1252. Scot on the Rocks (Brenda Janowitz)

Synopsis:

When her ex-boyfriend, Trip, gets engaged to Hollywood's latest It Girl, Manhattan attorney Brooke Miller plans to attend the wedding. Who says a modern girl can't stay friends with her ex? Besides, Brooke's got her sexy Scottish fiance, Douglas, to take as her date. Okay, so maybe he's not exactly her fiance, but they're living together in his apartment, so she'll be getting the ring any minute, right? Wrong.

After a fight leaves her without a boyfriend (much less a fiance) just days before the wedding, Brooke faces the ultimate humiliation of attending her ex-boyfriend's nuptials alone. Desperate to find a replacement to fill Douglas's kilt, Brooke concocts an outrageous plan to survive the wedding and win the man of her dreams, all with her dignity ever-so-slightly intact.

My rating: 4 stars

1169. Too Good to be True (Kristan Higgins)

Synopsis:
When Grace Emerson's ex-fiancé starts dating her younger sister, extreme measures are called for. To keep everyone from obsessing about her love life, Grace announces that she's seeing someone. Someone wonderful. Someone handsome. Someone completely made up. Who is this Mr. Right? Someone.exactly unlike her renegade neighbor Callahan O'Shea. Well, someone with his looks, maybe. His hot body. His knife-sharp sense of humor. His smarts and big heart.

Whoa. No. Callahan O'Shea is not her perfect man! Not with his unsavory past. So why does Mr. Wrong feel so ... right?

My rating: 4 stars

1144. Just One of the Guys (Kristan Higgins)

Synopsis:
Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be.

So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1 - she's five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2 - she's cursed with four alpha male older brothers.

While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over - although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.

Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys..

My rating: 5 stars

My review: Another keeper by Kristan Higgins. I LOVE the ending of this book. For a few reviews, I've been raving about Kristan Higgins without specifically mentioning why. Here are the things that I love about her stories:

• Her heroines are not model-perfect stunners with kindness and sweetness seeping out of their pores. They're normal girls who are nice but have issues.
• The male characters are not billionaires or heroes. They're normal guys who are decent and nice but have issues.
  
• The families are not out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Siblings fight. Parents fight. Siblings and the parents fight. The families are normal.
• In other words, the people in her books are real with real problems mixed in with their good qualities. I found myself identifying with most of her female main characters, not something that happens often.
• And the book covers are cute.
  

1142. Catch of the Day (Kristan Higgins)

Synopsis:
First Date a la Maggie
Take one lovelorn diner owner (me)
A generous helping of nosy local gossips
A dollop of envy at married sister's perfect life
A splash of divine intervention (my matchmaking priest)

Combine ingredients with one adorable puppy, add a strong but silent lobsterman with a hidden heart of gold . . . and watch the sparks fly.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: One of my favorite books by Kristan Higgins.

1135. Unpredictable (Eileen Cook)

Synopsis:
Sophie isn't crazy, she just wants her guy back. And posing as a psychic to give his new girlfriend a fake reading designed to break them up isn't going overboard, is it? Don't answer that.

Faking psychic powers turns out to be fun, especially after a few lessons from Nick, the cute skeptic, who teaches her all the tricks of the trade. But her readings do a lot more than she could have predicted. Now she must decide whether to accept her rising stardom in a less-than-honest line of work-and whether the best option is trying to rekindle her old flame or finding romance with someone new. And, most importantly, she needs to figure out whether the answers lie in the stars-or in herself.

My rating: 4 stars

1134. Fools Rush In (Kristan Higgins)

Synopsis:
Millie Barnes is this close to finally achieving her perfect life . . .

Rewarding job as a local doctor on Cape Cod? Check. Cute cottage of her very own? Check. Adorable puppy suitable for walks past attractive locals? Check! All she needs is for golden boy and former crush Joe Carpenter to notice her, and Millie will be set.

