This book was all over the place. There is cheating, bigamy, sudden deaths, pregnancy, insta-love sort of, male models, art, fathers, daughters, sort of daughters. The whole thing made my head spin. I maybe needed a flow chart by the end of this book to figure out how the hell everyone knew each other since the book was not that clear on those points which was a bit frustrating.

To keep this short and sweet, the only people I could stand in this book was Nadia, her half sister and Nadia’s father James and his love interest Annie. I pretty much loathed or felt meh about everyone else in this book.

There was way too much going on, but the central premise is that Nadia deals with being dumped by her childhood friend and now boyfriend Laurie. Because somehow Laurie lucks into being a male model and then an actor and things are too hard for him since he can’t see Nadia anymore. I would have kicked the crap out of the guy, but that’s just me. Nadia has a meet cute with a guy named Jay after meeting him when she is stranded. I also felt towards Jay cause his whole lying to Nadia thing about being gay so she share a bed/room with him was gross.

When Nadia runs into Jay months later, she ends up working for him as a landscaper and she starts to find herself interested in him again. Too bad he’s acting like a jerk for no reason. And then when she thinks maybe her and Jay can work out, Laurie reappears wanting Nadia. I really wanted Laurie boiled in oil because we get a subplot with him that shows what kind of guy he is, but there’s no freaking follow up and I thought maybe I hallucinated the whole thing until I saw other reviewers lamenting that dropped plot-line too.

The POVs shift around in this one to Nadia, Nadia’s sister Claire, Nadia’s grandmother, her half sister whose name I am totally forgetting, her dad James and also her dad’s love interest Annie. I think there was even a plot line involving another girl but I don’t want to spoil that for potential readers. There were way too many cooks in the kitchen and nothing really works. I maybe wished a lot of people to die a slow boring death in this one. Maybe. I was shocked how unlikable everyone was throughout this book.

The ending was a bit meh for me. I guess people are happy? I don’t know. I just thought a lot of things were dropped and truly outrageous/terrible characters never get their comeuppance which ticks me off. ( )

Check out my review and two teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2012/06/disappointmentville-nadia-know... ( )

First of all, the blurb is very hinting that she is tempted and all that. But she is only looking and who would not. So no funny business, this is not a book about how the grass is greener in the other side.

As with other Mansell books this one is not only about Nadia. We have her sister Clare who is an artist and who dates this posh idiot and they are having issues. Then there is the father who has never really dated since their mum left them ages ago, and perhaps he should find love too. The grandmother Miriam is keeping secrets while the neighbor tries to make her fall for him. Clare was a bit of a bitch sometimes, Miriam was a very cool granny and their dad was sweet. It was nice reading about them all.

As for Nadia, honestly it feels I spoil things if I say what this book really is about. But I can talk about other thing, how she wants to do more than work at the boring place she works at. How Laurie is drop dead gorgeous, but that's it, he is a model and he is never home. And how things are not always what they seem to be. Nadia will have her own relationship troubles but as with all books like this she founds her way, and it's the right way for her. I liked her and how she helped take care of her family. They may not always be the best of friends but they all still love each other.

Mansell's books are like scones and tea (yes I had to go very British). The book is a nice mix of romance, family drama and real life troubles. Nothing is glossy and perfect, they all got issues of their own. And I enjoyed it for just that reason.

Conclusion:
It was just like how I like my Mansell books. Fun and it kept me guessing about what would happen to them all. ( )

This one was not my favorite Mansell, and I was left disappointed. It still has plenty of antics and funny moments and dialogue, but I disliked almost every character and there wasn't much of a story. The only conflict between Nadia and finding her dream man was a love triangle, which is resolved without her knowing all the details. There is some dramatic irony that I was disappointed didn't get revealed.

Also, her sister is awful, and the lead-up to her grandmother's secret felt overblown and took too long to be revealed. I will definitely keep reading Mansell's books, but this one was a miss for me. ( )

I love Jill Mansell.

This is going to sound like a negative, but it is not: If you have read one Jill Mansell book, you have read them all.

Seriously, they are all well written, the sex is always behind the closed door, there is always a village of characters (in all senses of the world), and they are all just fun.

Her books are not romances per se, but more chick lit. They rarely have a HEA in the strictest sense of the word, but they definitely are HFN and the foreseeable future.

I will continue to read them as long as she continues to write them.
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