Review: Rumor Has It by Jill Mansell

Paperback; 416 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

May 1st 2010
ISBN-13-978-1402237508

From the publisher: " Rumor Has It sizzles with internationally bestselling Mansell's signature fresh sense of humor, poignancy, and happy ending with a twist… Newly single Tilly Cole impulsively moves to a small town, only to find she's arrived in a hotbed of gossip, intrigue, and rampant rivalry for the most desirable man—Jack Lucas, whose reputation is beyond bad. Tilly has no intention of becoming another notch on his bedpost. But she finds the thoughtful, caring guy she comes to value as a friend doesn't seem to fit the town's playboy image. Should she listen to her friends or her heart? Is Tilly being mature and sensible—or running away from the love of her life?"

My Thoughts: Such a fun read! Okay, so Tilly is not heartbroken that her boyfriend Gavin has left her but she is in a predicament. It will be hard to pay the rent on their pricey London flat without his half. While on a spur-of-the-moment visit to her best friend Erin in the small town of Roxborough, she answers an ad for a girl-Friday and talks herself into an immediate interview. The man running the ad is Max Dineen, a successful interior decorator, who needs help with his 13 year old spirited daughter Lou and anything else that needs doing. The three of them hit it off right away. She's hired and goes back to London to pack.

Tilly moves to the small town where it seems everyone knows everybody else's business and they are not afraid to let their opinions be known or let truth get in the way of a good story. When Max introduces her to Jack Lucas she is smitten at first glance. It seems Jack is a bit of a lad and has quite the reputation. Or so the gossip goes anyway, but when he takes Tilly out he doesn't make any untoward moves. This makes Tilly wonder if it is just her or is his reputation overblown. Through a lot of attemps on Jack's part to impress Tilly, she just is too afraid to admit that she has fallen for him because she thinks he is commitment challenged. And of course there is that reputation to worry about . . . .but finally Tilly gets the brilliant idea for a way to ferret out the truth. Now if it will only work!

Meanwhile, Tilly's best friend Erin has her own romantic challenges to work out. She got seriously involved with Fergus months after he left his wife Stella. The problem with Stella, besides her acting like a crazy woman, is she finds it hard to believe Fergus would actually leave her. How could he? She is so fantastic! Do you think Stella has an ego problem? Stella makes it her mission to make Erin's life miserable. Stella's cat Bing isn't the only one with claws!

Rumor Has It is just such a delightful book with many more plot threads to enchant fans of romantic comedy. I was immersed in the story right away and I especially liked Mansell's humorous style of writing. Her characters seemed so real to me. I loved all their shenanigans, their insecurities and illusions and their way of coping with life in general. The pace was quick, the dialogue was witty and the action kept me turning the pages almost non-stop.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jill Mansell is an internationally bestselling author, with over 4 million copies sold. She has written 20 women’s fiction novels with multi-generational appeal, Mansell’s cheeky writing style is loved by fans both here and abroad and has been compared to Sex & the City and Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Jill’s books have been consistently shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. She was recently ranked #60 on The Guardian’s 100 Top Bestselling Authors of the decade. Rumor Has It was ranked at #50 on The Bookseller.com’s Top 100 Bestselling UK Titles of 2009.
Jill currently lives in Bristol, England, with her partner and their children, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marveling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Sourcebooks, Inc.