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InTheMoodForLove

I won't read a book that doesn't contain a romance plot of one kind or another...

A Hopeless Romantic - Harriet Evans Wow! I was in a mood for chick lit for quite some time, but this book certainly exceeded my expectations; the romance was far more angsty than usual in this genre, which was certainly up to my taste. However, the emotional scenes of heartache were nicely interspersed with humorous dialogues, great one liners and not a few funny scenes from the heroine's family and friends, especially her flatmate Paddy (who is one of the best secondary heroes I've read about) making it an easy and light read, perfect for beach reading or a quiet weekend at home.

The book starts with the hopelessly romantic heroine Laura, who has a passion for romantic comedies and Georgette Harriet & Jane Austen books (ring any bells?), falling for yet another unsuitable man, namely Dan. This passionate relationship causes her to forget all her friends and work obligations and tends to drag a bit longer than necessary, giving a slow start to the story. Plus, the heroine ended as a rather unlikable person at this stage. But when Laura and her family leave for Norfolk to celebrate her grandmother's eigthy-fifth birthday in their beach house, everything changes. Laura realizes who she became and is determined to bury the romantic side of her deep inside, as it has caused her nothing but trouble; from now on, only realism will do. And then comes Nick: the estate manager of the lovely Chetley (sp?) house, ownership of the young, rich and handsome marquess of Ranelagh. Nick and Laura kick off right away, well, forgetting the small fact that he got mad at her for almost setting the lawns on fire(!) but Laura's departure date is only a couple of days away and on top of that, as any experienced romance reader has guessed just by reading the book description, Nick is not who he seems. And Laura is very much determined to stick to realism for once; no more dreaming about Prince Charming and 'love conquers all' mottos, some things are just too incompatible in real life to allow for a happy ending. Or are they?

I laughed, got angry and even misty eyed by this sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes vexing and sometimes not very well written book. In short, I had a great time and sleeping only 3 hours before I got to work was totally worth staying up for it:) I loved Nick in all his pride and glory, stuborn Laura, grandmother Mary, Paddy and Charles who were all exciting and interesting on their own right. I do wish the book had an epilogue or a couple more chapters just to see more of Nick and Laura together, but all in all it was a very satisfying read. Up in my keepers shelf!