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Sitting Pretty
Professional pet-sitter Beth believes her Greek boyfriend, Alex is the one. So when he’s offered a job in Dubai, he and Beth marry so they can move there together. But on the day they’re due to fly to their new life, Alex says their marriage was a mistake and ends it. By phone. Beth is suddenly husbandless and homeless. Distraught, and with her life in turmoil, when her old boss asks a favour she agrees on autopilot, and goes to feed Talisker the cat, whose handsome but dour owner Henry travels one week in three. Finding herself in luxury surroundings, with nowhere to go and determined not to hear her mother’s “I told you so”, she sleeps on Henry’s sofa. Next day, Beth has her job back and a plan. For the time being, she’ll quietly stay in her clients’ homes until she can convince Alex that this is all a big mistake. She’s pretty sure squatting’s against the law, but if she’s careful, no one need find out … until the mysterious Henry comes home unexpectedly.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2016
2 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 11, 2018
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Sitting Pretty
by April Hardy
Title: Sitting Pretty
Author: April Hardy
Publisher: Accent Press
ISBN: 178615109X
Date of Publication: 7th July 2016
Date of Review: 1st March 2018
Synopsis:
Professional pet-sitter, Beth, believes her Greek boyfriend, Alex, is the one, so when he’s offered a job in Dubai, they marry so they can move there together. But on the day they’re due to fly out, Alex ends it. By phone. Distraught, her old boss asks a favour and she agrees on autopilot – feeding Talisker the cat, whose handsome but dour owner Henry travels constantly.
Determined not to hear her mother’s ‘I told you so’ she soon has plan – she’ll quietly stay in her clients’ homes until she can convince Aex that this is all a big mistake. She’s pretty sure squatting’s against the law but if she’s careful. No one need find out …. Until Henry comes back unexpectedly.
My Review
Sitting pretty is a fun and uplifting chick-lit style novel and was just what I needed to chillax after a busy week.
Written in first-person, the novel is structured around fairly short chapters, so it’s easy to pick up and put down without losing where you are – not that you are going to want to put it down. It has a linear narrative and is set in and around a village called Netley Parva. This village setting, where everybody knows each other, makes the protagonist’s goal to squat in one of her client’s empty homes even more challenging.
The story includes all the elements needed for a satisfying read within its genre. A likeable heroine that you root for from the beginning, an ex that you want to see get his comeuppance, and a rich and handsome hero that solves all the heroine’s problems. Not forgetting the cute and charismatic cat. Despite being dumped and nursing a broken heart, Beth picks herself up and does what she needs to do to get back on track. There is none of this flaky ‘ooo I can’t do that’ nonsense. The house is empty, she needs a house, so she stays there. I really liked that about this character.
Just because its an easy fun read, don’t make the mistake of thinking it won’t keep you on the edge of your seat – because at times it does. There are also twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.
This book reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s Undomestic Goddess, and Sitting Pretty now sits alongside this book on my favourites shelf.
I recommend this book to anybody who likes Sophie Kinsella, Carole Matthews, Jill Mansell, or Philippa Ashley. This is a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read this author’s next novel Kinds Hearts & Coriander. I give Sitting Pretty a five star rating.
Sitting Pretty
by April Hardy
Title: Sitting Pretty
Author: April Hardy
Publisher: Accent Press
ISBN: 178615109X
Date of Publication: 7th July 2016
Date of Review: 1st March 2018
Synopsis:
Professional pet-sitter, Beth, believes her Greek boyfriend, Alex, is the one, so when he’s offered a job in Dubai, they marry so they can move there together. But on the day they’re due to fly out, Alex ends it. By phone. Distraught, her old boss asks a favour and she agrees on autopilot – feeding Talisker the cat, whose handsome but dour owner Henry travels constantly.
Determined not to hear her mother’s ‘I told you so’ she soon has plan – she’ll quietly stay in her clients’ homes until she can convince Aex that this is all a big mistake. She’s pretty sure squatting’s against the law but if she’s careful. No one need find out …. Until Henry comes back unexpectedly.
My Review
Sitting pretty is a fun and uplifting chick-lit style novel and was just what I needed to chillax after a busy week.
Written in first-person, the novel is structured around fairly short chapters, so it’s easy to pick up and put down without losing where you are – not that you are going to want to put it down. It has a linear narrative and is set in and around a village called Netley Parva. This village setting, where everybody knows each other, makes the protagonist’s goal to squat in one of her client’s empty homes even more challenging.
