Hester BrowneRezensionen

First book was so funny. This not so much. The live interests don’t make sense.

Sweet book easy read with some issues. Romance early 2000 with limited social media and set in England

This is my favorite book of the three. In this one, you can really see Melissa figure out who she is and what she wants from her life. More annoying characters (Gabi and Allegra) are rarely seen and/or toned down, and Granny takes a larger role. But this was the book that made me really like Melissa, who had always seemed too resigned about her life, but cheerfully in denial about it. Browne gave her more depth in this book, and I loved that Prince Nicky helped Melissa figure out her life. Loved it.

Wonderful! Delightful! Charming! I enjoyed this just as much as I had her Little Lady Agency books. I had loads of fun reading how Betsy revitalized the school and trying to solve the mystery of her parentage at the same time.

This was disappointing. I've enjoyed everything I've ever ready by Hester Browne. Her characters are intelligent, take-charge type of women. Evie... was not. She honestly made me grit my teeth, and I did not find the eventual romance believable at all. I also found the plot a bit forced.

I adored this. There was nothing groundbreaking here, and that was something I truly appreciated. It was predictable in that I knew it was going to be fun, that I knew the major plot points going in (I mean, the title itself gives away one of them!), and that there would still be a HEA in the end. Though even I couldn't have predicted that Callie would be Kelly.

Pure fun. I loved it.

Fluff. Marshmallow. Won’t continue the series, but it was a pleasant diversion.

Sort of like Katie Fforde

Adult fiction; chick lit. Fans of Sophie Kinsella (and British accents in general) will enjoy this series from Hester Browne.

Not always a fan of royal mush, but this has really great characterisation as well as the love and diamonds. It's good to see a romance/ chick lit book not shying away from harsh reality: poverty, mental health, the past... I found myself wanting to know what happened next all the time.

After nearly being buried under my last book, the 1,149 page Outlander behemoth, An Echo in the Bone, I was looking for something lighter and shorter to read. Inspired by American princess to be Meghan Markle, I picked up this cute little novel about a commoner who becomes engaged to a prince. When gardener Amy meets Leo at a party she is the only person on earth who doesn't recognize who he is. She quickly gets caught up in the fun part of being a royal, diamond bracelets, glittering parties and fancy dresses. Unfortunately the bad part, attacks on her and her family by the press, insecurities, and awful relatives soon threaten her happy after. Is the love Amy and Leo share enough or will she be the one who got away?

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was around the middle when Amy leaves Leo hanging at a party that I started getting frustrated with the story. Amy is the most insecure neurotic person I have ever seen. When a problem pops up she runs away and buries her head in the sand instead of dealing with it.Things happen in Amy's life that are beyond her control and still she chooses to act as if she should be ashamed of everything. There is no way a real life relationship could ever function if one person runs away and shuts down every time there is a minor problem. My disgust at Amy started to overshadow my enjoyment of the story. Although I liked the concept of an ordinary person trying to fit into a royal family ultimately Amy's vapid ways and lack of a backbone ruined the fairy tale for me.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. I couldn't help but wonder if Hester had been following me around and wrote a story about exactly who I want to be. If you love antiques, stories, and history, read this book!

Sarebbero due stelline e mezzo. Inizia bene, ma poi diventa noioso...

Funny tongue-in-cheek story of a woman who decides to use her "womanly skills" (no, not a hooker) to help men understand women

Rosie works as an events planner (aka wedding planner) at the elegant, old-fashioned Bonneville Hotel in London. She makes a deal with her boss, Laurence, that if she increases the events revenue by 10% over the next year, her boss will consider promoting her to general manager. Then, her boss's son Joe arrives home from ten years in California. Laurence assigns Joe to be Rosie's assistant to learn the hotel trade from the ground up, but Rosie suspects that Laurence is grooming Joe to be the new general manager.

Joe has lots of suggestions for modernizing the hotel, such as bouncy houses, buffet lines, and burlesque dancers. Even worse are Joe's blunt, honest opinions and the soul-searching questions he poses to the brides, such as are they sure they want to spend the rest of their lives with their fiances.

Before long, couples are deciding to hold their weddings elsewhere or breaking up and calling off their weddings, and Rosie sees her target and her promotion going down the drain.

Can Rosie teach Joe tact and discretion? Can Joe teach Rosie that the hotel's bottom line is not everything? Can they learn to work together?

Predictable but fun.

So much fun.

Sounds a bit like that Julia Stiles movie from whenever The Prince & Me . . . or a grown-up Princess Diaries.

This was a fun read with a great cast of characters.

Evie works at an antique shop, where she is always getting in trouble with her boss for buy raggedy teddy bears and old wedding pictures. She is excited to get a chance to value antique furniture at a Scottish castle, whose owners need to sell some stuff to raise cash. At the castle, Evie finds secrets and romance.½

I wonder if art colleges offer courses in chick-lit book-cover design? The cover of Hester Browne's [b:The Little Lady Agency|137098|The Little Lady Agency|Hester Browne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172087867s/137098.jpg|982677] screams CHICK-LIT and that's exactly what's sandwiched between the covers. And a marvelous example of the genre it is, too.