But perfection isn't as easy as it looks -- especially when Sam Nickerson, the town sheriff, is so distracting. Sure, he needs a friend after being dumped by Millie's fortune-hunting sister, but does she really need to enjoy his company that much? He is definitely not part of her master plan. But maybe it's time for Millie to start a new list . . .

My rating: 4 stars

My review: Kristan Higgins's books are solid. There hasn't been one that I haven't liked or loved yet. A go-to in chick-lit/contemporary romance.

1124. Playing James (Sarah Mason)

Summary:
When Holly Colshannon is made crime correspondent for her local paper, she begins shadowing a detective and writing a diary column about his working life. But, Detective James Sabine is a sour-puss - although he does have very nice green eyes - and furious to be landed with accident-prone Holly.

My rating: 4 stars

1123. The Party Season (Sarah Mason)

Summary:
Respected entrepreneur Simon Monkwell and party planner Isabel Serranti have known each other since childhood. He was a thirteen-year-old bully and she was the eleven-year-old whose life he made a misery. Now she's twenty-six, everything Isabel hears on the grapevine convinces her that Simon hasn't changed one little bit. So when Monty, Simon's father, asks Isabel to help him host a charity ball at the Monkwell's country estate, Izzy has mixed feelings. Determined to put the past behind her, however, and thinking that Simon is away on business in America, Izzy quickly falls under the spell of the eccentric family once more, only to discover that her childhood memories aren't quite as accurate as she thought they were ...

My rating: 3 stars

1122. High Society (Sarah Mason)

Summary:
Clemmie Colshannon's life appears to be on a fast track to nowhere - having lost her job and her boyfriend on the same day, she's retreated to the bosom of her family in Cornwall to recover. Fortunately, life chez Colshannon is never dull. Her mother has taken over the amateur dramatics society and is busy roping the locals into a production of Calamity Jane; brother Barney is going to extreme lengths to impress a girl; and sister Holly, who is a reporter on the Bristol Gazette, needs help with a story. Fellow journalist Emma McKellan, who writes the social diary, has gone missing days before she was due to be married. As Holly and Clemmie search for clues as to her whereabouts in an attempt to reunite her with her fiance, it's not long before the drama turns into a crisis and the whole family is forced to flee to the south of France with an ex-convict hot on their heels ...

My rating: 4 stars

1121. Little Lady, Big Apple (Hester Browne)

Synopsis:
Melissa Romney-Jones went from doormat to diva when she donned a blond wig, became Honey, a no-nonsense bombshell, and set up shop providing London's most clueless men with all the basic girlfriend services -- except, of course, for sex and laundry! Now, her business is booming, but when her flat-mate decides to renovate, she has to temporarily find a new place to live. Then Melissa's dashing American boyfriend (and former client) Jonathan Riley gets a promotion that takes him to New York. There's only one solution: an extended holiday for Melissa in the Big Apple.

Entrusting care of the Little Lady Agency to her tactless best friend and her melodramatic sister, Melissa crosses the pond and finds herself out of her depth among Jonathan's hard-charging friends and his interfering ex-wife. Although Jonathan works all the time, he asks Melissa not to take on any new clients while she's in his hometown. But when she's presented with a tempting new challenge, Melissa decides to put her expertise to use. Then her project lands her in the tabloids, which sets off a hilarious and heartbreaking chain of events that could force her to choose between the man she loves and the unique business into which she has poured her heart and soul.

My rating: 4 stars

1120. The Little Lady Agency (Hester Browne)

Synopsis:
When sweet, naive Melissa seeks a job with her old Home Economics teacher she is half way through the interview before it dawns on her that Mrs McKinnon isn't interested in her cookery skills, but is in fact running an escort agency. Melissa panics, but she needs the cash - and what harm can providing lonely men with stimulating conversation over dinner do? More exciting still, she'll get to wear a disguise...Enter her alter ego: Honey. As flirty and feminine as a Bond girl, as confident and sexy as Mary Poppins in silk stockings, Honey brings out a side to Melissa she never knew she had. A side that will get her into hot water, (and out of it) and that she'll never want to lose...

