TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is a great book full of wonder, love,
and family. Cleo is a twenty-something who has always felt
awkward and out of place. Her best friend Ash is the same
way. He is a radio DJ. On the air, he can let himself be the
man he wants to be. We also get to meet their friends and
family. Will Newman is the man Cleo thought she would be
with for the rest of her life. Fia comes to the village
after her marriage falls apart. Abbie, Cleo's much older
sister, is having problems with her marriage. Tom, Abbie's
husband, has a secret that could rip their marriage apart.
Johnny LaVenture is the guy from Cleo's childhood that is
always in her head. Who will Cleo end up with? Will Ash
finally come out of his shell off the air?
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is about all the characters taking a
chance on life, on love, and on friendship. All the
characters are very well thought out and are so real that it
made me want to move to Channings Hill. It was such a quaint
little town where everyone knows everyone, and they are
always there to help each other. Jill Mansell
successfully meshes all the characters' stories together,
and makes it so believable you feel you are there.
Jill Mansell reminds me of my favorite author, Maeve Binchy.
They both write stories that make you believe in love and
romance, and show you that life is messy and drama is all
over the place no matter where you live. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
is the kind of book you want to savor and re-read because
you miss the characters so much.
Love is always just around the corner in a Jill Mansell
novel--in this case, in the picturesque town of Channings
Hill, where everyone knows everyone. Even if she wasn't a
chauffeur for a limousine company, it would be hard for Cleo
to avoid running into Johnny LaVenture, famous sculptor and
her personal childhood nemesis. But since she's seeing the
perfectly gorgeous Will, she figures it will be easy to
ignore Johnny. If only he didn't get under her skin quite so
much...
And then there's Cleo's sister, Abbie, who has just
discovered her husband's love child, and her neighbor, Ash,
a famous DJ but in love with a woman who doesn't know he
exists. Add Fia, Will's not-so-ex-wife, and the vitriolic
Mandy, and you have the perfect mix for an entertaining read.