Melissa Romney-Jones is the daughter of a slimy and successful British politician. After losing her job with an up-market estate agency, she decides to sign up with a respectable escort service run by one of her former school teachers. One appointment with a client convinces her that the agency is less than respectable, so she decides to go into business herself, hiding her identity behind the flashy blonde persona of 'Honey'. She accomplishes the metamorphosis with ease, thanks to her innate managerial skills, her social connections, a blonde wig, a top-heavy hourglass figure, and the help of an awesome arsenal of military-grade girdles and corsets.

Business blossoms and she nets a perfect client: Jonathan, the new American boss of her former estate agency. Hot, handsome and rich.

I would have enjoyed this book immensely even if Ms Browne had limited the arc to Melissa/Honey, her ever-fascinating business assignments, and her growing relationship with super-client Jonathan.

It's a pity the author didn't ease off on some of the side stories: Mel's BFF relationship with her too-perfect male flatmate, her utterly dysfunctional family (Granny excepted), and the plot manipulation that leaves Mel wondering whether she should go for flatmate Nelson or client Jonathan.

Chick-lit is funny and frivolous by definition, but that doesn't absolve the author from taking as much care with the narrative and characterisation as she would for a straight romance or a suspense mystery.

Characters who didn't ring true because of a lack of information, or an over-abundance of false leads, were Mel's MP father, flatmate Nelson, sister Emma, and old friend Gabi.

I wasn't able to read the book in one sitting and had to put it aside overnight. The next morning, instead of returning to the book, I found myself exploring the latest batch of new publication emails from various publishers, and popping three or four ebooks into my shopping cart. I was tempted to start reading some these new acquisitions but pushed myself to resume [b:The Little Lady Agency|137098|The Little Lady Agency|Hester Browne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172087867s/137098.jpg|982677] and read it to the end. I'm glad I did, but the temporary loss of interest underlines some of the weaknesses in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable and very witty story with a memorable heroine.

I liked Evie better as the book went on. At first she seemed a little too obsessed with the past and the imaginary life she lived there. While the romance was nice, I really liked how Evie was able to take a chance on real life.

I seem to find myself reading a lot of chick lit lately. But I think I'm starting to tire of it again.

This book was silly and girly and I contemplated dropping it about 30 pages in, but then there were a couple things that were interesting so I stuck around and finished it.

I didn't particularly like the narrator,Melissa. She was strangely bossy and meek at the same time. Like she had a split personality or something. I didn't like any of the scenes with her family. It just seemed like unnecessary chaos and randomness in the plot. Especially the plot lines like the baby or the evil nanny. Quite odd. I always wanted to skip those family scenes and go straight to the other plots.

Honestly the only reason I read this book was because I wanted to see how the scenes would play out with Melissa dealing with Nicky and Nelson. There was enough tension there that it was interesting. And even though Melissa was a little too oblivious to innuendoes (c'mon, you're helping men with romance and you don't get those jokes?!), I liked the progression.

She's just too oblivious. Especially to her own feelings.

This is just a typical chick lit with fluff and obvious romance. Nothing crazy, nothing horrible. Read it to satisfy those girly chick lit cravings.
Two stars. It was okay.

I seem to find myself reading a lot of chick lit lately. But I think I'm starting to tire of it again.

This book was silly and girly and I contemplated dropping it about 30 pages in, but then there were a couple things that were interesting so I stuck around and finished it.

I didn't particularly like the narrator,Melissa. She was strangely bossy and meek at the same time. Like she had a split personality or something. I didn't like any of the scenes with her family. It just seemed like unnecessary chaos and randomness in the plot. Especially the plot lines like the baby or the evil nanny. Quite odd. I always wanted to skip those family scenes and go straight to the other plots.

Honestly the only reason I read this book was because I wanted to see how the scenes would play out with Melissa dealing with Nicky and Nelson. There was enough tension there that it was interesting. And even though Melissa was a little too oblivious to innuendoes (c'mon, you're helping men with romance and you don't get those jokes?!), I liked the progression.

She's just too oblivious. Especially to her own feelings.

This is just a typical chick lit with fluff and obvious romance. Nothing crazy, nothing horrible. Read it to satisfy those girly chick lit cravings.
Two stars. It was okay.

I loved the whole concept of The Runaway Princess, right from the start. Who doesn't like the idea of getting a glimpse into the life of royalty?

Hester Browne does a wonderful job of setting the stage and creating quirky, likable characters. I could instantly relate to Leo, Amy, Jo, and others in this crazy cast of characters. I couldn't wait to see how Amy and Leo's romance would develop.

However, that's where the book didn't quite give me what I was hoping for. The majority of Amy and Leo's romance is told in backstory. For example, Amy and Leo begin to explore the physical part of their relationship in one chapter. In the next, a week has passed and it's mentioned in internal thought almost as an afterthought. Not that we, as readers, necessarily need all of the details, but it would have been nice to at least pick up on the story the following day. Unfortunately, we lost the opportunity to be clued in one Amy's true emotions and thoughts.

This happened quite a bit through out the romance portion of the story. I think that seriously hampered the believability of Leo and Amy's relationship.

That being said, the writing and the characters were very enjoyable. I would definitely read a second book if this continues as a series, just because I'm hoping for more.