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Permanently Temping
Why is it forbidden to borrow someone else’s tea mug? How is home-baking related to promotion and what is a ‘cake rota’? When Hollie Cooper walks into her first job after graduating, she realizes that the world of work is going to take some getting used to.
As she struggles to find a spark with her arty new boyfriend and fails to stay away from her cheating ex, Hollie’s non-existent career turns into chaos. But a chance meeting with a handsome friend of her ex could turn her life upside down…
Hollie’s life turns into a side-splittingly funny ride involving work, life, love, good – and not so good – friends. Who will she end up with? Will she find her own happily ever after? And will she ever find a job that’s right for her?
“Laugh out loud funny. I am gripped.”
As she struggles to find a spark with her arty new boyfriend and fails to stay away from her cheating ex, Hollie’s non-existent career turns into chaos. But a chance meeting with a handsome friend of her ex could turn her life upside down…
Hollie’s life turns into a side-splittingly funny ride involving work, life, love, good – and not so good – friends. Who will she end up with? Will she find her own happily ever after? And will she ever find a job that’s right for her?
“Laugh out loud funny. I am gripped.”
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 2012
2 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Milner-Howells
1 book1 followerLauren Milner-Howells was born and grew up in the north east of England. She currently lives in London with her husband and two Siamese cats.
Permanently Temping is available to buy on Amazon Kindle.
Permanently Temping is available to buy on Amazon Kindle.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 26, 2012
Firstly I’d like to thank the author (@fluffypen on Twitter) for sending me this eBook to read and review.
The synopsis caught my interest straight away and after just a few pages it was confirmed that I would really enjoy this book. It started off with an email – this is something I always seem to enjoy in stories so it was a good opener for me.
As the title suggests, Hollie tried a fair amount of different jobs throughout the story, her experiences were often humorous and made me laugh many times. When I’m reading a book I make notes of things that I particularly enjoy or make me laugh and this book had so many! Just a few of my favourite moments included some crazy police officers who seemed rather obsessed with dead bodies, office staff whose lives were ruled by cake day, tea cups and trying not to overheat, and the best moment for me was the bee incident – something that had me crying with laughter as I pictured the scene.
Hollie herself was a great character, she was a bit of a daydreamer and quite naive in some ways. I found these qualities endearing and actually felt quite protective over her, particularly when she was being messed around by a few not-so-nice individuals. I really loved her notebook obsession because I also love a pretty notebook and could relate to that side of her.
Gavin was another interesting character and I found myself really looking forward to another planned/unplanned meeting with him and Hollie, I was keeping my fingers crossed for something to happen between them.
The wonderfully romantic ending put a big smile on my face and I was sad that the story had finished – I wanted more!
This is a fun, light read with lots of laughs, I look forward to reading more from Lauren Milner-Howells.
The synopsis caught my interest straight away and after just a few pages it was confirmed that I would really enjoy this book. It started off with an email – this is something I always seem to enjoy in stories so it was a good opener for me.
As the title suggests, Hollie tried a fair amount of different jobs throughout the story, her experiences were often humorous and made me laugh many times. When I’m reading a book I make notes of things that I particularly enjoy or make me laugh and this book had so many! Just a few of my favourite moments included some crazy police officers who seemed rather obsessed with dead bodies, office staff whose lives were ruled by cake day, tea cups and trying not to overheat, and the best moment for me was the bee incident – something that had me crying with laughter as I pictured the scene.
Hollie herself was a great character, she was a bit of a daydreamer and quite naive in some ways. I found these qualities endearing and actually felt quite protective over her, particularly when she was being messed around by a few not-so-nice individuals. I really loved her notebook obsession because I also love a pretty notebook and could relate to that side of her.
Gavin was another interesting character and I found myself really looking forward to another planned/unplanned meeting with him and Hollie, I was keeping my fingers crossed for something to happen between them.
The wonderfully romantic ending put a big smile on my face and I was sad that the story had finished – I wanted more!
This is a fun, light read with lots of laughs, I look forward to reading more from Lauren Milner-Howells.
September 17, 2012
Oh dear. With regret, I didn’t enjoy this. This was a chick-lit novel, but I think even a 13-year-old would have been embarrassed to read it.
It features a university graduate, Hollie, who like many graduates, is trying to decide what career path to follow, and defying her father’s ambitions for her to follow law, flits from one temp job to another. And of course, true to chick-lit form, there’s a broken heart (cheating university ex-boyfriend), a heart about to be broken (cheating current boyfriend) and a lusted-for hands-off future boyfriend.
