Kate Hetherington is approaching 30 and so desperate to find someone special that she's already tried every approach to meeting men in London, including speed dating. Her married friends tell Kate she's a hopeless romantic and warn her that she'll never find someone who meets her standards. On the Internet, Kate finds an auction for the perfect book, "THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC'S HANDBOOK." She buys it and begins to read it devotedly in her pursuit for the perfect guy and true love.

While she's following the quaint advice in the Handbook, Kate meets a bartender named Joe, an American actor who seems perfect. She's swept off her feet, just as the book predicted, but as their relationship continues, she begins to wonder whether it's truly as good as it seems. At work, Kate is the interior designer on a struggling television show called "Future: Perfect," which is similar to the more popular extreme makeover shows, but on a smaller budget and on British cable. The show's snobbish and malicious celebrity presenter makes the job unbearable, and Kate is hopeful work will improve. When Joe becomes involved with the television show, Kate may need more advice than her trusty handbook can provide.

The term "hopeless romantic" is often used disparagingly, but Gemma Townley reclaims it beautifully in this novel on behalf of all romance and chick-lit readers and other romantic types. Kate's character is completely believable in her uncertainty, her desires and her disappointments. Her ingenuity develops from a hesitant designer to a confident woman as she learns to trust her own judgment. The excerpts from the handbook were overdone, but Kate's charming friends and antagonizing coworkers drew me into her story. This humorous British romance gives romantic readers some hope!