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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Browne, H. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In this captivating, New York Times bestselling romantic comedy, a young woman goes from doormat to diva when she sets up shop as a sort of Mary Poppins of love. As satisfying as free champagne.--Publishers Weekly.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sensible Melissa Romney-Jones proclaims to her enamored American client, Jonathan Riley, "I like to think I'm a vintage girl. A proper 1950s woman's woman," to which Riley responds: "A proper 1950s man's woman." Crackling with Brit chick wit, Browne's first novel stars a spunky whirlwind in search of love and money. Melissa, after losing her job as a London estate agent, starts the Little Lady Agency to attend to the social needs of single men. This requires Melissa to don a blonde wig and become Honey Blennerhesket, a posh "Mary Poppins in silk stockings." Running the new agency leads to the successful channeling of her inner glamour goddess and romance with Jonathan, but then she wonders, does he love Honey or Melissa? "Little lady" is a term that sounds as retro as Melissa's yearning for old-style romance, but her struggle to empower herself and deal with her feelings regarding the men in her life is as satisfying as free champagne. Browne's dead-on take revitalizes a genre already littered with worn-out Jimmy Choos and tattered miniskirts. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
An updated Cinderella story set in London, with a heroine whose life is changed when she dons a wig. Poor Melissa Romney-Jones's friends, family and coworkers constantly take advantage of her kindness. Melissa hits a personal low when she's canned as an underpaid personal assistant. To add to her misery, her father is pressing her to repay a £10,000 loan, and her boyfriend has dumped her. While busy wallowing in self-pity, Melissa is drafted into planning (free of charge, of course) a picture-perfect wedding for her sister (duties extend to sewing the bride's gown). Melissa's life drastically improves when she decides to start wearing a blond wig and transforms herself into Honey, her vivacious alter ego. Honey possesses everything that Melissa lacks: confidence, style and a quick wit. Flaunting blonde locks, Melissa launches The Little Lady Agency, hiring herself out by the hour as a professional girlfriend/life organizer for London's inept bachelors. She lands a juicy client--the dashing Jonathan, a recently divorced American in need of someone capable of navigating London's social circles. Life gets tricky when Melissa/Honey crosses the line of business and pleasure. Browne fails to develop any original plot twists and writes only by the numbers--evil sisters, enigmatic Prince Charming, grandmother serving as fairy godmother. The writing comes alive when Honey/Melissa is shopping at trendy boutiques (Brown shamelessly drops product names), cavorting at local pubs and reviving herself with a bit of afternoon tea. Still, that a blonde wig and some racy lingerie are able to turn her into the belle of the ball is, at best, hard to believe. Escapism for anglophiles but not much more. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Brown's charming debut finds Melissa -Romney--Jones losing yet another job, this time to layoffs due to a company merger. Out on the town with friends, Melissa runs into an old school acquaintance who is working for their old etiquette teacher as a companion for wealthy men. Melissa looks up the teacher and begins to schedule dates, but she's horrified to discover her old teacher is in fact running an escort service. Melissa quickly gets out of the business, but she's taken with the idea of a chaste version of it, and starts the Little Lady Agency to help socially clueless men and those merely in need of dates. Using the name Honey, Melissa accompanies one man to a family party, and helps another dump his girlfriend. She lands her biggest client in handsome American Jonathan, who just happens to be running the company she used to work for; but Melissa starts to wonder if she's losing her objectivity when she finds herself falling for Jonathan. A warm, winning tale. --Kristine Huntley Copyright 2005 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In her debut, London-based freelance writer and journalist Browne tells the clever tale of Melissa Romney-Jones, who's able to organize everything but herself. Out of work for the third time in 18 months, Melissa decides to open an agency and hire out her organizational skills to bachelors who don't have a "little lady" to take care of their shopping, social calendars, and other domestic chores. Because her father is a member of Parliament and constantly in the tabloids for one scandal or another, she keeps her operation under wraps by donning a blond wig and using the name Honey Blennerhesket when acting for the agency. Suprisingly, she finds that Honey is a much more assertive and quick-thinking version of herself. However, Melissa can't call on Honey to save her from her horrible family, which includes her haranguing father, loopy mother, and selfish sisters. Things begin to unravel when Honey is asked to her youngest sister's wedding by one of her clients and Melissa is unable to put her foot down. A sometimes confusing but constantly entertaining story; recommended for public libraries. [In Browne's follow-up to this book, Honey's adventures will continue in New York City.-Ed.]-Lisa O'Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnepeg (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.