Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

Thank you Barnes & Noble Free Fridays for providing me with such a fun read.  Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell is a delightfully funny romance, nothing too risque and having a lot of heart.  Millie finds herself in a bit of a bind--she's without a boyfriend and without a job, making for the perfect situation to be rescued by Orla Hart, romance writer.  Orla is reeling from a scathing review of her last book and is determined to write something better.  She decides to base her next book on real life, Millie's real life.  However, as Millie's life isn't as exciting as Orla would like, Orla decides to bring in some romantic candidates.  What she doesn't know, is that Millie is holding out on her.

As I said, this is a fun read.  The characters are realistic and funny.  Millie is surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast:  Hester, her best friend whose boyfriend is working 500 miles away, Millie's father and his wonderful partner Judy, the polar opposite of Millie's mother, Adele who left for London, looking for a more exciting life, Nat, Hester's perfect and absent boyfriend; Lucas, Hester's lifelong crush who is more than meets the eye; the gorgeous Con Devereaux, incredibly famous movie star with his own secrets.  And Hugh.

I've never read Jill Mansell before, and this book reminded me very much of a Sophie Kinsella/Marian Keyes type story.  Mind you, Mansell definitely has her own style and it's a very nice one, but I was reminded of these other authors, whom I love.  In fact, I'm planning to add plenty of Jill Mansell to my download list.  I was thrilled when I checked her website to see that she has quite an impressive list of books and awards to her credit.   I've been off of "chick lit" for a while, but I think Millie's Fling might just bring me back for a while.