Millie's Fling

British novelist Orla Hart has a problem -- and Millie Brady is the solution. After her latest work of fiction is absolutely trashed by the media for its formulaic quality, Orla decides she needs to come up with an "authentic" storyline about "real" people, and after Millie pulls her from the edge of a cliff -- literally -- the plan seems to fall in her lap.

With check in hand, the recently unemployed Millie agrees to share all the details about her quiet life in Cornwall, England to become fodder for Orla's new creation. All seems well until Orla decides Millie's "real" life isn't nearly interesting enough and, as Millie has no other romantic prospects, begins to plan parties and other set-ups where she might meet an eligible bachelor. show more Dismayed but willing to concede that she might need some help with her love life, Millie goes along with some of the plans . . . until things begin to heat up with Hugh Emerson, an unlikely prospect who swiftly steals her heart.

Jill Mansell has such an easy, breezy and fun style, reading Millie's Fling was a pleasure; the plot got more and more interesting as time went on. After leaving her job at a travel agency, Millie takes a job as a singing gorilla -- literally -- and at that point, I decided I had definitely never read anything quite like this book! Millie's best friend and housemate Hester is charming for all her indecision and trouble, and I loved the friends' interactions. And, of course, I adored Hugh -- a likeable character despite how he tugs on Millie's heart strings.

Though Millie is definitely our main character, Mansell writes in third person -- we get to spend time in the heads of everyone at some point. Typically, I'm bothered by this -- I love having a narrator skewing my perspective on everything unfolding before me! But I actually thought it was fabulous how easily we could slip in and out of the minds of all our characters and see life through their eyes. Each of the many characters in the book felt real and fleshed-out -- not a mere sketch of a person with no back-story. Orla herself was larger-than-life and fun, and I found myself rooting for she and Millie both.

The only drawback to the story was, to me, the heft of it -- at almost 500 pages, I occasionally found myself wondering where this all was going and, yes, becoming a tad bored in the middle. Still, it ended perfectly -- and as a serious Anglophile, I loved all of the British slang and references! Mansell is a very talented writer who definitely tapped into the issues of love, work, friendship and moving on. I actually laughed out loud at several points in the book and closed it with a grin on my face. Millie's Fling didn't change my life, but it was a totally delightful way to spend a weekend! show less

Jill Mansell has surpassed herself once again in Millie's Fling. Chicklit and women's fiction readers will enjoy this spontaneous journey in Cornwall, England.

"Having ignored his plea, Millie promptly cannoned into the lamp-post behind her. Clutching her left shoulder and trying to pretend it hardly hurt at all--ow, ouch--she wondered why her life had to so closely resemble Mr. Bean's. What she wouldn't give to be sleek and chic and in control at all times." (Page 108-9 of ARC)

Millie is a down-to-earth girl, whose life is a bit like Mr. Bean's because she tends to fall into ridiculous situations unwittingly. Her roomie, Hester, is in a long-term relationship with an up-and-coming chef, Nat, but still has a flamethrower burning for an show more old love, Lucas Kemp. Millie's Fling is the age-old search for love and happiness, but this serendipitous journey is rounded out with Orla Hart, a highly successful author with marital problems whom Millie befriends atop a cliff.

Happily single, Millie consistently tries to keep her roomie on the right relationship track since Hester's boyfriend has taken a job in Glasgow to further his career as a chef. By chance, Millie stumbles upon a lost wallet in the bushes--a wallet that becomes the tie between her and Hugh Emerson, a young recently widowed computer specialist. Readers will giggle, tense up, and shake their heads as Hugh and Millie fumble through getting to know one another under impossible circumstances.

"'Two more things I can't stand,' said Hugh. 'Violent women. And girls who can't take a joke.'

'I hate men who wear nasty cheap aftershave.'

'What really annoys me is getting phone calls from people putting on ridiculous accents, asking me the answer to crossword clues.'

