(Review) Take a Chance on me

TITLE: Take A Chance On Me
AUTHOR: Jill Mansell
PUB DATE October 2010
PUBLISHER:Sourcebooks
PAGES: 432
SOURCE: I received an ARC from the publisher. Thank You Danielle.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Cleo Quinn doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to men, but now Will’s come along. Handsome and attentive, he could be her Mr Right. Things are definitely looking up for Cleo… apart from one small problem with a rather large ego. Johnny LaVenture, sculptor extraordinaire and her personal childhood nemesis, is back in Channing’s Hill and tormenting her as if he’d never been away.

Meanwhile Cleo’s sister Abbie has a problem of her own—husband Tom has become distant and withdrawn, and she’s determined to find out why. But will the shocking truth mean the end of their idyllically happy marriage?

The sisters are about to discover that the past can come back to haunt you, and that love can flourish in the unlikeliest of places…

MY THOUGHTS:
I must point out firstly that the cover that I have shown is the arc version and the final copy cover from Sourcebooks (US cover). Sadly the Canadian cover is totally different and I don’t really like it and prefer the US one much more.

I believe this is my fifth Jill Mansell that I have read since Sourcebooks was given the US rights too. I have to say that I am yet to be disappointed in them. They are funny, entertaining and quick reads. I love them and looking forward to the next Jill Mansell book to come out in the US.

One of the things that I think I enjoy from the books is that in someway I can relate to the characters. This time I thought I could relate well with Cleo. She is almost 30 and still living in the same little town she grew up in, Channings Hill. She is working as a limo driver. She is dating this guy Will and he seems to be the perfect guy and even though they have only been dating a short time Cleo thinks she has met the perfect guy but quickly realizes that he isn’t so perfect. His has a deep dark secret that will tear them apart.

Then if that wasn’t enough someone approaches her and what she thinks could be the worst thing to happen quickly turns into the best thing that could have happen not only to her but perhaps to Ash as well.

The other character I have to say I loved was Ash. He is Cleo’s best friend and next door neighbor. Ash is just your typical guy in the real world he has a hard time talking to the ladies but once he is on air working as a DJ he has women drooling over him. I can actually say I knew someone who was like Ash. You could listen to him on the radio and practically drool over this guy but upon meeting him was completely different. So when I was reading this I automatically thought of him and knew he was Ash in my eyes.

Cleo soon realizes through the course of the book that an old arch enemy has come back to town to try and sell the house he grew up in but quickly realises that Cleo has managed to ruin the one and only offer he might have gotten. Can old arch enemies be able to bury the hatchet and let by gones be by gones?

Another main character in the book is Abbie, Cleo’s sister. Reading the book you see that Abbie has the perfect husband and perfect marriage. We all know that in fiction that doesn’t always happen and this is a case of that being true. Abbie has to stumble on a letter that makes her question her husband and marriage? Is it what it is or something else?

My favorite quote in the book is:

They can give the impression on the surface of being really nice. But deep down, they’re capable of all sorts.

Is that the truth?