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CC #1
The Case of the Missing Boyfriend
A number 1 Ebook hit: grown-up, intelligent chick-lit offering a fresh take on the eternal quest for happiness.
Thirty-nine year old CC is living the urban dream: a high-powered job in advertising, a beautiful flat, and a wild bunch of gay friends to spend the weekends with. And yet she feels like the Titanic - slowly, inexorably, and against all expectation, sinking.
The truth is, CC would rather be digging turnips on a remote farm than convincing the masses to buy a life-changing pair of double-zippered jeans - rather be snuggling at home with the Missing Boyfriend than playing star fag-hag in London's latest coke-spots. But sightings of men without weird fetishes or secret wives are rarer than an original metaphor, and CC fears that pursuing the Good Life alone will just leave her feeling even more isolated.
Could her best friend's pop-psychology be right? Are the horrors of CC's past preventing her from moving on? And if CC finally does confront her demons, will she find the Missing Boyfriend? Or is it already too late?
Thirty-nine year old CC is living the urban dream: a high-powered job in advertising, a beautiful flat, and a wild bunch of gay friends to spend the weekends with. And yet she feels like the Titanic - slowly, inexorably, and against all expectation, sinking.
The truth is, CC would rather be digging turnips on a remote farm than convincing the masses to buy a life-changing pair of double-zippered jeans - rather be snuggling at home with the Missing Boyfriend than playing star fag-hag in London's latest coke-spots. But sightings of men without weird fetishes or secret wives are rarer than an original metaphor, and CC fears that pursuing the Good Life alone will just leave her feeling even more isolated.
Could her best friend's pop-psychology be right? Are the horrors of CC's past preventing her from moving on? And if CC finally does confront her demons, will she find the Missing Boyfriend? Or is it already too late?
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2011
631 people are currently reading
795 people want to read
About the author
Nick Alexander
31 books654 followersMy novels:
Where Do We Go From Here (2025)
The Imperfection of Us (2023)
Perfectly Ordinary People (2022)
From Something Old (2021)
The Road to Zoe (2020)
You Then, Me Now (2019)
Things We Never Said (2017)
The Bottle of Tears (2016) (also published as Let the Light Shine).
The Other Son (2015)
The Photographer's Wife (2014)
Two novels featuring Hannah:
- The Half-Life of Hannah.
- Other Halves (Dec 2013)
Two novels featuring CC:
- The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend
- The French House (May 2013)
The Fifty Reasons Series, following the life of lovelorn Mark
- 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye
- Sottopassaggio
- Good Thing, Bad Thing
- Better Than Easy
- Sleight Of Hand
And the standalone novel
- 13:55 Eastern Standard Time
The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend, The French House, and The Half-Life of Hannah have all been huge kindle hits, reaching number #1 in Amazon's kindle chart.
I live in the southern French Alps with three mogs (Mangui, Pastel & Pedro) and a very special ferret.
Where Do We Go From Here (2025)
The Imperfection of Us (2023)
Perfectly Ordinary People (2022)
From Something Old (2021)
The Road to Zoe (2020)
You Then, Me Now (2019)
Things We Never Said (2017)
The Bottle of Tears (2016) (also published as Let the Light Shine).
The Other Son (2015)
The Photographer's Wife (2014)
Two novels featuring Hannah:
- The Half-Life of Hannah.
- Other Halves (Dec 2013)
Two novels featuring CC:
- The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend
- The French House (May 2013)
The Fifty Reasons Series, following the life of lovelorn Mark
- 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye
- Sottopassaggio
- Good Thing, Bad Thing
- Better Than Easy
- Sleight Of Hand
And the standalone novel
- 13:55 Eastern Standard Time
The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend, The French House, and The Half-Life of Hannah have all been huge kindle hits, reaching number #1 in Amazon's kindle chart.
I live in the southern French Alps with three mogs (Mangui, Pastel & Pedro) and a very special ferret.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
September 8, 2020
The Case of the Missing Boyfriend by Nick Alexander was, like most of my experiences with this author, a lot of fun and reasonably enjoyable.
