From The Archive: About A Girl by Lindsey Kelk (5/5)

Read and reviewed June 2013

 

I’d lost my job. I’d lost the love of my life. My mum wasn’t talking to me. My best friend was epically pissed off. And my flatmate probably had a hit out on me by now. I never meant for things to get so out of hand…

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when her carefully constructed Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.

After accidently answering her flatmate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, why shouldn’t she try out being Vanessa? With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?

But Tess is soon in big trouble – she isn’t a photographer, she isn’t Vanessa, and the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster.

Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

I wish I was better at writing reviews as I don't know how to write a good enough review to do this book justice! I absolutely loved it. I think I enjoyed it more than any of the 'I Heart' books and I think Lindsey Kelk may now be my favourite chick lit author and somebody I would love to be friends with in real life, imagine how amazing that would be? This was probably the most readable book I have read this year, if that's the right word to use. It was just a joy to read from start to finish and I did not want it to end.

Kelk certainly has a way with words. Some of the descriptions used and one liners were some of the best I have ever read! Absolutely fabulous and extremely funny. I thought Angela Clark was a fantastic creation but I absolutely loved 'Vanessa' a.k.a Tess and was rooting for her throughout the whole book. As with Angela in 'I Heart', Tess is going through a bit of a bad patch and instead of wallowing she does something about it and flees the country. I am a bit envious of these characters to tell the truth as I wish this was something I had the bottle to do myself at times! All I can say is what a joy these books must be to write for Lindsey, she certainly has one hell of an imagination that's for sure!

This time Tess ends up in Hawaii and has to pretend to everybody that she is actually Vanessa, an uberbitch photographer who is actually not a very nice person. Tess on the other hand is a very nice person and so she finds it difficult at first trying to be Vanessa. Again it must have been fantastic writing a book like this, pretending to be somebody else and forgetting about the worries and problems of real life is surely a fantasy of most people at some point in their life. Whilst in Hawaii trying to get over her heartbreak she meets Nick, the journalist conducting the interview she is taking pictures for, and of course this is where the obligatory chick lit love story/triangle begins.

The book has a fantastic cast of characters, something with Kelk definitely excels in. She has created some brilliant characters in the 'I Heart' series, Jenny Lopez anyone? And the same is true here. And there is plenty of comedy also. But for me it was the writing that was the best thing about it. The one liners are ridiculously amazing, I wish I could write them all here in the review but it really is best to read them yourselves as part of the book.

The whole book was just amazing, I urge everybody with a love for chick lit to pick it up and read it. If you enjoyed the 'I Heart' series then believe me you will heart this book too. My sadness at reaching the end of the book has been forgotten after the cliffhanger at the end as at the end of the book there was a teaser for Summer 2014 when Kelk will release the sequel 'What A Girl Wants', I for one cannot wait! Don't miss this book whatever you do. I think it could become one of my favourite reads of 2013.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/653544210?book_show_action=false