talk to yourself you’d go mad. Just this morning I dropped a pan of new potatoes on the kitchen floor; they went rolling off in all directions and I heard myself shouting at them like naughty children. I actually told them off! Twenty minutes later, I’m trying to scrub mustard out of an empty jar because all our glass has to be recycled to save the environment. Now I like the environment, but I hate mustard. This is a distressing job for me and I’d much rather throw the jar in the trash. Spending my time doing this isn’t remotely glamorous and I’d far rather be sitting down and getting on with some work.

Then again, I say this, but I’m a writer so I’m also a professional procrastinator. Once all the mundane household chores are done, I can find any number of other things to do before settling down to write. I check the TV listings, see what’s on. Then I have some breakfast. Check my emails. Chat to everyone I know on Twitter. (My British publishers suggested I start up a Twitter account – I think they’re going to live to regret it. My writing time hasn’t so much decreased as evaporated. In a few months they’re going to ask where the next book is and I’ll point like a simpleton at my head.) Then I check the blogs I like to follow, the links posted on them... which takes me to new, as yet undiscovered places that distract me for another hour...

And then it’s lunchtime, hooray! All this serious research has made me hungry.

After this, I’ll sort out the washing, try out my new mascara (an oscillating one that tickles my eyelashes!) and repaint my toenails. Whilst contemplating what I’m shortly about to write. Soon my kids will be home from school and wanting something to eat, only nothing I suggest will be quite good enough.

OK, done a bit of writing now. Not as much as my publishers would like, but better than nothing. And you know what they say, a page a day makes a book a year. Actually I write by hand so whoever said it was either talking about a very thin book or they didn’t get their sums right.

Ooh, phone, that'll be my daughter telling me to pick her up from school. Which signals the end of my working day.

Am I doing something wrong? I’m sure Jackie Collins' life is more glamorous than this.

But glamorous or not, I've managed to write a few books and Millie’s Fling is one that’s been particularly welcomed by readers in the UK. It’s fun and frothy and will hopefully make you laugh. I hope you enjoy it!

About the Author:
Jill Mansell is one of the UK’s premiere contemporary authors who has written nearly 20 romances with multi-generational appeal and has sold nearly 4 million copies of her books in the UK. Releasing her latest novel this Fall, Millie’s Fling, Mansell’s writing style can be best described as “Sex & the City meets Bridget Jones’s Diary.” She worked for many years at the Burden Neurological Hospital, Bristol, and now writes full time. She lives with her partner and their children in Bristol, England. For more information on Jill in the UK, and for information on her U.S. releases.

Sourcebooks has kindly offered my U.S. and Canada readers a chance to win 1 of 2 copies of Millie's Fling.

1. For one entry, leave me a comment about the best chicklit book you've read this year and why I should read it.

2. Blog, tweet, etc. about the giveaway and leave me a comment about doing so.

Deadline for the giveaway is Sept. 11, 2009 at 11:59PM

Good Luck!

Interested in the rest of the tour, here's the schedule:

August 31: Romance Reader at Heart Novel Thoughts Blog

September 1: A Bookworm’s World

September 2: Booking Mama

September 3: Cindy’s Love of Books

September 7: My Friend Amy

September 8: Night Owl Romance

September 9: Scribe Vibe

September 10: Books by TJ Baff

September 11: Diary of an Eccentric

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell

"'You can be a bridesmaid if you want.' Tom's relief was audible. 'Dear Florence. So you don't think I'm making the biggest mistake of my life?'

'If you're having fun, how can it be a mistake? The last thing I ordered from a mail-order catalogue was a non-stick saucepan,' Florence told him, 'and after a week the bloody handle dropped off.'" (Page 71)

Jill Mansell's Miranda's Big Mistake is a rip-roaring good time that will have you guffawing so loudly your friends, your neighbors, and people on the Metro will want to read what your reading.

"Sleety rain dripped down Miranda's neck as she tipped her head back to drink the lager straight from the bottle. Her short black hair, urchin-cut and currently streaked with dark blue and green low-lights, gleamed like a magpie's wing." (Page 13)

Miranda is a junior at Fenn Lomax's trendy hair salon in London, and her love life is a disaster, but she just doesn't know it yet. Her landlady, Florence, gets around in a wheelchair and is full of piss and vinegar. Her boss can be demanding, but he's really a big softie. Miranda's men--Greg, Miles, and Danny--have her twisting and turning, while love is simmering beneath the surface for Fenn, her flatmate Chloe, and her best friend Bev.