This story involves an Advertising Executive called “CC” (she doesn’t like her real name) who, after a couple of REALLY bad relationships, is looking for the ideal boyfriend. A bit like the Bridget Jones stories – in fact, a lot like them. Based in London as well.
Note to self: I have just discovered this genre, the one I have been so enthusiastically reading of late, is “Chick-Lit”.
Chick lit, various definitions
Stories written by women, about women, for women to read – Cambridge Dictionary
Modern fiction about the lives and romantic problems of young women, usually written by women – Collins Dictionary
Novels that are intended especially for women, often with a young, single woman as the main character – Oxford American Dictionary
Mmmmmm……….well, to be totally honest I did sit back when I discovered this was the genre I have been enjoying. I am a 57-year-old man, an old guy – does it matter? Is it inappropriate? Is this type of literature fluff?
Perhaps the fact I have 4 daughters has influenced my tastes? In other words, I’ve seen more films like Bridget Jones than Die Hard and Rambo, listened mot to Spice Girls than Metallica.
I’ve thought about this, and I must admit. After discovering the name of this genre, it did impact on my enjoyment – even ever-so-slightly. This probably says more about my insecurities than anything else.
Anyway, bottom line – I did enjoy this book. There are some issues of course, particularly with “CC” basing her whole concept of happiness on whether she has a boyfriend or not. To me, this is anachronistic. I’m sure these people exist, but maybe not in the epic numbers we would have seen in the 1950s/1960s. I hope my daughters don’t put all their happiness eggs into their boyfriends/husbands/partners basket – surely that’s a recipe for unhappiness.
The other point of interest for me is Nick Alexander is a BLOKE. This story is told from the first-person viewpoint of “CC”. I wonder how he handles the inside machinations of the female mind – I will look forward to reading the reviews of this book by women to garner their perspectives.
I will continue to read Nick Alexander; I will even read the sequel to this book – just not yet.
4 stars (based on my enjoyment factor – which included the occasional ‘gasp’ and ‘snort’)
This story involves an Advertising Executive called “CC” (she doesn’t like her real name) who, after a couple of REALLY bad relationships, is looking for the ideal boyfriend. A bit like the Bridget Jones stories – in fact, a lot like them. Based in London as well.
Note to self: I have just discovered this genre, the one I have been so enthusiastically reading of late, is “Chick-Lit”.
Chick lit, various definitions
Stories written by women, about women, for women to read – Cambridge Dictionary
Modern fiction about the lives and romantic problems of young women, usually written by women – Collins Dictionary
Novels that are intended especially for women, often with a young, single woman as the main character – Oxford American Dictionary
Mmmmmm……….well, to be totally honest I did sit back when I discovered this was the genre I have been enjoying. I am a 57-year-old man, an old guy – does it matter? Is it inappropriate? Is this type of literature fluff?
Perhaps the fact I have 4 daughters has influenced my tastes? In other words, I’ve seen more films like Bridget Jones than Die Hard and Rambo, listened mot to Spice Girls than Metallica.
I’ve thought about this, and I must admit. After discovering the name of this genre, it did impact on my enjoyment – even ever-so-slightly. This probably says more about my insecurities than anything else.
Anyway, bottom line – I did enjoy this book. There are some issues of course, particularly with “CC” basing her whole concept of happiness on whether she has a boyfriend or not. To me, this is anachronistic. I’m sure these people exist, but maybe not in the epic numbers we would have seen in the 1950s/1960s. I hope my daughters don’t put all their happiness eggs into their boyfriends/husbands/partners basket – surely that’s a recipe for unhappiness.
The other point of interest for me is Nick Alexander is a BLOKE. This story is told from the first-person viewpoint of “CC”. I wonder how he handles the inside machinations of the female mind – I will look forward to reading the reviews of this book by women to garner their perspectives.
I will continue to read Nick Alexander; I will even read the sequel to this book – just not yet.
