Do you remember the lyrics to that old song ?
"What do you get when you kiss a girl ? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia.
After you do, she'll never phone ya !
I'll never fall in love again" !
I love the bitter-sweet, cynical sense of humour that balances out the hearts-and-flowers romanticism of the song. And that's exactly the same finely-tuned balance that we get in Alexandra Potter's You're The One That I Don't Want.
It's chicklit so you're obviously going to get a lightweight story about a girl looking for Mr Right. Lucy and Nathaniel fall in love and, caught up in the romance of the moment in beautiful Venice, kiss under the Bridge of Sighs while the bells peal, supposedly (according to an old legend) binding themselves to each other for eternity.
Fast forward a decade and the pair do bump into each again, against all odds, and briefly rekindle their love affair. But times and have changed and they have grown apart. Mutually deciding that they can't stand each other is about the only thing that they have in common. But destiny is destiny and the magic of the Venetian legend seems determined to keep them together at all costs, even if both of them would rather stick needles in their own (or preferably each other's !) eyes before doing that !
It's classic chicklit with a slightly new, fresh angle that has you laughing at the wry humour and ludicrous situations that crop up. Instead of the usual chicklit fodder of the main character trying to find the one she loves, we follow Lucy as she desperately tries to ditch the one she loathes. The supporting cast of characters add extra emotional impact and life lessons for us all to think about, but they do lack depth and things are treated a bit superficially.
It's a lovely feel-good novel that will have you smiling and inwardly cheering when everything turns out right and we find the usual chicklit happy ending. Alexandra Potter throws in some hilarious one-liners (I love all the very apt song titles that pop up from time to time !) and whisks us off for some virtual travelling in Venice and Manhattan. It's predictable and lightweight but isn't that what chicklit is all about really?! Just the thing to snuggle up under the covers with for an extra half hour rather than braving the subzero temperatures outside !
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £6.99
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks (5 Aug 2010)
ISBN-10: 0340954132
ISBN-13: 978-0340954133
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This sounds like my kinda book! Will be looking out for it in the sales!
ReplyDeleteI need some light relief so might give this a whirl!
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