'That isn't true!' Millie exclaimed. 'You asked me to give you the clues. You were bursting to show off how clever you were. And that's something I really can't stand in a man.'" (Page 398 of ARC)

Mansell's dialogue between Millie and Hugh is fresh and witty; some of the best sequences involve them rattling off their favorite words or their most hated things about people, particularly at times when they are awkward with one another. Although there are some cliche moments in this novel, Mansell has well-developed characters on the edge of reality who bounce dialogue off one another in a way that makes the pages fly in Millie's Fling. show less

This has the trappings of a good story. A young woman called Millie keeps putting her foot in it, despite being kind-hearted and eager to help. But I didn’t particularly enjoy it. This is partly because viewpoints changed so often that I never got to know any of the characters. There’s a lot of action but also a lot of unnecessary and sometimes annoying introspection; I felt that the book could have done with significant editing.

Also depressing is the assumption that people who feel physical attraction for each other will leap into bed at the first opportunity. Perhaps this is meant to humorous, but I didn’t find it amusing; it doesn’t match with anybody I’ve ever met. I found it almost impossible to relate to people who show more could be so shallow.

It’s a pity, because the growing friendship between Millie a chance acquaintance called Hugh is nicely done, with some verbal sparring and kinship that's much more interesting than the ‘chemistry’ between them. On the positive side, the author closes the door on all bedroom scenes. There’s little or no bad language, either, which is refreshing in this kind of 'chick-lit' book.

Still, it's a lightweight novel (metaphorically speaking; it's quite long) and I completed it in just a few days. It would probably make good holiday reading. show less

There's nothing profound in this story but Millie is such an appealing character - funny and genuine and really nice. There's the requisite budding romance that is threatened by misunderstanding but it's done in a light-hearted way and pride never gets in the way. Fun bit of entertainment.

Picked up this book for free and wasn't expecting much to be honest. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a clever and cute little romance. Millie is a typical not-at-all-perfect heroine, stuck between jobs and with a mixed up family and a few wacky friends. The title really has little to do with the actual plot, which revolves a lot more around a strange novelist who wants to write about normal people - like Millie. Fun ensues.

The book is set in modern-day Britain, and despite being a romance is very PG-13, not R rated at all really. It's fluffy of course - don't dive into this expecting a literary classic - but is comparable to a good Romantic Comedy movie. I enjoyed this as a quick read between other books! Might even consider show more paying money to get another by Jill Mansell. :) show less

Millie’s Fling by Jill Mansell is a 2001 Headline Review publication.

This book is over twenty years old and it has been on my Goodreads TBR list for about half that time! Because I have been meaning to read a book by this author for such a long time, I figured I may as well start with this one so I could scratch it off my list.

Any book, no matter the genre, will suffer from some datedness- in most cases- to various degrees. Sometimes it is hard for me to fathom that 2001 was that long ago!! Were we still making fat shaming remarks- still thinking things like ‘ being gullible is a girl thing?’. Oy!

Okay, putting it all into perspective, I realize this book was meant to be lightweight, fluffy, and humorous. It was never intended show more to be taken all that seriously. As such, I’m not going to go to the trouble of writing up an in depth analysis of the book.
The long and short of it is that the book didn’t really work for me, overall. Occasionally, I did find myself engaged in some of the drama, but mostly the characters- male and female were annoying from start to finish and the book went on far longer than it needed to.

That said, I feel it is only fair to try one the author's later releases. She has a solid library of books, so maybe reading an up to date novel might work out better.

Overall, I can’t say I found this book to have very many redeeming qualities, unfortunately. I’m sure this is not the best representation of this author’s work, though- so maybe I’ll give her another try someday. show less

On the one hand, this is a fairly conventional piece of British chick lit. On the other hand, it is a semi-metafictive exploration of storytelling and the truth in relationships. Worth a read, even if you don't ordinarily read this sort of book.