Customer Reviews

The King of the Swingers
I am only 14 years old. I was looking at a small book stall set up in Central Station, Sydney when I came accross this book. I was waiting for a friend so I bought the book along with two others (Death of Kings and Imperial Murder). I didn't get a chance to start reading untill about 2am the following day when my friend and I had just finnished... well being teenage girls. But the second I started the book I couldn't put it down. I read for 5 hours straigh and finnished it all in the one night. It was such a fantastic book, I had to read it again, and each time I couldn't stand to put it down for more the 5 mins. I went bowling with my friend and the book came with me. I think my friend might have gotten a bit jelous I was paying more attention to the book then I was to her.

Im not one to spoil a good book, but take it from a 14 year old girl that rarly makes time to read, this is a fantastic book and its well worth making even 30mins in your day to ready the first few chapters. In fact, ladies just read the first paragraph and you'll love it.

"Oh im the King of the Swingers!" sang the man in the monkey suit

A fun read
I'd only read Getting Personal before i read this so it had a bit of a reputation to withhold and to be fair it didn't do a bad job. I felt the main character, Jennifer, was a bit flimsy but that was made up for with Guy, a loveable character. The plot was guessable from near enough the first chapter but it's well written so you can pass that fact by most of the time. Complete with romance, angry and sad moments this book is ideal to disappear into after a stressful day at work.

Entertaining rom-com
When Dr Jennifer Niederhauser accepted a position as project manager for Prowdes Animal Sanctuary she had no idea that she would be forced to work alongside the stripper from her best friend's hen party. Haunted by the memory of her failed relationship with her first and only love, Dr Timothy Lauder, she refuses to participate in the world of dating and men. For years she has solely focussed all her efforts on her career as a conservationist specialising in primates. However when Dr Lauder unexpectedly walks back into her life everything becomes complicated. She finds herself making constant errors in judgment and unable to separate her working life from her private affairs. Will Jenny succeed in her mission to rehabilitate chimpanzees back to life in Africa and at what cost?

'Girl meets ape' is a hilarious romantic comedy based around the life of a bookish 27 year old woman. The story is a novel twist on a common problem facing us in modern times: how much should we sacrifice for our career? I found it easy to relate to the main character as the author delves into why she acts the way she does. Although Jennifer may be slightly more extreme than the majority of the population, the way in which she attempts to protect herself from hurt struck a chord deep within me. Chris Manby has cleverly created a number of other interesting characters which demonstrate how we should not judge a person necessarily by the job they do, but by how they go about it and what their true motivations are. It was also inspiring to see how someone with a very limited support network is forced to rely on her own inner strength which in turn actually helps her to gain a group of friends she can depend on.

This book is highly educational but manages to avoid being boring. I was impressed by the factual content relating to life at a wildlife sanctuary and the obvious time which was spent on research prior to writing the story. The subject matter was fascinating and has even woken a small naturalist side of me that I never knew existed. 'Girl meets ape' beings conservation to the main stream.

I was delighted that Jennifer ended up with the gorgeous stripper and gentle animal-keeper Guy, although it took a long time to get there. If you are looking for a warm, feel-good book to read, set away from the hectic pace of living in a city then 'Girl meets ape' is definitely for you.