Customer Reviews

The Go-To Girl

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this book, Louise Bagshawe has created a novel filled with vibrant characters and a suspenseful romantic plot, which I might add kept me reading far into the night.

Now, if you think YOU have a pathetic life, try out Anna's, our main heroine: She is a self-admitted "ugly" girl, has an underpaid (albeit interesting, at times) job of reading slush movie scripts, complete with a horrible boss and a lazy, catty coworker who just got promoted over her. Anna also lives with two beautiful models (one of which is very stuck up) and who have no qualms in assuring Anna of how ugly she is. If all of that isn't bad enough, she has just been dumped by her boyfriend Brian, who had suffered from halitosis and questionable body odor. The cherry on the pie is Anna's personality. She is horribly acquiescent - to the point of being a complete pushover.

However, her luck is about to change. After her company is taken over by a large corporation, Anna's boss-from-hell Kitty has ordered her to find a movie script that will actually be able to be made into a movie. Anna somehow manages to do that, and manages to find a top-name director to make the movie. This director, the reclusive, handsome and enigmatic Mark Swan, takes an interest in Anna and manages to get her on board with the movie. He also seems rather interested in Anna on a personal level... might it have something to do with her recent makeover?

Too bad Anna is convinced that such a handsome guy isn't interested in her. Instead, she gets caught up with Charles, a man who is rich, but with whom she has absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. When he proposes marriage, Anna's life is thrown into a tailspin. And things only get more insane from there...

Despite Anna's major character flaws, I got so into the story that I ended up finishing it in one night. The narrative is lively and funny, and some romantic suspense is thrown in for good measure. Lastly, the dialogue that occurs between the many characters is often very humorous.

The major downside to this novel was Anna's doormat character, (at least until the part of the book that she finally grows a backbone). People that enjoy assertive characters will absolutely despise Anna in the first half of the book. However, good storytelling makes up for these downfalls.

Overall, I definitely recommend giving this book a read. It is a fun, absorbing and interesting novel that one can immerse oneself in for hours.

The reason this book worked so well for me was the main character, Anna. For some reason, I always like heroines without self-confidence. You root for them, and want them to succeed.

Anna is the "dogsbody" for Kitty, a "wasp-waisted woman of a certain age, with a great plastic surgeon, so no one can tell what that age is". Anna's responsible for finding scripts. When Anna does spot a great one, Kitty takes the credit - but Anna catches the eye of Mark Swan, a (fictitious) big-deal UK director. He insists on working with her instead of the other people at Winning Productions.

Meanwhile, Anna is reluctantly pulled into a romance with Charles, a member of the landed gentry. Anna's friend fixed them up. While Anna is not attracted to him, and he "doesn't fancy her", they do forge a friendship of sorts, and he supports her in her dream of screenwriting. Meanwhile, Mark insists that she rewrite the script she's been working on, and stops pulling strings for her.

The subplot involves Anna's two model flatmates - one a young blonde, the other a 28-year-old brunette who is being forced into catalogue work because of her "old age." The blonde is rather one-note, but the brunette and Anna become friends, and Anna does her an enormous favor in the end.

One note: the plot description on the back of the book promises a "madcap scheme" whereby Anna gets what she wants, but there really was no such scheme - on behalf of herself, anyway. I found Anna to be a genuine, kind, funny character. She made the 372 pages worth reading. And yes, she gets some confidence by the end.

Unusually well-written and fabulously fun chick lit. Hilarious and enthralling, I started it right before going to the beach and found myself too absorbed to even swim-I just spent the whole time reading. Bubble-gum fluff, of course, but then isn't that what it's all about? Anna is a character you can empathize so much with, there are plenty of plot turnings and small details to keep you interested, Mark Swann is of course gorgeous and amusing and unusually for this type of fiction, someone you feel like you could actually meet in real life(except for the whole director thing, of course) And I especially appreciated the fact that the romance isn't driven by or founded on lust, with love something following almost as an after-thought. Clean, light, and fun, this laugh-out loud summer fling left me in a glow of well-being. A really unusual chick flick that's a good notch above most others in its genre.

Thirtyish Londoner Anna Brown considers herself too tall, too heavy, too muscular and has too big a nose. Her boss constantly reminds Anna that she is a lowlife assistant whose job is to fulfill her employer's demand. At home, she feels like a giantess as her roommates are petit models. Her boyfriend of three months breaks it off perhaps because she outweighs him by at least two and a half stone. As she learned several years ago, males always humiliate her.

