Many a girl will understand Millie. She's bored with dating, not attracted to the guy her friends have set her up with, and an expert at putting her foot in her mouth.
When Millie finds a wallet in some shrubbery, she decides to play a little joke on the owner of the wallet before returning it. Unfortunately, the joke goes horribly wrong and she's left with pounds of guilt and no way to assuage it. Luckily, she's distracted by her new-found friendship with Orla Hart, a bestselling author of romance novels. Orla needs a fresh idea for her next book and decides to base it on Millie's life ... of course, Orla will have to spice Millie's life up just a bit to make it novel-worthy. But just leave it to Orla to stir things up and make things happen!
In the meantime, Millie's roommate, Hester, is having boyfriend problems. An old flame of Hester's moves back to town, and Millie still can't trample down the horrid guilt from her joke-gone-wrong. Add in Millie's crazy parents, a kissogram (singing telegram) agency and Orla's idea of the perfect man, and you've got a story that will keep you turning the pages — and laughing the entire time.
The novel is set in small town England and is a wonderful change of pace from the many British chick lit books that are set in London. The reader gets a glimpse of small town life "across the pond." As much as I loved the setting, I loved the characters more. Mansell has a gift for writing charming characters — most so quirky that you can't help but love them.
Millie's Fling is British author Jill Mansell's third U.S. release. Mansell's fast-paced, multi-plot novels are some of my favorites of all time. She juggles an amazing cast of characters and manages to keep all of their plot lines up in the air. The reader is constantly trying to guess what will happen next; meanwhile, the plot lines are crisscrossing and intersecting. It's just plain fun.
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