Chloe Sparrow

by Lesley Crewe

Chloe Sparrow is a twenty-five-year-old TV producer with a hit show on her hands. The Single Guy is a popular new reality series, where dozens of women are trying to woo bachelor veterinarian Austin Hawke. As the filming gets underway, though, accident-prone Chloe finds herself in one predicament after another: a wayward puck hits her in the face during a hockey game, she sprains her ankle at a dude ranch, and she falls out of a boat at high speed. But Chloe has bigger problems. The stress of her home life with her nutty but loveable Gramps and Aunt Ollie is getting to her, her job is consuming her, and painful memories from her past threaten to overwhelm her. To top it off, her co-worker Amanda is pressuring her to find a boyfriend. It doesn't take long before Chloe realizes that not having all her wishes come true might not be such a bad idea.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

Lesley grew up in Montreal, PQ. After graduating from Concordia University with a degree in English and Education, she and her hubby settled down in Homeville, Cape Breton and raised a family.

From 2000-2005, Lesley was a features writer and columnist (Home Fires) for Cape Bretoner Magazine, and from 2005-2009, a columnist (Lesley's Letters) with the on-line magazine, Cahoots.

In 2005 her first novel, Relative Happiness, was published by Vagrant Press, the fiction imprint of Nimbus Publishing. It was an instant bestseller, and was shortlisted for the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. She has since written nine other novels.

In 2012, Relative Happiness was optioned for film, and in 2014, Lesley's characters came to life on the big screen. The movie was produced by Wreckhouse Productions, directed by Deanne Foley, and stars Australian Melissa Bergland (Winners and Losers), and homegrown Canadian talent like Susan Kent (This Hour has 22 Minutes), Jonathan Torrens (Mr. D, Trailer Park Boys), and Rob Welles (Trailer Park Boys).

Reviews

[Dave Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. What a lot of fun. As the main character gets her life together, I kept thinking to myself "Lesley Crewe is turning this Toronto gal into a Maritimer..." and sure enough, about 40 pages from the end, Chloe utters the phrase "God love her." And I thought to myself: transformation complete.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became a fan of Leslie Crewe while reading The Spoon Stealer (LOVED), and decided to try another of her books. Chloe Sparrow was an easy, amusing read. The main character, Chloe, initially worked for the CBC in the story. I felt that this book had a CBC 'vibe' to it, which I found enjoyable. I will be reading more books by Leslie Crewe.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chloe Sparrow by Lesley Crewe was our Book Club choice for the month of September. We all enjoyed reading this story about Chloe Sparrow.
Chloe Sparrow is a 25-year-old TV producer with a hit show on her hands. The Single Guy is a popular new reality series, where dozens of women are vying for the attention of bachelor veterinarian Austin Hawke. As filming gets underway, though, accident prone Chloe finds herself in one predicament after another: a wayward hockey puck smacks her unconscious, she badly sprains her ankle at a dude ranch, and she is knocked out of a moving sailboat.
And that’s not all. Chloe’s Homelife with her nutty, but loveable Gramps and Aunt Ollie is exasperating, her job is consuming her, and painful memories from the past are threatening to overwhelm her. To top it off, her coworker Amanda is pressuring her to finally find a boyfriend. But just as Chloe risks falling further into despair, she finds a help she needs in the most unexpected places.
Bridget Jones’s fans will love Chloe Sparrow’s madcap cross-Canada tour!
4.5 stars

[Eileen Mackintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much to love about this story. The easy writing style, the characters, the cats and dogs and the happy ending. There are mental health issues, a love story and humour. I read it in a day and can easily recommend.

[La_Renza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lesley Crewe is one of my favourite authors, and I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her so far. I even have more of her books on hold, eagerly waiting. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.

While some of Crewe’s signature humour shines through and gave me a few genuinely delightful moments, the main character, Chloe, was almost unbearable. I found her irritating on nearly every level, which made it hard to stay engaged.

Adding to that, the reality TV backdrop was a tough sell for me. I genuinely dislike the genre, so the premise already put me on the back foot.

This won’t stop me from reading more of Crewe’s work, but this particular book was a miss.

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This ought to have been two books: about halfway through, the plot just kind of ends but there still 150 pages left. The shift bothered me a lot, especially considering the slog the back half of the book is.

The hard part about basing a novel around a single characters is that that character has to be likable in some way - and Chloe Sparrow really isn’t. Getting her to change even the smallest amount takes Herculean effort and ultimately doesn’t make for good reading. And I don’t think she truly redeemed herself.

I really enjoyed the character work though! For as many characters as there are, they’re all unique and easy to keep track of. This includes animals, as those grow in number as the book progresses.