Anna meets award winning film director Mark Swan, who encourages her to write a script. As she falls in love with her mentor, her lack of self-esteem makes her unable to believe that this powerful handsome man who could have anyone fancies her wants her.. When he refuses to help her sell her script, she knows why. Mark ponders how to persuade Anna that she is a beautiful swan who hides her best assets behind a veneer of unattractiveness and that he wants her for at least the next six decades.

THE GO-TO GIRL is an interesting chick lit romance that emphasizes that the grass seems greener in someone else's yard. Anna is a solid protagonist though her constant declaration of being the centerfold for ugliness can become irritating. The support cast is a wonderful group as the women envy one another with each one thinking that she is a loser in the gender wars while the men who desire them including Mark struggle with understanding them. Fans will appreciate this novel that will remind the audience of John Grey's MEN ARE FROM MARS WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS.

Harriet Klausner

I liked this unusual Cinderella story (the elements are almost all there, the low-self esteem and menial jobs of the main character, the evil - even if gorgeous - stepsisters, one of which, Janet, transforms herself into the Fairy GodMother giving Anna a makeover, the uberbitch, Prince Charming). Sometimes Anna's lack of self-confidence sounds unreal, but I have met people like her in real life.
I was definitely entertained, maybe it was the child in me recognizing the old fable.

I could not put this book down and was sorry when I finished it! I wanted more!! Perhaps Bagshawe can write a sequel? I'd love to know what happens to Lilly & Henry, Janet & Ed, Charles & ??, and of course Anna & Mark. I had so much fun reading this. The put-upon Anna finally finds the courage to go after what she wants in her career and in love, and proves that you don't have to be selfish, manipulative or mean to win.
Sounds like other books, but these characters are British and the story takes place in London with all the requisite cultural references and local flavor (or is it 'flavour'?).

You can depend on Bagshawe for a fun read. I don't think I've read anything of hers that I did not enjoy. Great for long flights, commuting on subway/bus, or a beach read.

THE STRANGEST THING I ORDERED BOTH THESE BOOKS FROM YOU AND THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME STORY !!!!!! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE
BOTH BACK COVERS START WITH "gorgeous goddesses......."
Imagine my surprise two different titles same story could you please explain.
Thank you

"The Go-To Girl" written by Louise Bagshawe, deals with thirty-something Anna who worked as a reader for a film production organization. Anna considered herself "ugly" as she was tall, muscular and very unfeminine. Her life focus at the moment was her career eventhough she was bullied at work by her immediate supervisor, Kitty. Things took another turn when she managed to sign on Mark Swan, one of the hottest director in Hollywood to direct their organization's movie. What more, Mark Swan seemed to take a liking to Anna. In the meantime, Anna was involved with Charles Dawson, one of England's most eligible bachelor who happened to be a millionaire. Even though Anna was not in love with him, Anna felt that at least there was someone who appreciated her.

"The Go-To Girl" is a so-so chick lit as the romance between Anna and Mark was never fully developed. In addition, the heroine, Anna, was a bit too whiny for me and I don't find myself rooting for her. She was constantly feeling sorry for herself. There are definitely better books out there in this genre. Nevertheless, this was still a relaxing read. Just don't expect too much.

Can't believe I'm giving a book by Louise Bagshawe only two stars, but I just finished a terrific book by her that leaves this one in the dust.

Anna, a 32-year-old script reader for a film production company, has image and self-confidence problems: she's too tall (nearly 6 feet), too heavy, not attractive. Most women can relate to not being physically perfect, but unfortunately the author bangs us over the head with it. She never lets up. On top of that, Anna has two of the most annoying, least interesting roommates possible. Anna meets a Very Interesting film producer/director, Mark, who seems to value her even as her bosses do everything to denigrate her. Anna is the quintessential doormat. It's hard to like her. We develop an interest in Mark, who's not only a hunk but the top filmmaker in Britain.

The book picks up speed when Anna is assigned to one of Mark's projects, then is wooed by a very wealthy British gent, with whom there's very little chemistry. Realizing that scriptwriting is Anna's true passion, Mark encourages her to do more of it. But we never get to really know any of the characters, and as we are led to believe something will develop with Mark -- whose character isn't well-developed -- it gets to be a frustrating read.

It takes almost until the end of the book for Anna to realize how she's been taken advantage of by and to stand up to her loathsome boss. And it took me a long time to finish The Movie; I kept putting it down because it was so lackluster. I'd recommend just about anything else by Ms. Bagshawe before this book; it doesn't have her usual magic.