My rating: 4 stars

My review: A great start to a charming series. Love Melissa and her friends.

1119. The Little Lady Agency and the Prince (Hester Browne)

Synopsis:
Hester Browne created a unique heroine in Melissa Romney-Jones a.k.a. Honey, London's ultimate freelance girlfriend, who won the hearts of readers on both sides of the Atlantic in her "charming and feel-good"(Cosmopolitan) and "funny and original" (People) earlier adventures. Now her New York Times bestselling series sparkles brighter than ever as irrepressible Melissa is hired to reform a playboy prince -- and finds she could get used to the royal treatment.

Making plans for her wedding to American fiancé Jonathan Riley, who now runs a prestigious Parisian real estate company, Melissa agrees to do a favor for her beloved grandmother: transform the notorious Prince Nicolas von Helsing-Alexandros into a proper gentleman for the sake of preserving a family inheritance. Even possessive Jonathan agrees it's a great opportunity to make social connections. But taming a prince might prove too big a professional challenge for Melissa when she's confronting so many seismic changes in her own personal life.

Jonathan needs her in Paris. Her sister Emery's newborn son needs a christening ceremony, as well as a proper name. Emery herself needs Melissa -- to protect her from their bulldog nanny who's returned to do much more than babysit. Most unsettling of all, Nelson needs her to find him a new flatmate because she'll be moving out soon. Balancing all this with late-night dinners, polo matches, and a Mediterranean cruise with Prince Nicky, who is as charming as he is exasperating, suddenly has bride-to-be Melissa dreaming of a fairy-tale ending -- and not the one she expected!

My rating: 5 stars

My review: A charming chick-lit series with a perfect ending!

845. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (Sophie Kinsella)

Synopsis from Amazon:
In this sequel to Kinsella's bestselling Confessions of a Shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood, a personal finance "expert" with her own TV show, is more of a financial mess than ever: she can't stop shopping, even though she can't afford anything. She's even assigned her flatmate, Suze, to monitor her spending, but to no avail: Becky is full of cute rationalizations, like "Foreign money doesn't count, so you can spend as much as you like," and can't stop herself from sneaking into posh boutiques. Her work-obsessed boyfriend, Luke, runs a financial PR agency, and when he gets the green light to open an office in New York City, he brings Becky along. Upon her arrival in the Big Apple, she euphorically discovers Barney's, Saks, Sephora and sample sales but when wind of her shopping excesses gets back to the British press, she loses both her relationship and her TV job. Becky manages to save the day in predictably winning fashion, with plenty of comic moments along the way. Sure, it's tongue-in-cheek and all in good fun but will the barrage of shopping hijinks be enough to hold readers this time around?

My rating: 5 stars

828. Slightly Single (Wendy Markham)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Tracey Spadolini has always been insecure. She's somewhat overweight, unhappy in her job, and dating Will, a handsome but commitment-phobic actor. Will is spending the summer in upstate New York, leaving a morose Tracey behind in Manhattan, so she decides to use the time to turn herself into the woman she has always wanted to be. She goes on a diet and starts to read classics. She also meets Buckley, a good-looking, sweet guy who pursues a friendship with her even after he mistakes their first trip to the movies together as a date. Tracey can't help but compare him to Will, and Buckley comes out ahead every time. Will hardly ever calls and seems hesitant when she tells him she wants to come to visit him, but Tracey is sure that he'll be won over by her new look.

My rating: 2 stars

760. Bad Boy (Olivia Goldsmith)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Tracie and Jonny are just buddies complaining to each other about their lousy love lives until Tracie decides to remake Jonny as a red-hot lover -- and then falls for him.