But…Hollie had barely two brain cells to rub together—how she managed a university degree is beyond me. She wasn’t just ditzy and scatty, she was a bit stupid and immature. There was no character development, the dialogue was immature and just not credible. I simply cannot believe that a law firm would have nothing better to think of than a cake rota, that a 22-year-old’s sole ambition would be to ride in a police van with flashing lights (seriously?) or that someone would be seen as a capable events’ organiser simply because she happened to have a couple of packets of post-its in her handbag. Nor can I believe that an intelligent graduate would list bullet-point drawing as a skill.
Sadly, too, the book was unedited: punctuation was practically non-existent, there were spelling mistakes, and every adjective seemed to be followed by ‘looking’, eg, imposing-looking, worn-looking, petite-looking, green-looking (???), garish-looking…….in fact, about 40 of them.
In theory, although typically predictable chick-lit, this had all the elements for a fun story, a funny story even. The author had a well-mapped plot, and it was neatly, although not unexpectedly, wrapped up, and she has a light, easy-to-read, uncomplicated style. In essence, all the perfect ingredients. It just lacked maturity and substance. I so wanted to like Hollie, but she was just irritating and rather vacuous.
On the whole, it wasn’t a bad attempt for a debut novel, but I think the author needs both a technical and developmental editor, especially if she wants to aim at an audience that's older than young teenagers.
It features a university graduate, Hollie, who like many graduates, is trying to decide what career path to follow, and defying her father’s ambitions for her to follow law, flits from one temp job to another. And of course, true to chick-lit form, there’s a broken heart (cheating university ex-boyfriend), a heart about to be broken (cheating current boyfriend) and a lusted-for hands-off future boyfriend.
But…Hollie had barely two brain cells to rub together—how she managed a university degree is beyond me. She wasn’t just ditzy and scatty, she was a bit stupid and immature. There was no character development, the dialogue was immature and just not credible. I simply cannot believe that a law firm would have nothing better to think of than a cake rota, that a 22-year-old’s sole ambition would be to ride in a police van with flashing lights (seriously?) or that someone would be seen as a capable events’ organiser simply because she happened to have a couple of packets of post-its in her handbag. Nor can I believe that an intelligent graduate would list bullet-point drawing as a skill.
Sadly, too, the book was unedited: punctuation was practically non-existent, there were spelling mistakes, and every adjective seemed to be followed by ‘looking’, eg, imposing-looking, worn-looking, petite-looking, green-looking (???), garish-looking…….in fact, about 40 of them.
In theory, although typically predictable chick-lit, this had all the elements for a fun story, a funny story even. The author had a well-mapped plot, and it was neatly, although not unexpectedly, wrapped up, and she has a light, easy-to-read, uncomplicated style. In essence, all the perfect ingredients. It just lacked maturity and substance. I so wanted to like Hollie, but she was just irritating and rather vacuous.
On the whole, it wasn’t a bad attempt for a debut novel, but I think the author needs both a technical and developmental editor, especially if she wants to aim at an audience that's older than young teenagers.
August 8, 2012
Permanently Temping by Lauren Milner-Howells follows Hollie Cooper, a fresh and squeaky clean college graduate. When she walks into her first job after graduation, she realizes that the working world is going to take some getting used to, and she is going to need to make some adjustments. Not only does poor Hollie struggle in the career department, but she also struggles in matters of the heart. She searches high and low for a spark with her artsy new boyfriend while trying to stay away from her cheating ex (which she fails at ... miserably). Things start to look up as she has a chance meeting with a friend of her ex, but, will he be the answer to her prayers? Who will she end up with? And will her love life and career ever become more stable?
When I was first contacted about reviewing Permanently Temping, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've read a few novels that deal with career woes, and to be honest, they never intrigue me very much. But, this was so much more than that. Yes, as the title suggests, Hollie does take on her fair share of odd jobs here and there, but her experiences with each are often humorous and witty and I found myself laughing out loud a few times right along with Hollie. I thought Lauren did a terrific job at crafting a character who is naive, yet hopeful ... just like I was upon college graduation. I also kind of fell for Gavin and I found myself keeping my fingers crossed for them! Overall, a really light and fun read with an interesting plot twist.
