The Little Lady Agency

I picked up this book expecting a light, fun read, and that’s pretty much what it delivered. Mel is similar to a lot of chick-lit heroines – career and love life both in disarray, horrible family, body image issues, a bit of a pushover – but her interest in old-fashioned etiquette and vintage clothing makes her somewhat unique. The plot is pretty implausible, too; I mean, she wears a wig when she’s pretending to be Honey, and somehow this makes her magically unrecognizable? But I did like how this book explored the idea of what it would be like to become someone else and finally do all the things you’d normally be too scared to do. The romance angle also intrigued me, but I’m a bit torn because there’s another man in the show more picture whom I prefer. The ending is fairly unsatisfying, but I guess that’s to be expected since there are two more books in the series. All in all, a fairly entertaining chick-lit read, and I’ve already picked up the sequels from the library. show less

I wonder if art colleges offer courses in chick-lit book-cover design? The cover of Hester Browne's [b:The Little Lady Agency|137098|The Little Lady Agency|Hester Browne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172087867s/137098.jpg|982677] screams CHICK-LIT and that's exactly what's sandwiched between the covers. And a marvelous example of the genre it is, too.

Melissa Romney-Jones is the daughter of a slimy and successful British politician. After losing her job with an up-market estate agency, she decides to sign up with a respectable escort service run by one of her former school teachers. One appointment with a client convinces her that the agency is less than respectable, so she decides to go into business herself, hiding her identity show more behind the flashy blonde persona of 'Honey'. She accomplishes the metamorphosis with ease, thanks to her innate managerial skills, her social connections, a blonde wig, a top-heavy hourglass figure, and the help of an awesome arsenal of military-grade girdles and corsets.

Business blossoms and she nets a perfect client: Jonathan, the new American boss of her former estate agency. Hot, handsome and rich.

I would have enjoyed this book immensely even if Ms Browne had limited the arc to Melissa/Honey, her ever-fascinating business assignments, and her growing relationship with super-client Jonathan.

It's a pity the author didn't ease off on some of the side stories: Mel's BFF relationship with her too-perfect male flatmate, her utterly dysfunctional family (Granny excepted), and the plot manipulation that leaves Mel wondering whether she should go for flatmate Nelson or client Jonathan.

Chick-lit is funny and frivolous by definition, but that doesn't absolve the author from taking as much care with the narrative and characterisation as she would for a straight romance or a suspense mystery.

Characters who didn't ring true because of a lack of information, or an over-abundance of false leads, were Mel's MP father, flatmate Nelson, sister Emma, and old friend Gabi.

I wasn't able to read the book in one sitting and had to put it aside overnight. The next morning, instead of returning to the book, I found myself exploring the latest batch of new publication emails from various publishers, and popping three or four ebooks into my shopping cart. I was tempted to start reading some these new acquisitions but pushed myself to resume [b:The Little Lady Agency|137098|The Little Lady Agency|Hester Browne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172087867s/137098.jpg|982677] and read it to the end. I'm glad I did, but the temporary loss of interest underlines some of the weaknesses in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable and very witty story with a memorable heroine. show less

If this hadn't been a book club book, I never would have picked it up. This is the kind of book I actively avoid, but I'm trying to, in fairness, judge this book against books in its genre rather than against the books I normally read. So here we go.

Melissa rubbed me the wrong way from the start. I wanted to shake her. And I felt like she was a bit of a Mary Sue. Everyone thinks she's so wonderful and loves her (unless they're her family or jealous of her), but I didn't see why. She's an extremely naive girl with rabidly low self-esteem. She's a pushover. She's extraordinarily bad at communicating. She escapes through Honey, her business venture personality. And while everyone else can see that Honey is really Melissa, Melissa feels show more like Honey is a completely different person. Through Honey, she can become more confident, feel sexy, and demand what she wants, but she doesn't think she can do this as Melissa.

I did like Honey, though. And as Melissa became more like Honey, I started liking her more and caring about what happened to her. By the end, I was trying to rush through to find out what happened before I had to rush off for work. Once the book picked up, I actually got into it.

I probably won't pick up the next one in the series, but reading this was an enjoyable experience and a pleasant surprise. show less

The description on the back of the book made this sound like something I might love, something akin to Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary about love and career in contemporary London. From that description, the heroine, Melissa Romney-Jones sounds like a competent and up and coming entrepreneur, who has started her own business that sounds a bit like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, only with a posh Brit gal showing clueless blokes the way. I could read from the beginning that Browne is no Crusie or Fielding or Hornby, but I felt there was enough humor and warmth in Melissa's first person voice that this might be an enjoyable read. Melissa sounded at first like that utterly competent backbone of an office show more that keeps things running.

Unfortunately, the more I read, the more she came across as a ditz I wanted to back away slowly from, and not at all in the lovable quirky identifiable Bridget Jones way. The deal-breaker for me was when after being sacked, she decides she's going to take a position in an escort agency. I didn't even want to stay around for the comic turn on prostitution that would lead to her creating her own agency. The whole thing made Melissa--and this novel--just too stupid for me to put up with for one more page. show less

I'll just start this review off by saying: I'm torn after reading this book.The Little Lady Agency is the first in a three part series starring Melissa Romney-Jones, a girl who has been fired - once again - from her job and has no clue where to go from there. Extremely organized and good at soothing the ruffled feathers of her co-workers and friends, Melissa, after a string of highly amusing events and coincidences, decides to open her own agency specially marketed to those blokes who have more than a little trouble organizing their lives. Whether it be a clothes makeover, someone to advise them on asking a girl out, posing as a girlfriend to get matchmaking mamas off their backs, or just firing the hired help, Melissa can handle show more anything with her no-nonsense attitude - everything except for laundry and sex that is.Only thing is, Melissa doesn't want to be recognized due to her politically prominent family and thus dons a blonde wig and an alternate personality, Honey during 'business hours'. As Honey, Melissa wears tighter clothing and can make the honest yet somewhat brutal remarks accommodating Melissa would never dream of uttering. Even though her wonderful friends Nelson and Gabi insist that side of Melissa has always been there, she can't see it.Okay, so now for my reasons for not totally being wowed by this one. I mean, at times, it's hilarious. Melissa gets into some laugh-out-loud situations with her awkward bachelors and her family had me in stitches to no end. My beef comes with her choice in men. I know Ms. Browne was going for a whole passion-over-friendship thing but I really don't see her decision working out for her in the end. I don't want to spoil it here, but if you too are feeling less than pleased with how things end up, let me know cause I am more than a little miffed at her decision. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book - the characters were great, it was surprisingly clean for a 'chick book', and it dealt with all things London and English. My idea of a good time. show less

I found the Little Lady Agency to be a charming book. I was very impressed at the detailed and meticulous way in which Browne developed her character and the story line. Often in books such as this, the story goes along just fine, and then rushes into a whirlwind end where everything magically clears up. It is refreshing to read a book that gave as much care and detail to the last fifty pages as it did to the first fifty.
Beyond all that, I enjoyed reading a fairly fresh and non-traditional storyline. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

Picked this one up while browsing at the public library. I'm so glad I did because I just loved it. This is the kind of book I am always searching for. The heroine is delightfully quirky and insecure -- the hero is handsome and way too good for her (she thinks) -- and the supporting characters are likable and fun. I loved this book and immediately tried to obtain the rest of Hester Browne's works. So far, I've only found one - Little Lady Agency and the Big Apple.