Overall I don’t think this book was for me - I really enjoyed the first half of this book and wish we got more of that experience.

[Deb Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buckle up, friends, and get ready for yet another romp of a read by Lesley Crewe. Chloe Sparrow is in her mid twenties, living a very narrow and hobbled life in Toronto and traumatized by the accidental death of her parents 10 years earlier. When she’s tapped to produce a Bachelor-type reality series for the CBC, that’s when the fun starts.

There were times when I wanted to shake Chloe and thankfully some characters did that for me. I had some laugh out loud moments with this book, and a couple of tearful ones as well.

I would LOVE to see this made into a TV movie, the characters are that richly drawn and believable. 5 out of 5 stars for this very entertaining book.

[AMacD80 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really enjoy this book, unfortunately. It was trying to be funny in parts, but it ended up being silly. Ideas were thrown out, but didn’t really go anywhere. It was difficult to keep some characters straight as there was very little development. I have read other Lesley Crewe books and enjoyed them, but this one fell flat. I still plan to read her newer books, but I wouldn’t recommend this one.

[Maearle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe is a bit quirky but why wouldn’t she be? Life events have affected her, a grandfather and Aunt that are like our own relatives, more than we care to admit. We all have a little Chloe in us, unsure of ourselves, keeping busy so as not to have to face the inevitable and a desire to just do good and help others. For anyone who finds the story a little unbelievable, isn’t that why we read fiction?

[Sue Slade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today was my holiday reading day and Lesley Crewe’s Chloe Sparrow had me chuckling for most of it. The book was not only highly entertaining, but it had a cast of quirky, well-developed characters I’ve come to expect from Crewe. I am looking forward to reading another of her novels.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Brian Coxhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, fun story

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read! What a joy to read

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised that this book was in Cabbagetown and Chloe went up to Markham!
What can I say…..I am a Lesley Crewe fan!
Happy reading 📖

[Chloe Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Lesley Crewe book! Love!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm on a bit of a Lesley Crewe marathon, having only recently discovered her writing. I picked this up from the library Saturday, started reading it yesterday, and finished the final two chapters this morning. When I read the back to find it was about the producer of Bachelor-like reality show, I was a bit disappointed as reality shows don't rock my boat even a little. However I really liked her previous books that I'd read, so I dug in. I was ever so pleasantly surprised. I could hardly put the book down to do what I needed to do in the day. I smiled much of the way through the first third of the book,(while enjoying the jaunts to several familiar Canadian tourist attractions)until things became more serious and Chloe sunk into her depression. I thought the plot line was credible although I have no experience in journalism in any form. The book itself was a bit more like Ava Comes Home, in that the characters were (fictional) celebrities. It is convenient (and certainly it makes outcomes easier) that the protagonist in several of Crewe's books have no money issues. Although having a large inheritance in the bank doesn't ensure happiness as we see in these novels, it certainly helps in attaining every day needs. That aside, I really enjoyed reading this book, and came to be quite fond of the character Chloe.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had read all of Lesley Crewe’s books, as she is a writer whose work I enjoy. However, I discovered I missed an earlier one, her third novel. It was an interesting experience to go back and read this earlier work as it shows how much her writing has developed and improved over the years.

Chloe lost her parents when she was fifteen. She feels responsible for their deaths as they both died on the same day from an accident after she had argued with them. Their ghosts still haunt the family home she has inherited and lives in, a Victorian row house in Cabbagetown in Toronto next door to the home of her aunt and grandfather. Her parents were University of Toronto professors and expected great things of her; they are never far from her mind or from her belief she caused their deaths.

Chloe is now twenty-five and considers herself a modern woman, a vegetarian who is concerned for the environment and loves animals. As a child growing up, she was never allowed a pet, but she now has a cat named Norton who she adores and considers her best friend. She focuses all her attention on Norton and her career as she doesn’t have much else in life beside listening to the constant arguing, snapping and hollering from Gramps and Aunt Ollie next door. She has a good job at the CBC, has always received excellent evaluations for her work and is respected by her boss Mr. Gardner. The CBC office is in downtown Toronto where Chloe and her friend Amanda are assistant producers and editors for television productions. Amanda is ten years older, married with two children and always pestering Chloe about the fact she is getting older and needs a boyfriend, but Chloe is perfectly happy on her own.

There are rumors at the office about a new show and Chloe and Amanda been called to the boss’s office, each hoping to hear that whatever it is, they will be chosen to produce it. Chloe has long held a mysterious belief that she can make things happen just by wishing them so, a belief that gets her out of some scrapes and into others. She is careful how and when she uses this special power, not knowing how many wishes she has and whether she should use one in hopes of getting this new job, but she takes a chance and wishes it to be so.

