#21 - The Hopeless Romantics Handbook

Gemma Townley's latest novel The Hopeless Romantic's Handbook is finally out in stores. I read the book months ago when the galleys came in to work, took it home, and tossed it back in one night. Chicklit is so addictive! Anyway, the heroine of the novel finds a lovely old book entitled, you guessed it, The Hopeless Romantic's Handbook. The unlucky in love Kate decides she'll follow the steps and see what happens. And faster than you can snap your fingers Joe, a handsome American actor, shows up on the scene and she's smitten.

Only the book gets a lot more complicated as Kate's career (she's a television decorator working on a fairly low-rated cable show) sort of careens off track. And, as is the law of chicklit, her love life follows suit. The more Kate listens to the book, the worse things get, and soon her two best pals, Sally and Tom (and especially Tom), are quite worried for her.

There's a happy ending, of course. But Townley has such a knack for creating life-like characters within the fantasy setting the genre demands that you don't mind that the plot might be a bit predictable. She always manages to add a little extra bit of inventiveness, a little something or other that pulls the books slightly off-centre of the stereotypes. Anyway, you all know how much I adore Gemma and her writing, so if you're looking for a bit of mental escape this Easter long weekend, I do recommend picking her up.