Title by Author: Millie’s Fling by Jill Mansell
Series (if applicable): none
Publisher: unknown –
first published in Britain in 2001
Publication Date: 2001
Page Count: 501
Source: kindle
Blurb: Millie
decides that a man-free summer is just what she needs but Orla, who wants
Millie to be the heroine of her next novel, is determined to find her the man
of her dreams. As far as Millie is concerned, the only man worth thinking about
is Hugh Emerson but for Hugh, whose wife tragically died in a horse-riding
accident, "dating is not on the agenda". Millie's determination not
to fall in love with the young widower forms the centrepiece of the novel but
Jill Mansell also delves into the shenanigans of Millie's best friend Hester
and her eventful love life; Orla and her cheating husband; Millie's man-eating
mother; and the leather-clad, sex-mad Lucas Kemp who runs a kiss-a-gram
service.
My Interest in
this book is: I love books written by Jill
Mansell, and this one is my favorite by far!
My Review:
Jill Mansell’s
characters are the British best friends I never had! They are real, quirky and a whole lot of
fun! Millie’s Fling starts off
with Millie in a car with her boyfriend who is trying to ask her to move in
with him, and all she can focus on is the person at the edge of the cliff who
looks like she is contemplating throwing herself over the edge. Her boyfriend is asking her to move in with
him, and all she thinks about is how little she cares for him as she throws
open the car door to ‘rescue’ a damsel in distress. The boyfriend drives off, and Millie ends up
convincing romance novelist Orla Hart that is isn’t worth it, considering that
the cheating bastard would get all of her worldly goods.
Once back in
town, and back to reality, Millie gets back to her little life in Newquay,
Cornwall. She lives with her best
friend, Hester, who has the love of her life who is currently in Scotland, and
the lust of her school years in town.
Seeing where her friend is headed while her boyfriend is away, Millie
decides that they should make a Man-Free for- Summer pact, with a £200 wager. This shouldn’t be too hard as Millie had no
love interest and Hester’s boyfriend was in another country….or so they
thought!
The story is
filled with late night crank phone calls, hot guys in leather pants, swanky
parties, a roller-skating gorilla, a romance novelist, a neurotic couple who
run a travel agency, a mum who can’t stop looking for love, and hilarity all
along the way! There are times you want
to smack the characters for being so obtuse, but it also makes them completely
loveable and you want to get back to the story to find out what happens next.
One of the
main reasons that I love Jill Mansell’s books is her characters. Not only are the main characters full of life
and personality, anyone that walks onto the pages is a character unto
themselves with their own personalities firmly in place. While you are reading (and especially when
you are done) you wonder why this story hasn’t been made in to a Rom-Com as it
would perfectly fit! While reading it,
you feel as if you just watched a very good movie. Another wonderful thing about Jill Mansell’s
books is that the people are so completely believable!
These people just walked out of REAL life!
I would
highly recommend this book. But you aren’t
completely up on British mannerisms or slang, you might want to have a
reference on hand. It won’t detract from
the story one wit, but if you have any experience with living in England, you
will feel right at home! Millie’s Fling
is sweet, very funny, and quite amusing to boot!
Favorite Quotes:
This was kissing as Millie had never known it
before, such a dazzling experience that she actually did stagger. Her knees had gone, and she was forced to
open her eyes just to get her bearings.
At least he’d overcome the fear that lightning could
strike twice. Before, he had been
determined never to fall in love again because the prospect of losing someone
else would be too much to bear. But as
time had passed, he’d realized this was no way to live. There was an element of risk – however small –
in everything. You just had to accept
that and get on with it.
When I finished
this book, I felt: like I had to leave my best friends and not get a chance to hear any more
of their hilarious stories.
Rating: 4+Stars!
Other books to
read by this author or theme: I plan on
reading more of her books. I recently
read “Nadia Knows Best” – but this one was more fun!
Tag: British,
romance, funny, recommended
This book was read for the category "From One Place" in the Reading Outside The Box Challenge! (My very own!... Hope you join us!)