The story includes all the elements needed for a satisfying read within its genre. A likeable heroine that you root for from the beginning, an ex that you want to see get his comeuppance, and a rich and handsome hero that solves all the heroine’s problems. Not forgetting the cute and charismatic cat. Despite being dumped and nursing a broken heart, Beth picks herself up and does what she needs to do to get back on track. There is none of this flaky ‘ooo I can’t do that’ nonsense. The house is empty, she needs a house, so she stays there. I really liked that about this character.
Just because its an easy fun read, don’t make the mistake of thinking it won’t keep you on the edge of your seat – because at times it does. There are also twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.
This book reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s Undomestic Goddess, and Sitting Pretty now sits alongside this book on my favourites shelf.
I recommend this book to anybody who likes Sophie Kinsella, Carole Matthews, Jill Mansell, or Philippa Ashley. This is a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read this author’s next novel Kinds Hearts & Coriander. I give Sitting Pretty a five star rating.
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January 4, 2017I am really confused as I read the same book by April Hardy but the plot is different! Does anybody know how can we add this book onto Goodreads?
'Professional pet-sitter Beth believes her Greek boyfriend, Alex is the one. So when he’s offered a job in Dubai, he and Beth marry so they can move there together. But on the day they’re due to fly to their new life, Alex says their marriage was a mistake and ends it. By phone. Beth is suddenly husbandless and homeless. Distraught, and with her life in turmoil, when her old boss asks a favour she agrees on autopilot, and goes to feed Talisker the cat, whose handsome but dour owner Henry travels one week in three. Finding herself in luxury surroundings, with nowhere to go and determined not to hear her mother’s “I told you so”, she sleeps on Henry’s sofa. Next day, Beth has her job back and a plan. For the time being, she’ll quietly stay in her clients’ homes until she can convince Alex that this is all a big mistake. She’s pretty sure squatting’s against the law, but if she’s careful, no one need find out … until the mysterious Henry comes home unexpectedly.'
'Professional pet-sitter Beth believes her Greek boyfriend, Alex is the one. So when he’s offered a job in Dubai, he and Beth marry so they can move there together. But on the day they’re due to fly to their new life, Alex says their marriage was a mistake and ends it. By phone. Beth is suddenly husbandless and homeless. Distraught, and with her life in turmoil, when her old boss asks a favour she agrees on autopilot, and goes to feed Talisker the cat, whose handsome but dour owner Henry travels one week in three. Finding herself in luxury surroundings, with nowhere to go and determined not to hear her mother’s “I told you so”, she sleeps on Henry’s sofa. Next day, Beth has her job back and a plan. For the time being, she’ll quietly stay in her clients’ homes until she can convince Alex that this is all a big mistake. She’s pretty sure squatting’s against the law, but if she’s careful, no one need find out … until the mysterious Henry comes home unexpectedly.'
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2017
I have never read a RomCom book in my life, but this book has completely changed my opinion about the genre. Beth is a very likeable character and you can relate to her very easily. As a reader, you root for this character from beginning to the end. It is tragic, yet delightful at the same time. It's a real page-turner, as you constantly want to know what life has in store for Beth. I love the fact that the chapters are short, so I can get through a few chapters every night (usually between 11:30pm-12am). I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book, 'Kind Hearts and Coriander.' Well done April, on your first debut!
May 21, 2018
This is definitely a feel-good story, but the book is almost over before anything happens, and it's not a particularly short book. Beth is fun and her relationships with the animals she sits are entertaining, although I did lose interest in them after a while.
Even though Beth has to be given time to come to terms with being dumped by her husband, it did feel strange reading a rom-com in which the other half of the rom appears so late in the book. When he does appear, though, I had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen between them.
I did hope to find out why Beth's husband dumped her so that I could dislike him even more, but that remains a mystery.
Even though Beth has to be given time to come to terms with being dumped by her husband, it did feel strange reading a rom-com in which the other half of the rom appears so late in the book. When he does appear, though, I had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen between them.
I did hope to find out why Beth's husband dumped her so that I could dislike him even more, but that remains a mystery.
June 27, 2017
A light, fun read with engaging characters and enough twists to the story to keep you hooked until the end. April tells the story with humour and Beth is an endearing character. There was one awful moment when I thought that she and Alex were actually getting back together again and was mentally shouting “Nooo!” Love the hero and the heart-warming ending.
December 5, 2017
Sorry just found this book rather boring, kept waiting for something exciting to happen or at least feel some emotion, even the ending was bland. No explanation as to why her husband did what he did, totally wasted my time with this book
February 12, 2021
This book wasn't bad - it just wasn't my kind of book. Nothing much happened in it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews