"About A Girl" by Lindsey Kelk

Tess Brookes has always lived life according to plan but one day it all falls to pieces.  And then her whole life changes from one “what was I thinking” moment.

When Tess accidentally answers her flatmate Vanessa’s phone, she sees a way out the mess her life has currently become.  Realizing that the person on the other end of the phone thinks she is Vanessa, she jumps right in and accepts the photography assignment being offered.  A week in Hawaii is just what she needs and since she used to be an amateur photographer, no one will find out that she isn’t Vanessa.  What could go wrong? 

How about everything.  From the moment she arrives in Hawaii, the journalist on shoot with her is trying to get into her pants, she has been assigned the diva of all models, and the subject of the shoot is nowhere to be found.  On top of this, Vanessa doesn’t exactly have the best reputation in the journalism world.  Will Tess be able to keep up her charade for the whole week or will she give in, ‘fess up and head back to England in shame?

About A Girl by Lindsey Kelk is a fun, romantic, loveable chick lit novel.  A bit longer than I was expecting from a typical chick lit book, it has great characters, a beautiful setting, and a fantastic premise (who doesn’t dream of escaping to Hawaii?)

Lately, I’ve had a hard time falling for the main characters in chick lit novels the way I used to.  But right from the beginning, I enjoyed Tess, even when she was that annoying, caught up in her career woman.  I thought the surrounding characters were fantastic, especially Tess’ best friend Amy who provided great laughs.  And as much as you’re meant to hate Vanessa, I thought she was the perfect villain, that girl we all love to hate, and the interactions between Tess and Vanessa were great.

Even though I was surprised at the length of the book when I first picked it up, this book flows well and is a page turner.  The setting is described beautifully and there is a ton of action to keep the book interesting.  Not to mention it’s laugh out loud funny.  I have only read one other book by Kelk (somewhere in the middle of the “I Heart” series) but this book definitely has me interested in what else she has to offer.  

Just a warning - this book does not wrap up neatly at the end.  But there is good reason for that, this is the first book in a series.  Some people may not like the cliffhanger, but I like how you’re left to think about what Tess should do and it seems to work because I can’t wait to pick up the next book to find out what she decided!