Build a Man is a chick lit novel from Talli Roland — it's not her first release, but I'll definitely be checking out her backlist having read this one!
It tells the story of cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland. Being a receptionist is about as far from her dream job as it gets — she wants to be a tabloid reporter, which is why she left Maine, America, and moved to London. She didn't get the job she wanted, but she did get a pretty comfortable life living rent-free after bagging her cosmetic surgeon boss, Peter. Serenity thinks that successful, good-looking Peter will help her become the cool, professional version of herself that she wants to be. Her best friend Kirsty thinks she's nuts for hooking up with such a bore.
So, a few months down the line and Serenity feels she's stuck in a rut. She's in a job she doesn't really want, and her tabloid dreams are no closer to coming to fruition. Until Jeremy Ritchie walks into the surgery. He's decided that to get the woman of his dreams, he needs a complete makeover, with the help of various cosmetic surgery procedures. Despite thinking that Jeremy looks just fine as he is, Serenity knows she's now on to a story that no tabloid editor will be able to resist — and the Build a Man column is born! She's working undercover, and nobody but the paper and Kirsty know what's really going on.
Serenity is excited about her new-found success, and is determined to take it all the way and land a job on the newspaper she's writing for. Things seem to be on track, until Jeremy's surgery goes very wrong, and suddenly Serenity's conscience pricks, big style. The paper wants her to continue with the column, warts and all, but is Serenity really that desperate to achieve her dreams?
Build a Man is a fab book. I was interested in the brilliant plot from the beginning, and I quickly found myself rooting for Serenity, despite her poor choices. This is a really fun, engaging read, and without giving too much away, let's just say the ending left me feeling very glad that there's a sequel in the works — I want more!
Article comments
1 - Talli Roland
Thank you so much, Lucy! I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.