Mr. Garner announces that the CBC is going to produce its first reality show, a Canadian version of the Bachelor which was a runaway hit on American television. He appoints Chloe as the field producer and Amanda as her assistant. Chloe is not very confident about this. It is not a show about political espionage or drug cartels or anything she knows something about. It is about bachelors and bimbos and it all feels a little sleezy. The show, will be called “The Single Guy” and will feature a single, good looking young man who gets to choose a young woman to marry from a bevy of preselected women he gets to know and date during pre-planned events and romantic evening dates.

Chloe remains wary about the project, but she and Amanda begin casting. One of the applications for the role of bachelor comes from Dr. Austin Hawke, a veterinarian who has treated Norton. Austin recently opened his practice but is still struggling to pay off his student loans and egged on by his sister, decided to compete for the role of bachelor. After he and twenty beautiful young women have been selected, Chloe and Amanda begin planning the twelve weeks over which the show will be filmed. They chose a number of well-known tourist sites across Canada as locales and organize fun activities so Austin and his chosen dates can get to know each other.

Chloe usually sticks close to home, so accompanying her crew on the various locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Niagara Falls and Quebec City opens a world she has never experienced. During this project she takes her first plane trip, sails on a yacht, plays hockey, rides a donkey on a dude ranch and walks a suspension bridge. She rides a cable car, zip lines through the scenery at Whistler, attends a male strip show and races a go-kart. During these excursions, it becomes clear that Chloe is accident prone, never too far from a mishap no matter what she is doing and frequently ends up in the Emergency Rooms of the cities they visit.

She finds it challenging keeping everyone on track, halting unplanned wet T-shirt contests and other lewd and indecency behavior and trying to enforce a level of decorum. She must handle the women’s constant complaints, calm the bitching and backstabbing, endure the antics of drama queens, solve the endless arguments and catfights, and endure the tears, meltdowns and disappointment when Austin dismisses one of the women. She must even negotiate the snits between crew members while she tries to keep herself in one piece through concussions, a sprained ankle and a broken nose, fingers and wrist. Moderating the antics that erupt during filming is a delicate balance, as she knows the havoc it creates is good for ratings.

The experience changes Chloe’s life in many ways she never expected, altering her relationship with the CBC, softening her ties with her troublesome Aunt and Grandfather, negotiating a more authentic relationship with her friend Amanda and ultimately with the star of her show.

Crewe’s ability to create quirky, loveable characters and comic dialogue is clearly evident in this early book. It is those elements that make her writing so enjoyable. However, although the first part of the narrative is hilarious and plays out at a good pace, the middle sags as the pace slows and she loses control of the story which goes off on several tangents. I did not enjoy it as much as her later work, which is more complex, delves into deeper themes, social circumstances and includes more complex characters, but it clearly shows how much she has developed as a writer.

[Cathy Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like reality shows so that aspect of the book didn't appeal to me that much. Also the character of Chloe Sparrow was a bit much and I found her irritating and wondered why a great guy like Austin would put up with her as she was insufferable. I liked the humour at first and her relatives were funny but then it became a bit like a farce but with a heavy depressing tone of her depression over her parents' death weighing things down. I liked her other books better than this one.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe Sparrow is 25, she lost both parents when she was 15 but as her grandfather and aunt lived next door, she was allowed to remain in her home. Their houses share some walls and her relatives fight like cats and dogs just like her parents did. Her aunt never married, her fiancee died just before they were to be married. Aunt Ollie still talks about their proposed wedding even though it he was killed about thirty years earlier, much to her father's lament. She's in her early 50's and still wears curlers in her hair all day long!

Chloe has worked her way up in the CBC to the role of a producer and when the network decides to create a reality show for the first time, Chloe is chosen to be the producer. The show, The Single Guy will star a handsome eligible bachelor and twenty beautiful bachelorettes. Together with the crew, they will travel to different parts of Canada to explore the sights and give the bachelor an opportunity to figure out which woman he is in love with at the end.

The series starts off well but before long, Chloe seems to have one mishap after another and ends up in the Emergency department. It seems Austin, the eligible bachelor is always the first one at her side or to rescue her.

Chloe has always been so solely focused on her career that she often forgets to take care of herself including eating properly. When her doctor insists she take time off work to eat and take care of herself, she complies. It doesn't take long before another mishap occurs and Chloe has had enough!

