Miranda's Big Mistake

May 4, 2009
Taking a position as a trainee in a posh London hair salon may not seem the ideal situation for finding Mr. Right, but this breezy, whimsical novel from best-selling British chick-lit author Mansell (An Offer You Can't Refuse) introduces just such a heroine, Miranda, to a wide range of men, from panhandler to racecar driver, on her way to true love (and true retaliation). In a series of escapades too over-the-top even for Bridget Jones, feisty but accident-prone Miranda joins forces with other unlucky-in-love ladies, including a pregnant woman abandoned by her no-good husband and an aging but still-game landlady with a terminally greedy son. Plotlines and characters interweave with unexpected but satisfying results, including delicious comeuppance for the offending males. Summarizing the girl-power revenge plot, however, fails to do justice to the shenanigans that fill it out, making this a winning read. While Mansell's British humor doesn't always translate, Miranda's got more than enough irresistible transoceanic charm to promise that this, the first of several Mansell novels Sourcebooks is introducing to the U.S., should net a passionate new audience eager for the more.

June 1, 2009
Miranda Carlisle, 23, lives a quiet life. She works in an upscale salon and helps her elderly, wheelchair-bound, smart-mouthed landlord, Florence, get around. When she meets Greg Malone at a charity event, she cant believe her luck. After a whirlwind romance, she gets hit by a bombshell when her roommate Chloe sees him walking up to the door. Greg is actually Chloes husband, who abandoned her after Chloe revealed she was pregnant. Both women are thoroughly embarrassed and ready for revenge, and Chloe, Miranda, and Florence plan out an elaborate scheme to put Greg in his place. Miranda swears that she wont make the same mistake again and wont fall for sweet words so easily. But its hard not to get carried away. Will Miranda finally meet Mr. Right, or keep meeting Mr. Right Now? Mansells novel proves the maxims that love is blind and theres someone for everyone, topped with a satisfying revenge plot that every jilted woman will relish.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)