Title : Little Lady Big Apple
Author : Hester Browne
Publication date : 27th July 2006
Publisher : Hodder UK
Source : Purchased
At home, Melissa is a pushover in an Alice band.
But at the Little Lady Agency, she transforms herself into blonde bombshell Honey: a super confident supernanny to hapless men all over London - with a desk diary that's bursting.
Only now her American boyfriend Jonathan has invited her to New York for a holiday - on the condition that Honey and the blonde wig stay at home. Reluctantly leaving the agency in the hands of her tactless best mate and terrifying sister, Mel flies out...
Before she knows it, she's agreed to polish the talented but rude rising star Ric Spencer, who just so happens to be an ex, while having to juggle Jonathan, his manipulative ex-wife, a wilful terrier, and escalating crises back in England.
Can Melissa put the manners back into Manhattan? Or is this a challenge only Honey can tackle?
But at the Little Lady Agency, she transforms herself into blonde bombshell Honey: a super confident supernanny to hapless men all over London - with a desk diary that's bursting.
Only now her American boyfriend Jonathan has invited her to New York for a holiday - on the condition that Honey and the blonde wig stay at home. Reluctantly leaving the agency in the hands of her tactless best mate and terrifying sister, Mel flies out...
Before she knows it, she's agreed to polish the talented but rude rising star Ric Spencer, who just so happens to be an ex, while having to juggle Jonathan, his manipulative ex-wife, a wilful terrier, and escalating crises back in England.
Can Melissa put the manners back into Manhattan? Or is this a challenge only Honey can tackle?
After successfully hunting down The Little Lady Agency at the Big Bad Wolf sale, I was a bit disappointed to not being able to find Little Lady Big Apple. However, I found it during my second time there and I was so thrilled! I read The Little Lady Agency last week and absolutely loved it so I decided to do a readathon of The Little Lady series and read Little Lady Big Apple straight away. And I'm glad to report that I was not disappointed!
I really enjoyed the first book so I had high hopes for the second book. The thing about sequels is that, I'm always a bit tentative to read on about the plot. Don't get me wrong, if I love the books, I'm bound to enjoy the sequels but I worry too much about the sequel living up to its prequel, all the time. So I took a leap and read Little Lady Big Apple.
Little Lady Big Apple follows the events of the first book in the series, 8 months later. Melissa and her boyfriend, Jonathan are in a loving relationship, her father is off her back (for now) and her best friends are getting along together, not that she's comfortable with the arrangement. Ahem. Everything is rosy for Melissa, but the only downside is, she can no longer be Honey because she's in a relationship with the man she loves and loves her back. So, what could you possibly expect from the sequel?
Answer is, the Big Apple! Just as things are turning for the worse, Nelson signs himself up for a voyage and uses his time away to renovate the apartment which means.. Mel is temporarily "evicted", much to her dismay and the only place she could afford to live is either Gabi's flat, which she shares with her mother or her family home, ruled by her tyrannous father. Then, Jonathan invites her over to New York to meet his friends and experience the New York minute. What an opportunity to have a vacation and find a place to stay!
As usual, I adored Melissa, even though she didn't put her blond wig on and become Honey much in NYC, I still liked how she could be so sweet and firm at the same time. Sadly, the pushover side of her was still intact with her lovable attitude and big heart, but thank God she knew how to stand her ground. Need I say more? She's a modern, beautiful Mary Poppins with impeccable manners and style, you'd think the pure Maria in The Sound of Music seem like a dull maid (no offence, Julie Andrews!).
The thing that lacked in the book for me was this: I was expecting so much of New York-ness in the book. From the sights to the atmosphere of the one of the greatest cities in the world, to the drool-inducing designer shops. But in this book, it focused too much on the characters and not much on Melissa and Jonathan. However, the pace of the novel is really upbeat and it fitted very well with the plot.
I really enjoyed Little Lady Big Apple, but honest to truth, The Little Lady Agency is still unbeatable when it comes to the books in this series. Although Gabi, who was a bit annoying in the first book, was much a better best friend in this book. Phew! Or maybe it was me, so I'll let Hester's readers decide, but one thing for sure: Hester does know how to write about the glamour of living in the Big Apple! *wink*
Rating : 4.5/5
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