[Rating: 4/5]
When I was first contacted about reviewing Permanently Temping, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've read a few novels that deal with career woes, and to be honest, they never intrigue me very much. But, this was so much more than that. Yes, as the title suggests, Hollie does take on her fair share of odd jobs here and there, but her experiences with each are often humorous and witty and I found myself laughing out loud a few times right along with Hollie. I thought Lauren did a terrific job at crafting a character who is naive, yet hopeful ... just like I was upon college graduation. I also kind of fell for Gavin and I found myself keeping my fingers crossed for them! Overall, a really light and fun read with an interesting plot twist.
[Rating: 4/5]
March 15, 2013
In her attempts to avoid having to go work for her father, Holly is thrown into all manner of temping jobs. Jobs that make Holly question if there is the 'perfect' job out there for her. She spends a lot of time writing out her career plans in her lovely new jazzy notebook, her funky pen and sparkly post-it notes to boot! However, Holly soon realises that perfect job might not be out there for her after all.
Thrown into the mix are 3 men who are determined to complicate Holly's life - James the sleazy ex. Stephen the current love interest who is just not floating Holly's boat and Gavin who gives her butterflies every time she sees him but is just out of reach. Could things get any weirder or confusing for poor Holly? Decisions need to be made with regards to Holly's career and her future happiness.
This was a nice quirky story. Holly is a totally ditzy character who often gets herself into the strangest of situations. She was at times infuriating but I could so identify with her, especially her passion for notebooks! She is overly naive and I found myself often groaning, 'oh Holly!' She can be a bit silly at times. Holly is luckier than she realises with 3 men in her life! In her search for the perfect job will Holly eventually find the perfect man? Does he even exist?
Its a fun rom-com with some laugh out loud moments. Its a feel-good story. Easy, light reading.
This is the sort of book that's perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon in front of the fire or lounging by the pool on your holidays.
Thrown into the mix are 3 men who are determined to complicate Holly's life - James the sleazy ex. Stephen the current love interest who is just not floating Holly's boat and Gavin who gives her butterflies every time she sees him but is just out of reach. Could things get any weirder or confusing for poor Holly? Decisions need to be made with regards to Holly's career and her future happiness.
This was a nice quirky story. Holly is a totally ditzy character who often gets herself into the strangest of situations. She was at times infuriating but I could so identify with her, especially her passion for notebooks! She is overly naive and I found myself often groaning, 'oh Holly!' She can be a bit silly at times. Holly is luckier than she realises with 3 men in her life! In her search for the perfect job will Holly eventually find the perfect man? Does he even exist?
Its a fun rom-com with some laugh out loud moments. Its a feel-good story. Easy, light reading.
This is the sort of book that's perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon in front of the fire or lounging by the pool on your holidays.
July 15, 2012
Hollie Cooper is fresh from University and her father feels it's time for her to have a job. He arranges for her to go to work at a law firm in hopes she will one day follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. Hollie has other ideas though. She isn't really sure what she wants to do, so she signs up with a temp agency. They send her to several different jobs and Hollie expresses her thoughts on each of them in her new career notebook. While trying to find a job, she's also trying to find love. At University she dated James. They broke up before they left University though. She met Stephen, an artist, but didn't have butterflies with him. Then there was Gavin. He made her melt every time he smiled at her. Hollie was trying to juggle all three men and her constant new jobs. It's a rough way to start adulthood but, will she finally find a career?
This book has a good story however, it seems a bit scattered. Hollie seems more like an unstable young woman than one trying to find a job. The love story is also good but it takes too long to get to the guy and then it's a quick ending. I did enjoy the book, but it might take a few moments of settling in before you can really see what's happening.
I found issues and stated them above.
I gave this one 3 out of 5 books because the story is just too fragmented.
This book has a good story however, it seems a bit scattered. Hollie seems more like an unstable young woman than one trying to find a job. The love story is also good but it takes too long to get to the guy and then it's a quick ending. I did enjoy the book, but it might take a few moments of settling in before you can really see what's happening.
I found issues and stated them above.
I gave this one 3 out of 5 books because the story is just too fragmented.
December 7, 2012
Hollie Cooper is a university graduate who signs up with a temp agency for an opportunity to try out lots of different jobs, before finally deciding on her permanent career choice. But it is not only her career life choice that Hollie must make a decision on; her love life also will face some tough choices.
Although a little cheesy in parts and slightly predictable, all in all not too bad a story, told in a warm light-hearted way with good humour and it managed to keep me entertained right up to the end.
Although a little cheesy in parts and slightly predictable, all in all not too bad a story, told in a warm light-hearted way with good humour and it managed to keep me entertained right up to the end.
September 4, 2012
A good story but lots of typos and errors. Shame.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews