Don't Even Think About It

Rating:
Summary: A Delightfully Wicked and Entertaining Novel
Review: A love triangle can be a pretty sticky situation to begin with. What happens when you add in a fourth angle? Would it be considered a love square? Perhaps. In any case, this is the scenario that the characters face in Lauren Henderson's latest novel. In my opinion, there is nothing more enticing then a juicy, intriguing chick lit book filled with offbeat characters and situations.

Katie and Michael have recently become an item and seem to be madly in love. The only problem is, Michael still lives across the street, and is best friends with Sally, one of his ex-girlfriends. Not only that but Sally seems to still have feelings for Michael, and enjoys flaunting her intimate knowledge of Michael's habits in Katie's face. Jude is Sally's best friend and wants nothing more than to see Sally back together with Michael, and Katie out of the picture. Meanwhile Jude is dealing with her own new workaholic boyfriend Scott, who doesn't seem to get along with her friends. For the time being, at least, Katie and Michael seem to be very much into each other and faithful.

But of course, life drops a bomb. As if things aren't complicated enough, Michael's first love Sofie, who had broken his heart mercilessly (from which he had never seemed to recover) comes to town. Katie discovers she is expecting Michael's baby, which throws everyone into a panic. Michael seems to be the devoted father-to-be, but is he really? Will Sofie woo him back? Will Sally woo him back? Will this complicated mess ever be solved?

Lauren Henderson has thrown together an irresistible recipe of romance, bad manners, jealousy and friendship in this book. The story is very unpredictable - just when you think you know what is going on, a wrench is suddenly thrown into the works to knock everything about. I enjoyed the seemingly unshakeable friendship that Sally and Jude had, the realistic relationship angst between Katie and Michael, and the angst felt among the characters. What a great story! There is a delightful amount of British wit and phrases to further spice up the story.

Rating:
Summary: Descent -- Not Her Best Work
Review: I have come to expect a lot from Lauren Henderson and was a bit let down by this book. The story is basically about 3 friends and the troubles that relationships bring. Especially when they are with one another. The three friends are well developed and their interactions are a wonderful read. But, the story reminds me of one of those books where the author doesn't know how to finish the book so the planet explodes. The book ends and you are left wondering why you spent the time, even with the great characters.