The One You Really Want

February 8, 2016
Detailing many levels of British society, bestselling author Mansell scores again with a multilayered contemporary story of loves lost and found. In Scotland, Nancy discovers her husband has been cheating on her. She flies to London and stays with her best friend, Carmen, a three-year widow of rock star Spike Todd who hides her wealth and identity from the people at the homeless shelter where she volunteers. Spike’s brother, Rennie, a charismatic singer who sizzles with energy, also crashes at Carmen’s posh home. Soon Nancy’s mom joins them for a holiday, and then neighbors descend as well. Drama from familial relationships is intertwined with love relationships that range from teenage crushes to older companionship. Humorous dialogue defines well-drawn characters and adds a fun touch to lives that are spot-on with universal human angst. Agent: Jennifer Unter, the Unter Agency.

April 1, 2016

Leaving her cheating husband behind in Edinburgh, Nancy heads to London to stay with her best friend Carmen, who is still nursing her own broken heart since losing her rock star husband, Spike, to a drug overdose a few years earlier. Spike left her with a posh house and plenty of money, but that just makes Carmen's first forays back into dating more complicated. Does Joe the plumber really love her, or is he after her money? Then there's her blunt yet charming brother-in-law Rennie to consider, although he's a rock star, too, and with a playboy reputation. Meanwhile, Nancy has fallen for the hot Irishman next door, but he's already seeing a woman his teenage daughter has dubbed "Cyanide Sadie." Somehow everyone seems to be falling in love with the wrong person, but eventually they'll all figure out the one they really want. VERDICT Best-selling author Mansell (Falling for You; The Unexpected Consequences of Love) writes funny, romantic chick lit in the vein of Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella. In her latest to be published in the United States, she takes a standard story line of a second chance at love and adds enough twists and endearing characters to make it fresh.--Melissa DeWild, BookOps, New York P.L.

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