4 stars (based on my enjoyment factor – which included the occasional ‘gasp’ and ‘snort’)
May 14, 2011
RUBBISH !!!
not even worth reading a free copy and wasting that much time. I am not againt chick-lit, but this one is an all time low. It was hard to keep turning the pages...gave up half way true. seems like a story more abt the authors gay friends than her !!!
not even worth reading a free copy and wasting that much time. I am not againt chick-lit, but this one is an all time low. It was hard to keep turning the pages...gave up half way true. seems like a story more abt the authors gay friends than her !!!
March 16, 2013
I hadn't heard of this book or of the author, Nick Alexander, before picking this book up. Initially, I was in two minds about reading this book when I got the offer - whilst there were parts of the synopsis that sounded like they would be of interest to me, I wasn't fully confident that I'd like it. However, as I looked through mostly positive reviews and even saw this book compared to one of my favourites, Bridget Jones's Diary, I decided that I would try it out.
As you'll see in this review, this book wasn't to my tastes, but I'll openly admit did actually warm to it as the book progressed. I haven't really read a book like this before, which is probably why it took me some time to adjust to it. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the way the characters were portrayed and so I didn't feel as though I could connect with them. The majority of the characters in this book are gay, something that the author obviously wanted to put across to the readers. Personally, I felt that the author put too much emphasis on the sexuality of these characters - we didn't get to see all that much of the personalities of the men, and when we did, a lot of the characteristics were that of your stereotypical gay man. I think that the portrayal would have been so much more effective if other aspects of the characters were also explored, rather than just objectifying homosexuality - it's important to realise that people are not all the same and that they are not just their sexuality. Of course, some people may disagree with my feelings and they may find the portrayal to be similar to their experiences - I just didn't think it was the best depiction and it didn't seem realistic.
Our heterosexual protagonist, CC, takes the back-seat for quite a lot of the first half of the book, where we see her interact with her friends and learn a little about the several sub-characters and her way of life, rather than her personality. I think that was the main weakness of the book for me, as when we did start to learn more about CC, I found myself enjoying the book much more - it was nice to have the one main focus. As the book progressed, I did find myself liking CC more than I did at first and easier to empathise with, despite not having all that much in common with her. If this book started by focusing on CC and carried on with that focus the whole way through, I think it would have been a lot more enjoyable.
The start of the book is mainly focused on the setting and CC's way of life. During the second half of the book several very gritty and difficult subjects are tackled. I love reading about real life issues and although they could have been explored in more depth, I thought that they were handled well and gave some dignity to the book. Despite the darker subjects, the book never really weighs you down as Alexander does a good job of keeping a sense of humour in the story, too.
Overall, I did end up finding this book reasonably enjoyable, but unfortunately it took me too long to feel that way about it. There are so many positive reviews for this book and so I can see that a lot of people genuinely enjoyed it, so I wouldn't simply tell people to skip over this one. I think that the main reason why I didn't like this book is simply because it wasn't to my tastes - I didn't find it funny, I didn't find it exciting or full of suspense and it took me too long to like the characters. I will admit that I am a little tempted to read the follow up book to this as hopefully CC will develop even more but I do think that there is other reading material that I would enjoy more.
As you'll see in this review, this book wasn't to my tastes, but I'll openly admit did actually warm to it as the book progressed. I haven't really read a book like this before, which is probably why it took me some time to adjust to it. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the way the characters were portrayed and so I didn't feel as though I could connect with them. The majority of the characters in this book are gay, something that the author obviously wanted to put across to the readers. Personally, I felt that the author put too much emphasis on the sexuality of these characters - we didn't get to see all that much of the personalities of the men, and when we did, a lot of the characteristics were that of your stereotypical gay man. I think that the portrayal would have been so much more effective if other aspects of the characters were also explored, rather than just objectifying homosexuality - it's important to realise that people are not all the same and that they are not just their sexuality. Of course, some people may disagree with my feelings and they may find the portrayal to be similar to their experiences - I just didn't think it was the best depiction and it didn't seem realistic.
