Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell

(The charity shop I scavenge for books seemed to have had a donation from a massive Jill Mansell fan and at 69 pence/book and buy 1 get 1 free, I thought I might as well...)

Nadia just happens to get stuck in a tiny village during a blizzard and has to share a room and bed with good looking guy Jay. She is, however, dating a guy called Laurie so the attraction between her and Jay has to be ignored. Laurie is a model and they only see each other for a few days with long gaps in between which leads to Laurie wanting to take a break leaving Nadia heartbroken. A year or so after the blizzard, Nadia and Jay meet up again and the attraction is still there. Jay employs Nadia to design and create a graden for a hosue he's selling so they tend to see one another very often... and Laurie wants to get back into Nadia's life. What will she do?

Indeed, what will she do? It seems a pretty straight forward plot but there are little secrets hiding in Nadia's family and all these little thing affects Nadia and her decision.

It's not as good as the other Mansell books I've read and sometimes it felt as if it wasn't very well thought out and finished quite quickly. The other Mansell books may follow the same pattern but they have that little bit extra that "Nadia Knows best" lacks. And it's shame but now I think I'll have to take a break from Jill Mansell or at least re-read a good one such as "The One You Really Want....".

Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell

3 best friends are getting ready for their New Year's resolutions. Liza has never managed to stay with a guy for longer than a month as she is easily bored. She's gorgeous and her resolution is that she wants to get married before the end of the year.

Dulcie is impulsive and she thinks it's dull to be married to Patric. She loves him but he's boring so she decides she wants a divorce to find some excitement in her life.

Pru is also married but to a man who can't keep his hands off other women. She is determined to keep her marriage intact as she can't imagine a life without him.

And just as my annual New Year's resolution is to get fit and attend the gym 4 times a week, things don't exactly go to plan. There are circumstances no one can foresee and you'll just have to deal with things as they come. "Mixed Doubles" is funny as is most of Jill Mansell's books. I just find it interesting that she always manages to get the "different point of views" into the same book. Here we have 1. the one who wants to marry but is unable to find someone that interests her for more than a month, 2. The one who is married but wants to get out despite thefact that her husband is lovely, and 3. the other one who's married to a prize-winning jerk but doesn't want to live without him.... It sort of enables more readers to recognize themselves or...? Anyway, it's another Mansell book and it delivers what it promises.

The 'negative' thing is that the cute dog on the front cover is clearly just on the cover. There's no cute puppy in the story line...

The One You Really Want by Jill Mansell

"The One You Really Want ...could be closer than you think" is the whole title, I think.

Nancy has been married for a few years but decides that enough is enough when her husband idea of a perfect x-mas present is a lawnmower and spends a lot of money on diamonds to someone else. She takes off to spend time in London with her best friend Carmen, whose a widow after a really famous singer, and her equally famous brother-in-law who stays with Carmen whenever he's in town.

Carmen has a new neighbour and his daughter, Mia, movies in but dislikes her dad's new girlfriend so she decided to do a bit of matchmaking as so many seems to be in need of love. Needless to say but things get a bit chaotic from then on...

I've read several books by Jill Mansell before and I think that this is clearly one of the better. The characters are likeable and it just strikes home with the everyday monotony that you yourself can turn around if only you have the guts and support to do so. As a reader you want them to find what it is they so desperately are looking for but at the same time you don't want it to be to sappy and full of clichés and it isn't. It's nicely written and with the right amount of sadness and happiness.

A book to cuddle up on the sofa with a cup of hot tea and a snug blanket - and make sure you won't be interrupted!