Author : Ali McNamara
Release Date : 1st November 2010
Publisher : Sphere
Source : Won from giveaway by Sphere
Rating : 5/5
Scarlett loves the movies – they’re just so much more exciting and romantic than her own mundane life mending popcorn machines and living with her DIY obsessed fiancĂ© David. So when everyone keeps telling her she needs to stop day-dreaming her life away in Johnny Depp & Brad Pitt’s arms, and settle down and get on with real life, Scarlett decides to prove them all wrong.
When she’s given the chance to house-sit in Notting Hill for a month, Scarlett thinks this will be her ideal opportunity to prove her family wrong about the movies. But she quickly finds the real Notting Hill is nothing like the celluloid version, and after she meets her new neighbour – the cool, confident, but movie-hating Sean, Scarlett starts to realise this challenge might be trickier than she first thought.
Every day Scarlett tries – usually unsuccessfully – to place herself in as many movie scenes as she can. But it’s when she’s least expecting it that she finds a link to one of her favourites…and it’s then that she discovers so much more than the fairytale ending she’s always dreamed of.
When FNHTLA was released, there was a hub in the chick lit world, that this book was a must-read for chick lit lovers and basically, you get the gist. However, I was sadly out of place at that time because I didn’t have the money to buy it. So I waited. And waited. When I got the dosh to splurge it on books, they were sold out. Seriously, sold out. Then, last year, I won the Confessions of A Karaoke Queen contest on Twitter, held by Sphere, along with Lucky Voice vouchers, but seeing that my lovely country doesn’t have a Lucky Voice outlet, I was given a fabulous opportunity to select 4 books published by Little, Brown. Thank God for that! So at the end, I picked FNHTLA, Breakfast at Darcy’s, Rafael Nadal’s autobiography and Meet Me At Cupcake Cafe. When the book arrived, I couldn’t help but start. Straight away. And also I had some time to lust over the gorgeous cover!
Firstly, I love debut novels, it’s that newness, that hope for a fresh new author. Boy, it was hook, line and sinker when I started. Immediately, I got warmed up to Scarlett O’Brien, the amazing heroine with her love for the films. She’s just like the heroine you would want to root for, bright and funny and also feisty. The moment you hit the first page, it’s all about the movies, from Gone With The Wind (sadly, I’ve never watched it) to Bridget Jones’s Dairy) and I really enjoyed every part of it, how Scarlett compared everything to the movies and tried to have her “movie moments” to prove that reality or real life can be like the movies. Funny, sometimes, I too have my personal movie moments! But the book doesn’t only focus on movies, Scarlett’s mother who left her and her uptight fiance, David are also in this delicious mix. Aside from Scarlett and her men, the other characters were a nice addition to the book, Oscar and Ursula, who Scarlett befriends shortly after arriving in Notting Hill. Just like the movies, there’s the best actor and also best supporting actor, credit goes to Ali for such wonderful characters.
The plot of the book was really smooth, flowing beautifully from her normal life to her stay in Notting Hill to house-sit for her friends to meeting Sean. Ahh, Sean. Not to say that it’s cliched, but I knew Sean would end up with Scarlett, I knew it because from the start, I knew David was a complete knob. Seriously, but as the story progresses, I was surprised to find out why Scarlett would marry David. Got to say, it’s all in the book, you’ve got to read it to love it. The particular scene in Paris was my favourite, well because I do love my Paris moments in books. From the incident in Disneyland during Scarlett’s best friend’s hen party to her meeting a particular handsome actor in the streets of Paris, just outside a chocolate store. Though the book may have its cheesy moments, I thoroughly enjoyed it because there’s that special way how Ali writes and tells the story. I know, I’m nuts but when I read it, it was as if it was on natural flow, the narration.
Overall, I loved it. Just like how I love my Kinsella books. Honest. This book had me laughing and wondering, will I get my happy ending, which is being really rich with the largest library in the world, I know, I’m a tart. I really encourage readers who have just started on reading chick lit to consider reading Ali McNamara, you won’t be disappointed. If you have enjoyed this book as much as I had, be prepared. Fantastic news, the sequel will be out in November 2012. Yay!
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