Jo just can't figure out how it happened. One day she's blissfully cohabiting with Dan; the next she's moving out, wondering why Dan isn't chasing after her. Or at least suffering minor emotional trauma and sexual impotence. And was it really necessary for him to shack up with their amorous neighbor?
If only Jo could be someone else for a while -- someone who isn't newly single, freshly underemployed due to that bursting Internet bubble, and sharing her apartment with her father after he has decided to take a breather from her mother. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the anonymity of e-mail, she does just that: reinvents herself and strikes up a virtual friendship with Dan.
Of course, she's well aware that pretending to be someone else isn't the healthiest way to stay close to her ex. But who can be bothered with details when life takes a turn for the confusing? Throw in a scheming neighbor, a disapproving mother, a gorgeous Italian waiter and an appreciation for pop music and you have a comic caper that will keep you on your toes!
Kelly Harte is a British author known for her witty and heartfelt novels that explore love, life, and the joys of laughing through it all. Writing under her own name and the pseudonym Sheila Harris, she began her writing career later in life after raising a family and working in hospitality and tourism. Following her divorce, she pursued a master's degree in creative writing and found her voice through storytelling, with short stories broadcast by the BBC. Harte made her novel debut with Taking Possession in 1998, followed by Guilty Feet and Spitting Feathers, both published by Red Dress Ink. Her work often draws inspiration from personal experience, blending humor and emotional depth. In addition to her novels, she has developed television scripts and continues to explore new creative avenues.
I’ve picked this book up dozens of times and have put it back down. I’m relieved to have finally finished it. I’m one of those people who finishes a book; no matter how long it takes me. It read like a bad sitcom. There are breakups and affairs and misconceptions and conniving and assumptions that all lead to heartache and confusion and then predictably a happy ending.
I just finished up reading Kelly Harte's hilarious, Guilty Feet. Who would have thought that the 80s classic Careless Whisper would figure in so much in a novel?
If you find it unbelievable, you need to try Guilty Feet out.
The novel centers around Jo and Dan, two ex-lovers on the verge of something and the whacky people that live in the building that Dan does.
Jo moves out on Dan when he says something she considers (and many women) would consider unforgivable. But Jo, like many angry women leaves without telling him why or where she's going, and expects him to follow after her.
When he doesn't, she's miserable and to complicate matters, her job goes belly up and her father moves in with her, having decided he no longer wants to be married to her mother.
Jo's life is definitely chaos. So you can forgive her for creating a fiction person, Sarah Daly, who just starts up an email relationship with Dan, who is a music writer?
Sounds crazy?
Yes, definitely, but it makes for a funny read. Especially when there's a neighbor that has designs on Dan, another neighbor that Jo thinks is already hooking up with Dan and hot Italian waiter and his mother that run a local cafe.
The characters were all believable and funny. This book was more about relationships than sex, and that makes it all the more entertaining. Its also about second chances and you are definitely happy that they happen for Jo and Dan, though it takes the whole book for them to get back together.
This was great light reading and it definitely made me laugh over and over again. Its one for the keeper shelf.
I was not very impressed with the story because it was so hackneyed...posing as someone else to get the info on the object of your affection (be it a new or old flame) that you desire, which ultimately blows up in the your face when something 'slips'. I could not BELIEVE how ignorant the main character was throughout the book.
This was a fun, quick read. If you are looking for some light reading to take your mind off of things this is a great escape for a couple of hours. This is what I would define as the ultimate book in chick lit and why I love the genre so much.
I picked this book from a girl friend's goodwill pile. I thought it would be a fun summer read...and it was! Funny and relate-able. It is set in London, so the dialog and text are funny too. I would recommend this for a light fun read!
I started reading it and I came halfway through the book, when I had to put it down and declare defeat. I just couldn't read more of it. The book is just not for me, but maybe one day I will finish it...
I wasn't too impressed with this one. In my humble opinion, it was just generic, run of the mill chick-lit. Nothing special. I wouldn't bother reading it.