Our heterosexual protagonist, CC, takes the back-seat for quite a lot of the first half of the book, where we see her interact with her friends and learn a little about the several sub-characters and her way of life, rather than her personality. I think that was the main weakness of the book for me, as when we did start to learn more about CC, I found myself enjoying the book much more - it was nice to have the one main focus. As the book progressed, I did find myself liking CC more than I did at first and easier to empathise with, despite not having all that much in common with her. If this book started by focusing on CC and carried on with that focus the whole way through, I think it would have been a lot more enjoyable.
The start of the book is mainly focused on the setting and CC's way of life. During the second half of the book several very gritty and difficult subjects are tackled. I love reading about real life issues and although they could have been explored in more depth, I thought that they were handled well and gave some dignity to the book. Despite the darker subjects, the book never really weighs you down as Alexander does a good job of keeping a sense of humour in the story, too.
Overall, I did end up finding this book reasonably enjoyable, but unfortunately it took me too long to feel that way about it. There are so many positive reviews for this book and so I can see that a lot of people genuinely enjoyed it, so I wouldn't simply tell people to skip over this one. I think that the main reason why I didn't like this book is simply because it wasn't to my tastes - I didn't find it funny, I didn't find it exciting or full of suspense and it took me too long to like the characters. I will admit that I am a little tempted to read the follow up book to this as hopefully CC will develop even more but I do think that there is other reading material that I would enjoy more.
April 17, 2011
I absolutely loved this book. I downloaded it for my Kindle some time ago because it was highly rated, sounded interesting and was FREE!! And I’m really glad that I did.
CC works for an advertising agency in London, is in her late 30s and feels like life is passing her by. She’s had a couple of long-term relationships, but they’ve both ended badly, and she just doesn’t seem to manage to be able to meet anyone else.
This isn’t helped by the fact that quite frankly, she’s a total fag-hag. She seems to spend a hell of a lot of time with gay men, most of her friends are go, and so when she goes out, she just ends up meeting more gay men. So, things aren’t looking good for CC being able to get herself a boyfriend and settle down – and her biological clock is tick tick ticking away.
I could’ve written this book – I found it so easy to read. It dealt with a hell of a lot of issues that I could relate to in a setting which was entirely familiar.
Not only could I have written it, but (being a complete fag-hag myself), it felt like it could have been about me if I’d made a couple of different decisions!
I wouldn’t be against reading any more of Nick Alexander’s books, but I think that this is the only one that he’s written from a woman’s point of view – I believe they’re usually about gay blokes (going by the excerpts at the end of this book).
An absolute bargain though – loved it!
CC works for an advertising agency in London, is in her late 30s and feels like life is passing her by. She’s had a couple of long-term relationships, but they’ve both ended badly, and she just doesn’t seem to manage to be able to meet anyone else.
This isn’t helped by the fact that quite frankly, she’s a total fag-hag. She seems to spend a hell of a lot of time with gay men, most of her friends are go, and so when she goes out, she just ends up meeting more gay men. So, things aren’t looking good for CC being able to get herself a boyfriend and settle down – and her biological clock is tick tick ticking away.
I could’ve written this book – I found it so easy to read. It dealt with a hell of a lot of issues that I could relate to in a setting which was entirely familiar.
Not only could I have written it, but (being a complete fag-hag myself), it felt like it could have been about me if I’d made a couple of different decisions!
I wouldn’t be against reading any more of Nick Alexander’s books, but I think that this is the only one that he’s written from a woman’s point of view – I believe they’re usually about gay blokes (going by the excerpts at the end of this book).
An absolute bargain though – loved it!
January 2, 2023
really enjoyed!! felt a bit cringe at early stages reading the female character’s perspectives and knowing the author is male but actually really got into it. very easy to read
May 15, 2013
I liked this one a lot. I found CC to be believable and I cared what happened to her. I don't have a problem that she was written by a man - I identified with her a lot. I kind of figure that if authors could only write good characters of their own sex then literature would be a bit crap. And it's not.
Having said all that if you are after a nice bit of chick-lit where some ditsy girl is rescued by a knight in shining armour (who you'd take out a restraining order on in real life) then this book may be a bit of a downer for you. If you want an honest appraisal of issues that are relevant for a 40 year old single woman today then this is it. The conflicts of wanting to have a baby when you haven't met the right man. A reappraisal of your career as you realise you have to survive in the workplace up until retirement. And accepting who you are and what has happened to you in life.
There is also a lovely theme of how people are just going to do what they want to do and so you may as well just damn well accept it. If you want to save yourself a lot of angst anyway.
Having said all that if you are after a nice bit of chick-lit where some ditsy girl is rescued by a knight in shining armour (who you'd take out a restraining order on in real life) then this book may be a bit of a downer for you. If you want an honest appraisal of issues that are relevant for a 40 year old single woman today then this is it. The conflicts of wanting to have a baby when you haven't met the right man. A reappraisal of your career as you realise you have to survive in the workplace up until retirement. And accepting who you are and what has happened to you in life.
There is also a lovely theme of how people are just going to do what they want to do and so you may as well just damn well accept it. If you want to save yourself a lot of angst anyway.
July 11, 2013
An OK sort of easy to read novel.
I will probably read another by this author when I want something light. It's not as light and fluffy as Chick-Lit can be. But it's not deep and meaningful either, although it does have some "meaning of life" stuff in it.
It's actually quite a sad and lonely book rather than a fun and improbable romp. You know that there are people around like CC. Sadly they probably don't often have the ending she gets in this book.
It filled a gap in the sunny garden.
I will probably read another by this author when I want something light. It's not as light and fluffy as Chick-Lit can be. But it's not deep and meaningful either, although it does have some "meaning of life" stuff in it.
It's actually quite a sad and lonely book rather than a fun and improbable romp. You know that there are people around like CC. Sadly they probably don't often have the ending she gets in this book.
It filled a gap in the sunny garden.
February 8, 2011
Quite how this guy makes any money giving his books away I don't know, but this was a free download on the iPad and it's honesly the best chicklit I have read in years.
December 30, 2014
I love love the second half.... So, I'm picking up the second book.
February 14, 2021
Fun and enjoyable. I've read a few of Nick's books and they are wary reads, funny and perfect to chill out with and forget the worries of life.
July 3, 2020
I quickly snapped this up as a 99p special, as I’ve read and very much enjoyed other Nick Alexander novels. Sadly, I wish I hadn’t bothered. Half way through - and it was a laborious trudge to get that far - I had to check this wasn’t by another author of the same name.
Nick has an engaging and easy-to-read writing style, but even that couldn’t breathe life into this rambling, pointless, non-entity of a story. For a start it was far too long, largely due to the stray threads that hung off the main narrative like fraying fabric.
To be honest, the whole narrative was so disjointed and incoherent, I’m not sure what the real thrust of the story actually was. I persevered until the bitter end, ever hopeful of getting some kind of toe-hold. But it was like being on a magical mystery tour - without the magic. Just a sense of going round and round in circles and finally arriving at the destination only to discover you’re back where you started.
It’s worth noting that this is one of Nick’s earlier novels. His more recent books have been really excellent. Which just goes to show that writing, like any other skill, improves with practice.
Nick has an engaging and easy-to-read writing style, but even that couldn’t breathe life into this rambling, pointless, non-entity of a story. For a start it was far too long, largely due to the stray threads that hung off the main narrative like fraying fabric.
To be honest, the whole narrative was so disjointed and incoherent, I’m not sure what the real thrust of the story actually was. I persevered until the bitter end, ever hopeful of getting some kind of toe-hold. But it was like being on a magical mystery tour - without the magic. Just a sense of going round and round in circles and finally arriving at the destination only to discover you’re back where you started.
It’s worth noting that this is one of Nick’s earlier novels. His more recent books have been really excellent. Which just goes to show that writing, like any other skill, improves with practice.
