Product Description

Melissa Fuller, gossip columnist of the fictional "New York Journal" is on the brink of losing her job. This particular morning, she is 68 minutes late for work - making it her 37th late arrival so far this year. Human Resources have given her another official warning, her boss seriously doubts her commitment to the paper and, more importantly, even her best friend has begun to worry about her psychological well being. This time, however, Melissa has a real excuse. She has just saved her elderly neighbour from a near-fatal attack, taken her to hospital and in the process become sole custodian of Paco, her Great Dane - not the ideal accessory for a New York City girl. Melissa urgently needs to trace her neighbour's only relative and when she finally meets him the real trouble starts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107877 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 590 pages

Review
Mistaken identity leads to misunderstandings and cover-ups galore in this fresh, sparky modern romance. When kind-hearted gossip columnist Melissa Fuller finds elderly neighbour Mrs Friedlander violently assaulted and left for dead in her New York flat, the 27-year-old singleton becomes good Samaritan to her dog and cats while the old lady lies in hospital in a coma. Surviving relative Max is hard to trace but when he moves into his aunt's flat to relieve Melissa of her duties he's not what Melissa or her friends expect. Max has a reputation as a cold, womanising narcissist - and this incarnation is anything but! In fact, 'Max' is John Trent, a friend honouring a favour, who reluctantly agrees to pet-mind for Max while he holidays with a supermodel. Mutually obsessed with sinkholes and hurricanes, John and Melissa get on immediately. They fall in love and John means to tell her who he really is but the moment never comes. So when Vivica the supermodel spills the beans about the selfish Max the pair's romance seems doomed - unless the Trent family matriarch can patch things up. The story is told entirely through emails from the many characters, whose idiosyncrasies and motives are cleverly revealed through the energetic dialogue. It's a sharp, admirably arch piece of fiction that's hard to read without a smile on your face. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
Melissa Fuller, gossip columnist of the fictional "New York Journal" is on the brink of losing her job. This particular morning, she is 68 minutes late for work - making it her 37th late arrival so far this year. Human Resources have given her another official warning, her boss seriously doubts her commitment to the paper and, more importantly, even her best friend has begun to worry about her psychological well being. This time, however, Melissa has a real excuse. She has just saved her elderly neighbour from a near-fatal attack, taken her to hospital and in the process become sole custodian of Paco, her Great Dane - not the ideal accessory for a New York City girl. Melissa urgently needs to trace her neighbour's only relative and when she finally meets him the real trouble starts.

About the Author
Meg Cabot has lived in Indiana and California, USA and in France. She is the author of the highly succesful series of children's books, The Princess Diaries, the first of which Walt Disney Pictures recently released as a major motion picture starring Julie Andrews. Meg now lives with her husband in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Superb!
I should start by saying that I am probably not the intended audience for what some would call "chic lit" but I have to tell you as a 39 year old man this book made me laugh out loud more than any other I have ever read! The novel way of telling the story (through a collection of emails) makes it a page turner extraordinaire and sorry to use a cliche but I honestly couldn't put it down, it was that good! If I had to make one complaint it would be that I would have liked to have seen more of the character of Dolly Vargas, a camp, over the top "Ab Fab" kind of woman whose emails were so funny I cried in places. I will definitely be reading the 2 other novels in this series now and would recommend them to anyone, male, female and any age. Absolutely superb!

Another thoughtful romantic book
What can I say, Meg Cabot definately is the preeminent author. This book tells the romance - and I can tell you Meg Cabot explains it well - of a young woman (who is kind of struggling in that department). When she finds her neighbour unconscious by the howling of the disturbed dog next door, she gets more than she bargains for... not to mention another tardy letter from work.

Cute lovely fun
This is just one of the best romantic books on the market. There is plenty of dross about that is neither funny, sweet or romantic, but this has believable characters, lots of humour and a very original storyline. Her other books are great (but not quite as brilliant). Try Boy Meets Girl and Every Boy's Got One as well.