Holly’s Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 1402241143
Pages: 544 pgs
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Challenges-Read’n’Review Challenge, 100+ Reading Challenge
Rating:   

 

 

Summary (from publisher):

Dear Holly, isn't it shocking...?
Things are finally going Holly Denham's way: she's in love, she's getting the recognition she deserves at work, and her friends and family have graciously opted to avoid disaster for the moment.
Just when Holly is starting to settle into her new life, scandal erupts and Holly finds herself-and her in box-at the center of a gossip whirlwind that threatens everything she's worked so hard for.
Written entirely in emails, this follow-up to the UK smash hit Holly's Inbox will keep you glued to its pages as the scandal running rampant in the city threatens to ruin Holly's hard-earned and long-awaited happiness.

My Review:

Things are finally going well for Holly. She is moving up at work, her family and friends are avoiding catastrophe at the moment and she has a boyfriend. Well, that is until it all starts to fall apart. Her job is at risk because of competition and scandal, her friends and family are insane and her boyfriend is largely absent and keeping a whopper of a secret.

Holly was one of the most normal and real characters I have ever come across. She is smart and a bit off kilter. I could identify with her. I sometimes, in difficult situations, find myself with the intense desire  to hide in a cupboard, closet or other secluded closed in place. Toby was one of the most inept of inept heroes. He is never home and neglects Holly. Holly has to send ridiculous emails to him to get any communication from him. Worst of all, he dumps her because she drinks out of loneliness because he is never home. Well duh, you dunderhead.  I wanted to corner him in a room and smack him about for a while. I think I may have liked him better if I had read the previous book but my love for Holly more than made up for my frustration with Toby.

I am generally very picky about format. Really picky. Poetry is at the edge of my comfort zone so imagine how far a book consisting entirely of emails must be to me. I am a literary prude and somewhat proud to admit it. I did like the format even though your view on the narrative is very limited. It conveyed the plot very well and gave each character a voice. I actually kind of loved it. I also thought the characters and the humor were utterly hilarious. I found myself laughing hysterically and cringing through most of the book

If you love Bridget Jones or Jill Mansell you will love this. The humor and format are similar but I think Holly is a more relatable character.

*A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for review. My opinion is my own and has not been influenced in any way and any monies made from associate or affiliate accounts are recycled back into the blog.