February 22, 2021
A friend recommended The French House and since I haven't heard of this author before, I looked him up and learned that it's the 2nd book in a series. The Case of the Missing Boyfriend is the 1st so I opted to read them in order. The CC in this book is not somebody I like or admire. She's vain, shallow, self-centered and rather callous to those she calls friends. Normally, I would set a book like this down after the third chapter but decided to continue so I'd get a feel for her before reading the other book. By the end of the book, I still didn't like her even though we were given more insight into why she is the way she is. I prefer reading series in order but definitely encourage others to skip this one and go straight to The French House because if you're like me, you'll like that one better.
June 7, 2018
This is an usual book as it's chick-lit/romance but written by a man. AndI that's sometimes not a bad thing. I love Jill Mansell books, but even they can get a bit saccharine sometimes. This was a refreshing change.
We're pretty much taken through the heroine, CC's, issues with men, work, her mother, and her life in general, dealing on the way with the deaths of her father and her brother. She's pushing forty and desperately wants a boyfriend and a baby. But there are things getting in her way. This is almost like watching her go through therapy, painfully slowly, and the book does drag a little in places. However, it comes to a satisfactory conclusion, with just enough questions left unanswered.
We're pretty much taken through the heroine, CC's, issues with men, work, her mother, and her life in general, dealing on the way with the deaths of her father and her brother. She's pushing forty and desperately wants a boyfriend and a baby. But there are things getting in her way. This is almost like watching her go through therapy, painfully slowly, and the book does drag a little in places. However, it comes to a satisfactory conclusion, with just enough questions left unanswered.
May 8, 2020
Commencé une nuit d'insomnie car j'étais trop fatiguée pour poursuivre La mort du roi Tsongor, ce roman m'a globalement déçue. Je suis pourtant une fervente adepte de Nick Alexander en matière de romans légers mais bien écrits. Ici, les personnages sont assez caricaturaux et le roman entier est parsemé de clichés et de jugements sur les gros, les homosexuels, les styles vestimentaires, les pratiques sexuelles des uns et des autres, le fait de sortir avec un homme plus jeune ou plus vieux... J'ai vu que ce roman avait été publié bien avant ceux qui m'ont plu, heureusement que je n'ai pas commencé par celui-ci car je n'aurais pas été voir plus loin...
January 24, 2022
This novel is not to be summarily dismissed as chick lit or a more or less interesting example of a middle-aged man writing a book with a female first-person narrator.
The theme of the novel can be summarised in one word and its plural: standard and standards.
What is standard in the life of the narrator - CC - may not be seen as such by many people: all her friends are gay, she has a good job in advertising and a lovely flat in Primrose Hill that she has owned since her divorce, she parties hard and visits art exhibitions, she suffers the late-twenties/early thirties angst of many women of her era - mainly TMB (the Missing Boyfriend of the title) - her mother spends half the year in Marocco, away from the suburbia of Camberley, where she falls for a 23-year-old tourist guide called Saddam ...
There are also standards.
What standards is a career woman in advertising expected to uphold or accept? CC treads a fine line between acceptance and refusal, the latter exacerbated when she is almost coerced into promoting Cornish Cow, a company whose industrial-style battery farming practices belie the healthy organic image they are trying to foist onto their unsuspecting customers.
All in all, a novel that made me think. I am now going to read The French House and will be back.
The theme of the novel can be summarised in one word and its plural: standard and standards.
What is standard in the life of the narrator - CC - may not be seen as such by many people: all her friends are gay, she has a good job in advertising and a lovely flat in Primrose Hill that she has owned since her divorce, she parties hard and visits art exhibitions, she suffers the late-twenties/early thirties angst of many women of her era - mainly TMB (the Missing Boyfriend of the title) - her mother spends half the year in Marocco, away from the suburbia of Camberley, where she falls for a 23-year-old tourist guide called Saddam ...
There are also standards.
