Asking for Trouble: A Novel (Paperback)

~ Elizabeth Young (Author) "I blame if entirely on the pressure of work, but for the next couple of weeks Dominic and I were still officially an item at..." (more)
Key Phrases: wine gums, escort agency, little sod, Maggie Freeman, Granny Metcalfe, Auntie Barbara (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young's first novel is a silly and harmless yarn set in modern England concerning guess what the romantic tribulations of a self-deprecating 30-ish woman. Like Nick Hornby's About a Boy, it is predicated on a white lie that spirals out of control. Sophy, a charmingly sarcastic London recruiter on "the cutting edge of human-resource management," is in no rush to get hitched and only mildly disheartened when her long-standing boyfriend dumps her. Her fretting Mum believes that "an unattached daughter who's just hit thirty is a Serious Worry," so to keep her happy, Sophy fabricates a handsome, attentive, successful suitor named Dominic. But when younger and prettier sister Belinda decides to marry, Sophy is forced to produce her new bloke. Ever resourceful, a desperate Sophy hires Josh from a London escort service to play the part of Dominic and accompany her to her sister's wedding. Predictably, within hours of meeting her paid companion, lusty Sophy finds herself attracted to him. Lies are piled on top of lies as the duplicitous Sophy suffers the "strain of spending a whole evening and night with a man I fancied the pants off while pretending I didn't (to him), while at the same time pretending I did (for the family)." Despite Sophy's near inability to tell the truth, she's charming and the author does a fine job of conveying her appeal. Readers who enjoy the wisecracks, parenthetical asides and flaky characters that are the bread and butter of contemporary British romantic comedies will be happy to drag this breezy book off to beaches or onto planes. But the hard-to-follow tangle of falsehoods, giddy banter that all somehow winds up sounding the same, and contrived plot twists will exhaust everyone else long before the novel's end. National ad campaign. (Sept.)Forecast: Once in bookstores, entries in this oversubscribed genre may be fated to be judged by their covers and the cutest will always win, of course. Asking for Trouble has the pastels down pat, but a subdued shot of lacy underwear on a line lacks spirit.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Book your seat for a funny, yet romantic romp through modern England, with the delightfully sarcastic Sophy as your guide." -- Sujata Massey, author of The Salaryman's Wife and The Bride's Kimono

"The British are coming! Prepare yourself for a jolly good time!" -- Susan Andersen, author of All Shook Up

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Avon A; 1st edition (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380818973
• ISBN-13: 978-0380818976
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a delightful quick read!, January 17, 2002

By	Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I read this book in two days ~~ and if I didn't have a wedding to plan nor work nor a honeymoon to get ready for, I would have read this book in just a few hours. It was such a perfect light reading amid all the stress in life!

Sophy Metcalfe tells a little white lie to keep her mother off her back and that little white lie snowballs into something hilarious ~~ the whole book is based on Sophy's white lie and how she tries to get out of it.

Her perfect little sister is getting married to this perfect man. So, Sophy's "Dominic" has to make an appearance ~~ only there is no Dominic. Sophy then goes to an escort service to hire someone for the day ~~ that someone is Josh. And they attend the wedding from hell. The story takes off from there.

Young takes you on a wild chase through England while Sophy fights her feelings for Josh ~~ with hilarious help from her flatmates. It's such a fun book to read ~~ nothing heavy and serious ~~ just a fun fluff to read on a gloomy winter day or even to take this book to the beach. It's one of the better romance books around. You can't help but relate to Sophy as she tries to make amends for the white lie she had told her mother ~~ after all, which one of us didn't have a mother who despair that we'd never find Mr. Right? It's a fun trip down memory lane for those of us out of the dating pool and such a hilarious relating for those of us who are still looking for Mr. Right. You just never know where you might find him.

1-17-02

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT, September 20, 2001

By	Jennifer DeWitt (Bay Area, CA United States) - See all my reviews

1,000 words are not enough to describe how great this book is, but I'll give it a shot! While the blurb on the back sounded promising, I expected another post-Bridget Jones funny-yet-predictable novel.

I bought it anyway, and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-written, fast-paced, and truly hilarious novel about a heroine I could really relate to. The book's tone is conversational, as if Sophy is your best girlfriend, and you're dishing over a couple of vodkas; as a result, I liked her and found myself waiting anxiously for the next plot twist to unfold.

Even though Sophy's white lie(s) spin(s) wildly out of control, I didn't think the plot and its many twists were at all contrived or predictable. Sophy's character rang quite true to me, as did everyone else's.

In the ever-expanding universe of contemporary women's fiction, I think this book is a breath of fresh air. While Sophy is no less charmingly neurotic than Bridget and her "sisters," I feel that Sophy's character is deeper, a bit more developed, less breezy, and, as a result, more human. She acknowledges, and agonizes, over her faults, and seems to grow as a person through her experiences.

The characters' relationships strike me as more complex and authentic than other novels, perhaps because of Ms. Young's attention to detail in crafting their mannerisms, speech, etc. She also creates a sense of history, in describing events and people from Sophy's childhood, which are traced to the present.
Finally, the situations, dialogue and descriptions are often so unexpectedly funny that I laughed until I cried. I could not put this book down. You'll love it, too.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Still Missing Something--A Lot of Somethings, Actually, October 19, 2005

By	Eon (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

After watching the movie "The Wedding Date", which is based upon this book, I felt like I'd missed something. It was a cute idea with amusing possibilities, but the movie was poorly executed. I figured I might as well give the book a shot. Usually books are better than movies, right?

Over all, I preferred the movie. Aside from a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor, most of it is pretty dry and bland. It drags on and on, with a good 100 pages to even get to the wedding. After the wedding, the book just kind of meanders, as if the author realized she couldn't possibly make it convincing that these two are so infatuated with each other after one afternoon. She could have meandered to 1000 pages, and I still wouldn't be convinced.

The book's biggest problem is the "heroine", Sophy. She is--as she often says herself--such a cow. Oh, and she's also fat.
She's a raging b*tch towards Josh, who is technically doing her a rather nice favor, wouldn't you say? But she's constantly snippy with him, completely paranoid, and always assuming he thinks the worst about her. Plus, she lies on a consistent basis, especially to him. Yet he still likes her, despite all this...and despite the fact that she's fat.
Any skinny, pretty woman is automatically a b*tch and a man-stealing cow. Maybe this is due to Sophy's fat-o-vision? Because of course, unlike those skinny pretty women, Sophy is too fat for a man to find her attractive. She's dead certain that as soon as someone a pound or two lighter walks onto the scene, Josh will be on them like white on rice. Isn't that lovely? But in spite of that, too, he still likes her. And despite the fact that she's fat.

Are you sick of me stating that Sophy is fat? Is it getting on your nerves? Because if it is, then this book will make you want to tear your hair out. I've been overweight for the greater half of my life, and I have self-esteem issues, but unlike Sophy, my every thought does not center around my weight. Of course, I, at least, would be justified. How the hell does Sophy, with her 36C chest, qualify as fat? Seeing as how she's about 5'10", a 36 inch underbust is not even close to fat.
Here's a little tip to the chick lit authors of the world: it's okay to make your herione overweight so long as you don't HARP ON ABOUT IT LIKE AN OBSESSIVE FREAK!

Completely unsympathetic as a character, it's impossible to feel bad for anything Sophy goes through, as she tends to reap what she sows. And the utterly predictible ending was completely unbelievable. Lovely idea, completely wasted on a Heroine From Hell and a "plot" held together by bubblegum and elastic bands.