What a Girl Wants

Some of you may remember my post from last August (holy crap, almost a year ago!) about the wonderful romantic-comedy that I read, courtesy of the amazing Lindsey Kelk, entitled About A Girl. You can find my review of that here.

Now, I knew from the second I finished that book that (thank god) there was going to be a sequel, and as it got closer and closer to the time that What A Girl Wants would come out I grew progressively anxious. Dammit, but I needed to know who Tess was going to choose of the adorable but completely frustrating best friend, Charlie Wilder, and the uber sexy and amazing journalist, Nick Miller. I was Team Nick all the way. 

Believe me when I tell you that in all my years of being a book, specifically of the romantic kind, connoisseur, I have never had such a hard-on to get my hands on a book before. So much so that I re-read About a Girl just this morning and couldn't even wait until I get back to London in two weeks to buy a paperback copy like I'd planned. No, standing at the platform and waiting for my train I decided 'screw it' and downloaded the book straight to my iPhone. I hate digital copies – usually I buy the hard copy then bootleg the digital copy to my Kobo for easier travelling since I spend so much time on the road (and love it). But I was so desperate for this book it wasn't even funny. Plus I was still hurting a bit that I was going to be 3 days late back in London to meet the wonderful Lindsey at her book signing. Woe was I, and I needed the balm. So, successfully acquiring a copy of the book that only just came out today before hopping on the train, I stuck straight into it. 

And devoured the entire thing between Hamburg and Munich.

Thank god I managed to get a comfy chair instead of having to sit in the hallway again, but to be honest I probably wouldn't even have noticed if my butt went numb on the floor. 

Just like it's predecessor, What A Girl Wants had me in a tangle of emotions and so completely engrossed that I really don't know how long it took me to get to Munich this afternoon. I laughed, I cried, I anxiously munched carrot sticks, and I very nearly squealed out loud more than once. Everything that I loved about the first book was back in spades from the loveable Kekipi, the annoyingly adorable Charlie, the hotter than hell Nick and the hilarious Tess and Amy. From the second it even started I was short of breath, savouring every word and swishing from page to page like a madwoman obsessed with my iPhone. Insert a giggle, a gasp or a tear every now and then and the other people on the Dbahn probably thought I was mental. But I didn't care.

We left Tess last time she was fresh off the plane from Hawaii, suddenly homeless because her roommate is a psycho, caught a proposal from Charlie, an offer to work in Milan as a photographer, and an email from Nick that simply said 'Call me'. What A Girl Wants starts right where we left off with Tess struggling to decide what she wants from life and love. Of course she goes to Milan like I wanted her too, in a different way then I imagined, and that's just where the fun starts. From the prologue we know she'd about to land herself in Italian jail right next to crazy Amy, and hell if I didn't enjoy reading all about the misadventures along the way that resulted in her being there. 

The love triangle was stressful; there were moments when I wondered what the actual hell was going to happen next, and legitimately could not deal when the climax finally came. Not to mention all the breathless moments I had when Nick so much as walked onto the stage. Seriously, I have got to get me a Nick Miller – he'd melt the knickers off of even the most innocent of us. Charlie, on the other hand, landed himself a bit of a soft spot in my heart and I battled my own decision right alongside Tess over who to choose. But even if the story didn't leave Tess and the gang in any way, shape or form that I could anticipate – and was a shock away from screaming when I flicked to the acknowledgements page instead of another chapter – I was so damn happy with the book I don't even know how better to describe it.

Lindsey did it again and that is why she is one of my personal heroes. Every book of hers that I read just makes her even more so. From the first time I picked up the first of her dreamy I Heart series, right up until today, nothing short of bliss gets me when I finish one of her books. Its that fuzzy, warm feeling that I get every time I watch Ever After or Confessions of a Shopaholic. It's a drug and I need it. Please don't stop writing, Lindsey! I think I might actually die.

In all honesty though, What A Girl Wants really was a good read and more than lived up to the first book's high standard (which was just as awesome the second time around). I couldn't pick any faults with the writing itself, especially since I've become such a snob about that kind of thing, and there wasn't much time at all when I felt the story lull. I was generally very impressed – in fact, the only thing that did bother me was the plentiful use of the word 'vagina'. I'm just weird, but there's something about the word that bothers me. I'm definitely not a prude. So far from being a prude. It's just a weird thing. Anyway, there's not much else I can say about the overall construction of the novel – I was just highly satisfied.

Before I start to get too over excited and carried away, spitting out spoilers left right and centre, let me just say that What A Girl Wants is definitely one that I recommend; I loved it even if the ending left me a once satisfied, shocked and sputtering in near outrage. But only because I needed more, and I didn't realise it was going to end so suddenly thereby leaving me hanging like a mewling kitten on a washing line: out of breath, scared and needing solid ground. Of course once I calmed down I couldn't stop smiling for ages afterwards.

So you're forgiven, Lindsey, but on one condition: there had better be a third book. I need to know.

Plus I need me some more Nick Miller time.

What? A girl's got to get her kicks when she can.

Sam xox