The book is hilarious as we follow Chloe through her ups and downs. She struggles when life throws her a curve ball but we can only cheer her on as she finds the strength to turn her life around. Love this author, this is the third book of hers I've read and to me, it's her best! I plan on choosing it for my next book club, there's much to discuss!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up because the author's "Recipe for a Good Life" was a recent 5/5-star read for me. I really like the premise of this book. It's set in Toronto in 2011 and was originally published in 2014.

Chloe Sparrow, a quirky, twenty-five year old employee at the CBC, gets stuck producing a new Canadian version of The Bachelor called The Single Guy. The only eligible bachelor chosen for the show happens to be Chloe's cat's good-looking veterinarian, who needs the money to pay off his student loans. Neither one of them wants to be filming a reality show, but they soon develop a friendship that has the potential of deeper feelings. Problem is, dozens of bachelorettes keep getting in the way, while at the same time Chloe keeps getting injured during every extreme sport group date she produces for the cast members. The bachelor spends most of his time rescuing accident-prone Chloe instead of getting to know the other women vying for his attention.

The beginning is fun! Then about midway the fun just sort of fell off for me. Chloe's selfishness and self-absorption becomes annoying. She hasn't dealt with grief from her past, and while it's understandable that would make it difficult for her to commit to relationships, she doesn't treat people in her life well and wants to fix everyone else's issues instead of her own. I would've liked more character development, less slapstick earlier on.

[Marcelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not fond of reality TV shows so when I read the back cover I thought "Yikes, big mistake". Was I ever wrong! I ended up really liking this book - I was unable to put it down. Yes, it's a bit over the top but that's why we read fiction, right?

The author, Lesley Crewe, created quite the character in Chloe Sparrow. As I kept reading, I kept thinking this could be Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich's character) but without the guns and gangsters. Both authors create hilarious situations for their main characters who always seem to get themselves in (and out of) unbelievable situations.

Quirky relatives, being stuck in a "time lapse"unable to move on, depression and having to learn coping mechanisms all interwoven with hilarious situations - this made great summer reading. I alternated between being very annoyed with, and loving, Chloe but I suspect that was the author's goal.

[Debbie Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As most of you know by now, Lesley Crewe has fast become one of my favourite authors. This book was adorable. 25 year old Chloe Sparrow, an orphan at 15, she lives alone in her family home with Aunt Ollie & Gramps next door. She works for CBC and wants her big break and it comes along with a new Canadian reality show, The Single Guy. There are lots of laugh out loud moments and the most endearing set of characters. A solid 4.5 🌟 for the sheer fact that I love her writing, her books makes me smile and that’s enough!!

[Edwina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chloe is the most annoying person ever. I didn't even come close to liking her until she adopted the dog, then of course she goes over the top and adopts two more dogs and a parrot. Sorry if this is a spoiler.

She goes over the top about everything, whether it's eating, not eating, working, not working, living in a dump for twenty years, or going all gung-ho to decorate like her life depended on it.

She makes me tired.

[vicinthemeadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a funny, fast, quirky read! Chloe is a 25 year old producer creating a Bachelor-style show at CBC (love how Canadian this author made the book!) with her cats vet as the star of the show. I won’t give away more than that except to say this writing style had me hooked in! Chloe’s family had me laughing out loud, and she’s written so relatably as to the ebbs and flows of a 25 year old. This was a second hand store find, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new favourite Canadian writer! Lots of quirky characters and snappy dialogue. Orphaned Chloe is producing a CBC bachelor reality series featuring a handsome vet. All the girls on the show behave badly, as they tend to on reality tv, plus Chloe has terrible luck and keeps getting injured on location. She lives next door to her weird aunt and grumpy grandfather. She is just a bad luck magnet. Great fun!

[Lisa Wolsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The main character works for the CBC and becomes the producer of a Bachelor style reality show. The characters are quirky and likeable and the story evolves into more than just a hilarious tale of an awkward woman and her life.
This author wrote The Spoon Stealer; which is one of my favourite books of all time.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear, I thought I was really going to like this one, based on the two other Lesley Crewe books I've read which I gave 4 star ratings to. I just could not warm up to Chloe, she seemed like 25 going on 80 and just too odd for me. There were some fun bits in the cross country filming of The Single Guy but it was a chore to finish the book.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a delightful juxtaposition of Kristan Higgins and Sophie Kinsella. The first half of the book went off with a bang; however, I felt the author just drew the story out too long in the second half. I felt myself saying enough already.
Overall, a good read!

[Beingannamg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, light, playful book with engaging characters. At times it made me laugh out loud. While the novel appears to be about love and friendships, it seems to me it is more about the journey of grief. Chloe needs to learn about herself, and the way in which grief has influenced who she has become.