Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she’s been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother.
Things aren’t going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras.
When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads – by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady.
The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda’s guides still work. It’s going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off . . .
I’ve heard and seen so much about this novel on Twitter and in the bloggersphere since its release back in April this year. And I finally managed to get around to it on my TBR pile! This is a light-hearted, easy to read and laugh-out-loud novel which I thoroughly enjoyed reading!
The main protagonist, Jess, is quite something – she’s down to earth, fun, sassy and completely hilarious. Jess’ behaviour and mannerisms were quite a shock initially as she is so “in your face” from pretty much as soon as you open the book. But as the reader, I did really warm to her as the story progressed and this mattered as I really cared about what was happening to her. The character of Summer is probably the most frustratingly horrible person ever! The author has done such a fantastic job of creating her characters and exposing such strong emotions about each of them from her reader.
I also really enjoyed the integration of both Matilda’s clippings from her 1950s guides at the start of each chapter as well as the sections of Rose’s diary at relevant parts throughout the novel. This added to the depth of the story and I thought these were quite thought provoking and extremely fitting.
I haven’t read a chick-lit book in quite a while and this really was a breath of fresh air. While parts of the story were fairly predictable and at times a bit cheesy (but who doesn’t love a bit of cheese?!), I would strongly recommend this novel to anyone who likes classic chick-lit style fiction. I’m super pleased to have discovered a new author who is able to make me laugh – a real feel good novel!
Sara's Book Blog 
Great review, I love the sound of this book!
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