Little Lady, Big Apple

I am a great proponent of the smart girl's right to read trashy books; life is hard enough without having to struggle through Dostoevsky once you get home. Leave that to the 15-year-olds who think that it's going to impress anyone. A guilty pleasure, but at least it was a pleasure and, come to think of it, bollocks to feeling guilty about it. Like I said – life's tough, and sometimes all you want is fluff. And, yes, I know that was an unfortunate rhyme.

That said, if Honey doesn't figure out who she's actually in love with pretty damn quick, I shall leap into the pages and throttle her.

I must have been drunk when I thought I liked the first one. Except I don't drink. I don't think I can read any more of these, "I love my man! He's perfect! But he finds things I do imperfect, so he's going to break up with me and I will be sad and then we will get back together," books.

This sequel pales beside the original. The main character, who so appealed in the first for her strength of character, presents – with 1½ middling exceptions – as a weak-kneed pushover of a doormat in this one. If only her character would grow between and in books! But, instead, she seems to be regressing into a morass of naïvetée and insecurity.

I wanted to like this sequel, I really did; but her transatlantic schizophrenia was just too infuriating.

Melissa Romney-Jones transformed her blah life from being a doormat to her family and having horrible jobs to being the proud owner of a successful business, The Little Lady Agency, where she turns awkward bachelors into eligible men and scoring the boyfriend of her dreams, Mr. Perfect Himself, Jonathan (affectionately known as Remington Steele or Dr. No by Mel's friends). Business is booming and Mel is happier than ever when her flatmate and best friend, Nelson, tells her he is leaving for a few months during which their apartment will be undergoing severe renovations - translation: Mel has to find someplace new to live, fast. When Jonathan suggests she move to New York with him for the 2 months, Mel is hesitant to leave her clients, show more family, and London lifestyle.Eventually she is persuaded to join him in the Big Apple, but once she arrives, Melissa finds it hard to compete with Jonathan's seemingly perfect Park Avenue friends, his demanding job, and the memories of his ever present ex-wife. Jonathan also forbids(!) Mel from employing her trade (aka helping out hapless chaps) while in New York and forbids her to wear The Wig. Oh no he didn't! The Wig is what transforms Melissa into her alter-ego Honey who wears skinny pencil skirts, has better manners than the Queen, and can plan any event in her sleep. Melissa agrees but out of loneliness and her very nice personality gets dragged into helping a fellow Londoner turned actor clean up his image. Things get very tricky in a hurry.This second installment in Browne's Little Lady Agency series was good fun. The first I liked much more since this one was more uncomfortable with all the garbage Mel puts up with. That said, I like Melissa, not only is she funny, charming and so well mannered, but she happens to be so organized I'm envious. I only wish she'd learn to not let people (including Remington Steele himself) bulldoze her. And Nelson, oh how I adore you Nelson. Ever present with your fabulous home-cooked meals, foot rubs, and amazing advice, I think you are The Perfect Man. I'm crossing my fingers that some relationship rearranging will occur in the next installment. show less

While I enjoyed whiling away a bit of holiday time with this sequel to The Little Lady Agency, I could never quite shake the feeling that Melissa would be well shot of Jonathan at the end of it all. Browne needed to work a little harder at proving to us that Jonathan really is the one for Melissa (and not wonderful Nelson) - I'm afraid turning up on one's doorstep looking a little rough and stubbly isn't quite enough; they should have discovered each other's imperfections (I'm sure this would have been humourous) rather than have Granny (who is, for the record awesome and probably ought to have several novels of her own) smooth things over with a bit of advice and exposition. Nevertheless, good enjoyable fluff that doesn't spoil your show more appetite. show less

Melissa agrees to leave the Agency and go vacation in New York while Jonathan tries to impress his boss into letting him, eventually, run the company. Melissa's helpful and exuberent personality as well as the stereotype of pushy demanding New Yorkers conspire to cause trouble for Jonathan and Melissa.

I finished this book and found, overall, that it was enjoyable, but it wasn't as good as the first one. It was entertaining, but jumps all around, tries to cram too much into the book (which is relatively long anyway) and parts were incomprehensible. What is the deal with Melissa's dad and his cheese thing? Is that whole section written so the reader is as confused as Melissa? Why was Jonathan always referring to a 'client' rather than show more being upfront with Melissa about who the clients were? Are New Yorkers really that uncaring about other people's feelings?

While the various parts of the story are resolved in the end, some themes grow up in the book that were not that enjoyable or believable. Jonathan becomes very controlling over Melissa, and especially what he wants her to do with the Agency. The ending is a little strange, though it ends positively.

Melissa's family is obnoxious and I would run screaming from them so fast, it would make your head spin.

Continuity errors: The author mentions Melissa driving her Subaru, but I thought she sold it in the first book? Perhaps I missed her buying it back? show less

Sometimes I just need to read some fluff that makes me forget all the world's troubles :) The heroine is always a delight, I look forward to picking up the third soon.