Publication Date: October 1, 2012 (Paperback)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Movie
buff Scarlett O'Brien believes that real life can be just as exciting and
romantic as films, and she will stop at nothing to prove that it's easy to live
life like a movie heroine.
When
she is offered a house-sitting job at an impossibly grand mansion in Notting
Hill, she jumps at the chance to live out her film fantasies. It's just a shame
that her new neighbor, Sean, is so annoying and so irritatingly handsome. As a
chaotic comedy of her very
own begins to erupt, Scarlett must decide where her heart truly lies.
What
sort of happy ending does she really want? Will it be a case of Runaway Bride
or Happily Ever After?
“But that’s real life, Scarlett. Life is not a heart-shaped
box of chocolates.” – Finished Copy pg. 66
“Life can be just like a movie, and it doesn’t just happen
occasionally by accident; it happens every day, over and over again.” –Finished
Copy pg. 69
“I’d told Sean I believed everything happened for a reason.
What if my reason for coming to Notting Hill was more than just to prove my
family wrong about the movies? What if the reason I’d come here was to get the
chance to find the final piece of my jigsaw, the something that was missing
from my life-the chance to find my mother again?” – Finished Copy pg. 127
Scarlett O’ Brien’s life revolves around the cinema,
literally. Starting with her career, her fiancé’s career, and her deep passion
for film, her entire life is consumed with all the big screen flicks and how
she can adapt them to fit into her own monotonous lifestyle. Her friends and
family are starting to become skeptical of her “obsession” with all things
cinema, and she is on a mission to prove them all wrong. She wants to prove to
them that a movie can happen in your everyday, ordinary life!
This book was such a sweet and charming piece of one of my
favorite genres out there: chick lit! It really is based around Scarlett’s love
for the cinema, so there are tons of movie references. I enjoyed this for the
most part, but sometimes it got under my skin. I wouldn’t say it was overdone,
but you definitely get the point after the first few chapters. Besides that
small factor, I absolutely loved this book and I think it was written with tons
of imagination and actually made me want to watch Notting Hill!
I wanted to see our main character, Scarlett, bloom as she
traveled to Notting Hill for a short “break” to figure her life out. I felt so
sorry for her at the start of the novel because her life just seemed so dull
and rather boring. Her fiancé, David, got on my absolute last nerve, but I believe
that was the point. He was so strict with money and constantly nagged her about
one thing or another. Even her best friend, Maddie, couldn’t appreciate her
love for the cinema, and I just wanted to flick them all off the pages. I loved
Scarlett, even though she was somewhat odd and quirky at times; this helped set
her apart from other fictional characters.
I loved Sean, the rather nosy and sometimes arrogant neighbor
that Scarlett meets while she is in London. The first time that I was
introduced to Sean I must admit that I was not quite sure that I was going to
like him at all. Once I saw him interact more with Scarlett and I saw his adventurous
side come out, I immediately wanted her to leave David and fall deeply, head
over heels in love with Sean. He brought out a side of Scarlett that I needed
to see. Within the first few days of knowing Sean, Scarlett was being whisked
off to a wedding for someone she didn’t even know. It was great to see her
break free from the norms! I am so anxious for more from this author!
***A big thanks to the publishers at Sourcebooks Landmark for
providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***
What a cute book. I like the sound of Scarlett as a heroine. Thanks for the review.
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