"'It isn't a smirk. I never smirk. I'm not dopey either. I just wondered, do you have a girlfriend?'

'Why, are you offering? All applications for the post in writing, please. Just send a copy of your CV and a brief letter outlining why you feel you'd be the best woman for the job. If you make the short list, you'll be invited to attend for an interview--'" (Page 167)

Mansell is adept at crafting in-depth characters with unique personalities and their actions make them even funnier. The sexual tension between Miranda and Miles and Miranda and Danny is electric, leaping off the page to zap readers through the tips of their fingers. Miranda's Big Mistake not only oozes modern romance, but also sarcasm and wit. The dialogue is sharp and the plot will keep readers moving quickly, keeping them on their toes and cheering Miranda on. Grab a copy of Miranda's Big Mistake and hit the beach.


About the Author:

Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.

Also Reviewed By:

A Bookworm’s World
S. Krishna’s Books
Bookopolis
Wendy’s Minding Spot
Cheryl’s Book Nook
Booking Mama
Diary of an Eccentric
Cindy's Love of Books
Bermudaonion
Reading Adventures

Check out this giveaway:

1 copy of Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham, here; Deadline is June 10, 2009, 11:59 PM EST

An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

I received my ARC of Jill Mansell's An Offer You Can't Refuse from Sourcebooks for review.

An Offer You Can't Refuse is witty, charming, engaging, and Chicklit to the max.

"'I didn't know reading could be like that, I had no idea. I've just never been a booky person. All these years I've been missing out.'

'Ah, but now you've seen the light.' . . . 'You've become one of us. Welcome to our world; you're going to love it here.'" (Page 100)

For a reviewer this was a treat to find in a book, this is definitely how many of us feel about books and reading, and reading these lines instantly cemented my attention to this book.

Lola is a young girl in love with a boy, Dougie, whose family is wealthy and whose mother hates her guts. His mother makes her an offer that she can't refuse, so she takes it and says goodbye to the love of her life in a "Dear John" letter. Fast-forward to the present day and we find Lola has grown up physically, but still wears the same teenage, low-cut clothes and finds herself being mistaken for a prostitute when she walks into London bookstore after living in Majorca for about a decade. Eventually, Lola becomes more grounded and is the bookshop manager, but just as she thinks her life is stabilizing and in a good place, things get all topsy-turvy again.

This novel starts off in Lola's past, but readers may find that more background is necessary, particularly where her relationship with Dougie is concerned. The only drawback of this novel, which really isn't one, is that Lola's story is pushed to the sidelines quite a bit as the Sally's story takes center stage. However, Mansell carefully weaves the narration back to Lola and the resolution of her story. Readers may want to see more of Dougie, since he is one of the main characters but does not share equal narrative footing with the other narrators: Lola, Sally, and Lola's friend Gabe.

"Aloud she said, 'I'm guessing you don't go into many bookshops.'

'Me? No way.' Proudly the boy said, 'Can't stand reading, waste of time. Hey, fancy a drink?'

'No thanks. Can't stand drinking, waste of time.'

He looked shocked. 'Really?'

'Not really. But drinking with you would be a huge waste of time.' Lola excused herself and made her way over to the bar where Gabe, whose leaving party it was, was chatting to a group of friends from work." (Page 37, 38)

Mansell's writing is engaging, and though some of her characters, like Lola and Dougie's sister Sally, are shallow at first, the complications in their lives force them to look beyond their own lives and come to terms with themselves, their families, and their love lives. Mansell's An Offer Your Can't Refuse is recommended for readers who love British humor, chicklit, and are in need of summer reading.


About the Author:

Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.


***Giveaway***

Sourcebooks has offered 1 copy of Jill Mansell's An Offer You Can't Refuse to one lucky U.S. or Canadian reader.

All you have to do is comment on this post with something other than "pick me" or "enter me."

Deadline is April 11, Midnight EST.

Come back tomorrow for my interview with Jill Mansell and another opportunity to enter the giveaway!

Also Reviewed By:
A Bookworm's World
Diary of an Eccentric
Booking Mama
Book Escape
Reading Adventures