What standards is a career woman in advertising expected to uphold or accept? CC treads a fine line between acceptance and refusal, the latter exacerbated when she is almost coerced into promoting Cornish Cow, a company whose industrial-style battery farming practices belie the healthy organic image they are trying to foist onto their unsuspecting customers.
All in all, a novel that made me think. I am now going to read The French House and will be back.
February 28, 2020
I've read quite a few novels by this author and enjoyed them all.
This book was a good read but I felt there were some endings missing or characters like SJ who lost importance as the story progressed. The messages of don't be so focused on the future you forget about enjoying the present and don't focus on persons characteristics but rather on the person were clear however in some places it was a big of an uncomfortable read. I missed the laugh aloud humour of Nick's other books but was captivated enough to stay awake into the early hours reading it.
This book was a good read but I felt there were some endings missing or characters like SJ who lost importance as the story progressed. The messages of don't be so focused on the future you forget about enjoying the present and don't focus on persons characteristics but rather on the person were clear however in some places it was a big of an uncomfortable read. I missed the laugh aloud humour of Nick's other books but was captivated enough to stay awake into the early hours reading it.
November 15, 2020
39 year old CC has a seemingly good life in London: a job in advertising, a nice flat with one of her best friends living upstairs, and a good social life. However, she can't help thinking about the 'missing boyfriend' from her life. As she focuses on this, she starts to unravel feelings related to past traumatic or unhappy events and begins to wonder if this urban life is the one she wants after all. I didn't find her an easy character to sympathise with overall but the book held my attention enough and I did come to be interested in things working out for her.
February 4, 2021
Everyday life
I did enjoy this book but cannot say it was one of my favourites.
I did find myself at a certain point of the book where I had to make a conscious decision to persevere and not give up the woeful tale of one young ladies life which was just, oh, so mundane.
Being of a different generation , even her work life was quite unfathomable to me.
But I stuck it out, and there were some gems here and there and I was pleased she got her man in the end and I am going to give the French House a go as well.
Life in France may be way more interesting!
I did enjoy this book but cannot say it was one of my favourites.
I did find myself at a certain point of the book where I had to make a conscious decision to persevere and not give up the woeful tale of one young ladies life which was just, oh, so mundane.
Being of a different generation , even her work life was quite unfathomable to me.
But I stuck it out, and there were some gems here and there and I was pleased she got her man in the end and I am going to give the French House a go as well.
Life in France may be way more interesting!
August 8, 2022
The following are the notes I took whilst reading this on holiday, unedited:
- Not really enjoying this, feels like its trying to be Bridget Jones but is rather racist and despite it featuring a lot of gay characters it’s also coming across as homophobic.
- Definitely a product of a decade ago
- Now it’s also transphobic
- Eh, nice to see an older protagonist (late 30s so not really old but older than most chicklit I am aware of) but that’s the only redeeming factor
- How on EARTH does this have a sequel?!
- Not really enjoying this, feels like its trying to be Bridget Jones but is rather racist and despite it featuring a lot of gay characters it’s also coming across as homophobic.
- Definitely a product of a decade ago
- Now it’s also transphobic
- Eh, nice to see an older protagonist (late 30s so not really old but older than most chicklit I am aware of) but that’s the only redeeming factor
- How on EARTH does this have a sequel?!
April 29, 2019
Would give this zero stars if I could.
Didnt enjoy this at all. It took me over a month to read it as nothing was enthralling enough to bring me back to the pages.
CC is not a likeable character. Theres is zero character development with her, the other characters or their relationships.
The book is also very poorly written with no fact checking, sense checking or even proof reading it would seem. Several mistakes and typos.
Not an enjoyable or engaging read at all.
Didnt enjoy this at all. It took me over a month to read it as nothing was enthralling enough to bring me back to the pages.
CC is not a likeable character. Theres is zero character development with her, the other characters or their relationships.
The book is also very poorly written with no fact checking, sense checking or even proof reading it would seem. Several mistakes and typos.
Not an enjoyable or engaging read at all.