My rating: 2 stars

717. Bad Heir Day (Wendy Holden)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Becoming a writer is the dream of Oxbridge graduate Anna but a flurry of CV mail-outs draws nothing but blanks. However, when the poisonous novelist Cassandra takes her on, her luck appears to be changing. But, soon, Anna is in a domestic hell -- a glorified au pair coping with Cassandra's philandering, ageing rock-star husband. So when Anna meets the handsome Jamie, a Scottish laird who is heir to a Balmoral-style castle, she is exhilarated at the thought of escape from her grisly circumstances. Her luck, though, is about to run true to form.

My rating: 2 stars

716. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Melissa Bank)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
After following the advice from a manual called "How to Meet and Marry Mr Right", Jane learns that in love there is neither pattern nor promise, and never rules.

My rating: 1 star

My review: This book proves the point that one should never judge a book by its cover. In this case, I found the cover to be cute so I read it. BIG WASTE OF TIME. The author tries to be profound about life and love under a veneer of chick-lit. It doesn't work.

703. Pastures Nouveaux (Wendy Holden)

Published as "Farm Fatale" in the US

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Country life doesn't prove quite so simple for the sophisticated city folk in Pastures Nouveaux, best-selling author Wendy Holden's hilarious "comedy of country manors". Although some of the rural inhabitants are poor as church mice, the majority are not and all pursue the same recreational activities (money and sex) as their urban cousins.

The belle of the country set is Rosie, a freelance illustrator, who (originally) is not desperately seeking a man, marriage or babies. In fact, natural beauty Rosie doesn't seem to have a problem with men at all. Although she has a partner (Mark is an arrogant journalist whose work involves dishing the dirt on the famous), he is quite obviously unsuitable for such a nice girl. It doesn't take long (page two) before Rosie thinks there must be more to life. So when Mark is given his own column about, wait for it, the travails of sophisticated city folk who move to the hilariously simple "country", she is soon romping with a very mixed set from the nouveaux-riches Samantha and Guy to a farmer fatale and a mysterious millionaire.

Thanks to her previous jobs on national newspapers and up-market glossies, Holden slickly draws her caricatures of urban types from the single-minded financiers, for whom extra-marital sex is a hobby, to their stick-insect, interior design-obsessed wives to vacuous, celebrity-sniffing media types. Champagne D'Vyne, Holden's posh-totty socialite and star of previous tales, even makes a cameo appearance (as herself, nach).

My rating: 3 stars

688. Getting Over It (Anna Maxted)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Helen Bradshaw, 26, has a lot to get over - a dogsbody job on a women's magazine - an attraction to unsuitable men - being five foot one - driving an elderly Toyota. She is about to ditch the infuriating Jasper when she hears the news that will change her life. Her father has collapsed with a massive heart attack. Initially, Helen thinks of this as an interruption in her already chaotic lifestyle. But with his death everything starts to fall apart around her - her relationship, her mother, even her cat. Her flatmate Luke has the tact of a traffic warden with toothache, her friend Tina is in love with her new man, her landlord Marcus is in love with himself, and, after the tequila incident, it looks as though Tom the vet will be sticking to Alsatians. Seems like Helen will be dealing with this one herself ....

My rating: 3 stars

687. The Making of Minty Malone (Isabel Wolff)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Everyone likes radio reporter Minty -- she's so terribly nice. But being nice doesn't save her from being jilted at the very altar by her attractive but domineering fiance Dominic. Ditched rather than hitched, a shocked Minty takes stock, and, on her husbandless honeymoon, she vows to become just a little less 'nice'. Joined by her fiery cousin Amber, whom no one could describe as sweet-natured, Minty sets out on a Quest for the Self, in which she will finally learn how to say 'No'. But Dominic's devastating desertion has left her with an unhealed wound. For if the man she loved could do that to her, then how can any man be trusted? But then Minty stumbles upon the real reason for Dominic's dreadful defection. Faced with the ugly truth, she prepares to move on, let go, and learn how to say 'Yes' once more.

My rating: 1 star