‘Fine, then. If it’ll shut you up, that’s what we’ll do. In five years, if we’re both still unattached, we’ll get married. To each other.’
‘Good.’ Cleo gave a nod of satisfaction; OK, now at least she had a safety net to fall back on. It might not be romantic but it was practical.
‘And if that’s not an incentive for me to hurry up and find myself a girlfriend,’ Ash said, ‘I don’t know what is.’
(from Take a Chance on Me, page 102 in the ARC)
Jill Mansell knows how to write a romantic comedy, and her books never fail to make me laugh out loud. Her latest novel, Take a Chance on Me, is no exception. Set in England in the small town of Channings Hill, Take a Chance on Me is the story of Cleo, a girl unlucky in love and forced to interact constantly with her childhood tormentor, Johnny LaVenture, now a famous sculptor. As a chauffeur, Cleo bumps into Johnny numerous times, and she begins to wonder whether he’s changed over the years.
Meanwhile, her best friend, Ash, falls in love. He’s a well known radio personality who oozes confidence on the air, but when the object of his affection is in close range, he can barely speak a coherent sentence. Cleo’s sister, Abbie, is having marital problems in which the past, namely her desperation to have children, comes back to haunt her — and in the midst of hysterics, she makes a big mistake. Then there’s Fia, who moves to Channings Hill to find herself after her marriage falls apart, and Georgia, a fiesty 18-year-old who barrels into town and upends some lives in the process.
Once again, Mansell has shown that secondary characters can be just as and even more captivating than the main characters. I don’t think Cleo is a strong enough character to hold up the book on her own, but she gets plenty of help from the quirky friends, old and new, in her life.
Take a Chance on Me is hilarious much of the time and serious some of the time, tackling such topics as bullying, adultery, and infertility, but Mansell never lets the story get too heavy. It’s predictable in a good way, and though I thought the ending was a bit rushed, I enjoyed it so much that it took me just two days to read more than 400 pages. Mansell has become my go-to author when I need a feel-good, humorous book with well-developed, entertaining characters.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Take a Chance on Me from Sourcebooks for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I agree! Mansell writes fantastic feel-good fiction and we all need that some times.
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I read it in a heartbeat and got very happy with it, since the last one I read just got me confused
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I’ve been wanting to read this author…I’ve been reading good things about her books.
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Light but I like the topics covered.
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This is going on my list! I’ve only read one of her books, earlier this year actually, and it was an enjoyable read. A nice balance of serious and light stuff.
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I think Mansell’s books are great too. Her characters are off the wall, yet they’re so believable.
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This sounds so good, Anna! I will keep this book in mind.
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Every time I read a review like this I feel like hitting my head and saying WHY haven’t I read one of her books yet?!!!
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Hi Anna
Thank you SO MUCH for yet another wonderful review – it makes me so happy to see such lovely comments. (It’s funny, when I was writing the ending I was worried that it was far too slow and drawn out!!) After writing the book I had to buy myself a wire sculpture, too. It’s a hard life!
Love
Jill xx
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You’re very welcome! I’d like to get myself a wire sculpture, but that’ll have to wait until we get our own place. 🙂
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I do so love Jill Mansell (ooh, look! she commented on your review!) and I bought this one recently and am really looking forward to it! 🙂
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I know I would love to read this author. I think I will enjoy them.
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Too funny — I just read Serena’s review of this book. Guess the cosmic forces are telling me I need to check it out!
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We totally didn’t plan it. She was still reading the book after I posted my review. LOL
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I’ve been wanting to read Jill Mansell for a long time now. I might have to make myself a personal challenge for 2011.
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Go for it! I bet you won’t be disappointed! 😉
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A personal challenge??? I’m not a Triathlon! Just try one of my books, you won’t regret it. They’re fun!
Love
Jill x
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cool! Every year, I create a SHORT list of authors I MUST-READ as part of a personal deliberate reading challenge. 🙂 Last year was Neil Gaiman and to read Watership Down (and Tracy Kidder that I failed to get to but I still have 2 months?) and so for 2011 I think I will commit to Jill Mansell and Rosy Thornton. These are the authors that I see favorably reviewed so very often and I keep saying to myself, ‘must get to!!’
I have no doubt that I will love your work, Ms Mansell!!
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I haven’t read anything by this author yet but this sounds good. I love the cover too!
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I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book. I have read one of her other books and liked it, so I should really make some time to read more of them.
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So glad you enjoyed this one! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.
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I have this sitting by my bed – must read soon! I am a huge fan of Mansell’s and am so glad to hear her latest didn’t disappoint!
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I really enjoyed this one too. I felt that it was predictable also but that never once interfered with my enjoyment!!!
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So glad I read your review because, try as I might not to judge a book by its cover, I couldn’t help but do it with this one. It really put me off and I never would have picked it up but now I’m going to have to pick it up at the library.
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I LOVE Jill Mansell! Usually I get an email from Sourcebooks about her books, but I must have missed the last one. Super sad! 😦
Great review. Sounds like another excellent book.
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After reading your review, I might give this one a try.
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Going to let my friend know about this one. She loved Mansell!
Great review girl 🙂
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Thank you all for taking time to read my review! I hope it’s prompted you all to give Mansell a try.
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