November 4, 2019
Pretty Boring and dull!!
I generally don't go out of my way to complain or write negative reviews however this book was soo boring that I wanted to RIP my hair out. The problem with me is that I cant leave books unfinished especially if I've made it to halfway mark and 2ndly i picked this up for something to do on a rainy British weekend , I feel like this made the whole thing worse!
I generally don't go out of my way to complain or write negative reviews however this book was soo boring that I wanted to RIP my hair out. The problem with me is that I cant leave books unfinished especially if I've made it to halfway mark and 2ndly i picked this up for something to do on a rainy British weekend , I feel like this made the whole thing worse!
April 22, 2020
This book really grabbed me as I could relate with the main character a good bit. You do get behind her skin and the relationship with her mother is particularly fascinating. I do have a major issue with how Nick Alexander speaks of fat people and the descriptions he builds around them. It feels like utterly unnecessary hatred towards a particular group of marginalised people. Hopefully the second book, is just as good and minus the fat shaming.
September 29, 2022
I have binge read about six of Nick Alexander’s books while finishing my Masters dissertation and they were perfect for end of the day reading and were totally compulsive within a few pages. This particular book was such a disappointment I stopped reading not even half way through thinking ‘life is too short’. There didn’t seem to be the intrigue of the other books and I found the main character simply irritating…and really who jets off with a strange man on a whim?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2021
Good characters you can relate to, good dialogue and above all else a good story, told well. I like Nick Alexander's books and this was no exception.
I got to like CC Kelly and her 'framily' a lot and will read the sequel with some enjoyment and anticipation of another chapter to this story....
This is a good 4.5 going on 5. Not perhaps a total wow but a solid 4.5+
On to the sequel......
I got to like CC Kelly and her 'framily' a lot and will read the sequel with some enjoyment and anticipation of another chapter to this story....
This is a good 4.5 going on 5. Not perhaps a total wow but a solid 4.5+
On to the sequel......
December 28, 2021
Single girl finding her destiny.
Got a bit worried when I started reading and thought this woman needs something to happen or a kick up the backside and eventually it does at last times seem to happen and hopefully change Chelsii life I love the name just not the way she spells it loool ?
Got a bit worried when I started reading and thought this woman needs something to happen or a kick up the backside and eventually it does at last times seem to happen and hopefully change Chelsii life I love the name just not the way she spells it loool ?
November 19, 2018
I was looking for a light reading like some bridget jones 's diary look a like, when I found that book.
The French translation is sometimes approximate and was a small turn off at the beginning. But as the story is light and funny at the beginning, it gets a bit deeper by the end.
The French translation is sometimes approximate and was a small turn off at the beginning. But as the story is light and funny at the beginning, it gets a bit deeper by the end.
October 18, 2019
Enjoyed it a lot, with a special mention for the rich and believable dialogue, some of the best I've read in quite some time. Such a rarity to read conversations between characters that flow so well and feel as real as they did here, which is very good for this but a shame in general.
June 4, 2020
What a tangled web we weave..
Brilliantly written, I thought the characters were really good. I loved the almost double entendre aspects of the story. It had great moments of joy and laughter and then such poignant moments that make you cry. In a nutshell, loved it. 🌈👠👠
Brilliantly written, I thought the characters were really good. I loved the almost double entendre aspects of the story. It had great moments of joy and laughter and then such poignant moments that make you cry. In a nutshell, loved it. 🌈👠👠
March 22, 2021
Too slow, too long, not a very likeable main character, and those chapter titles were totally unnecessaty. Ironically, I am curious to see what happens in the sequel, but only if I find a dirt cheap or free copy, I'd rather spend my money on a writer I don't know or like a lot.
September 1, 2021
Better than the sequel
I liked the sequel enough to finish it, but this is definitely a more interesting and involving story. It has its sad bits, which are as well done as the happy ones.
I liked the sequel enough to finish it, but this is definitely a more interesting and involving story. It has its sad bits, which are as well done as the happy ones.
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