Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions [Paperback]

Gemma Townley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

WHAT’S ONE LITTLE WHITE LIE?

Okay, so it isn’t that little. It’s kind of a whopper. It’s just that when Natalie Raglan ups and quits her job at a Bath advertising firm, breaks up with her loser-ish boyfriend, and moves–to London! Things don’t quite turn out the way she planned. Having made the brave move to the Big City, the lifelong country mouse finds that living chic is still a long way off. Even Cressida, the girl who used to rent her tiny flat, still gets more phone calls and mail there than Nat does. Come to think of it, Cressida Langdon’s life looks pretty appealing–especially when an invitation to the posh, exclusive Soho House club arrives, addressed to Cressida.

Before she really knows what she’s done, Nat has opened Cressida’s mail . . . and taken up her life. Soon Nat’s dating a gorgeous investment banker named Simon, giving “reiki healing sessions,” wearing wonderful clothes, and partying with the A-list at Soho House. But the best part really is Simon. He’s everything Nat has ever wanted. The problem is he thinks she’s someone else. And as her life and her lies begin to spiral out of control, Nat can’t help but wonder: Will she be exposed as a liar and a fake–or be saved from ruin by simply claiming good intentions. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Natalie Raglan would fancy a more glamorous, exciting life, but despite a recent move to London, her days are far from thrilling--and her nights are spent slogging through Thackeray's Vanity Fair. As in Townley's When in Rome... (2004), one impulsive indiscretion has rippling consequences for a bouncy (but soulful!) heroine. Natalie, tempted by the growing mound of unopened letters meant for her flat's previous tenant, the dazzling Cressida, soon finds herself opening Cressida's mail, then attending Cressida's parties and finally going on Cressida's dates. The world Natalie always hoped for becomes a reality--the only price she has to pay is that she has to pretend to be Cressida. But when sparks fly between her and hunky investment banker Simon Rutherford, Natalie finds her little white lies have gotten out of control; she can fool Simon, but can she fool Cressida's godmother, who's coming back from India to catch up with Cressida and her old pals, the Rutherfords? Poor Natalie: she's just like conniving Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair (which she finally finished). Well, really, she's a pale imitation, but she's sympathetic and likable enough. And while astute readers will see the happy ending coming from miles away, they'll still root for Natalie and her efforts to make the life she always dreamed about.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Natalie Raglan has traded her country-girl roots for the trendy scene in London's Notting Hill. But she hasn't quite adopted the glamorous lifestyle she thought would come along with the new digs. She is working as a lowly shop assistant at a hip boutique and spending Saturday nights alone watching television. When her flat's former tenant receives a piece of mysterious mail, she can't refrain from peeking. And Natalie certainly doesn't expect to call the man whose information is inside, or to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, she has also fabricated almost everything about her life, and it is not long before her lies catch up to her. Townley draws comparisons to Vanity Fair's conniving Becky Sharp, but Natalie isn't a scheming social climber; she is just struggling to find her place. With clean prose and engaging characters, Townley has set a classic story in a hip locale. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345467574
• ISBN-13: 978-0345467577
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,100,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

GEMMA TOWNLEY is also the author of Little White Lies. She launched her writing career at the age of sixteen with a book review in Harpers & Queen. While at Reading University, Gemma, a singer, cellist, and bassist, found time to record two albums with her band, Blueboy, with which she toured the U.K., France, and Japan. After graduating, she worked on and contributed to a number of magazines, including Homes and Ideas, Pay Magazine, Expat Investor, and Company. She also wrote about music for style magazines including G-Spot and Second Generation. She later became an editor at Financial Management magazine.Gemma is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is studying for an MBA at Henley Management College. She lives in West London with her husband, Mark..

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair, March 29, 2005

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions (Paperback)

I have been expecting this book for a long time. I absolutely loved the author's previous book.

The premise of this book is that our main character Natalie feels as though she does not have a life. She has just moved "to the big city" and is living in a small apartment which use to belong to someone else - this person apparently had quite a social life as Natalie keeps getting continuous phone calls and letters for this now departed person.

Of course, this only serves to make Natalie feel like more and more of a failure, because she never gets calls or any interesting mail.

Through the course of the early pages of the book, Natalie gets an interesting letter addressed to the previous owner. As Natalie's self-esteem becomes lower and lower (and after a night of heavy drinking), she decides to open this letter and POOFF!! she hooks up with the man of her dreams. Except Natalie is now impersonating someone else.

This book was ok, however, it had such a sad overtone to it that I just could not get into it with halfway as much relish as with "When in Rome".

Additionally, the whole "imitating someone else" thing got old very early on in this book. The author expects us to believe that the people in Natalie's life will all "play along" with her of-so-funny deception.

I am also very disconcerted by the fact that this story is not that funny. The author's previous work was quite funny at times and made up for some of the more "cheesy" moments, but this book is just not that good.

Also, the end is so predictable. I won't ruin the ending for anyone, but let's just say it stretches the limits of reality quite a bit.

Actually, that is my biggest problem with this book. ITS JUST TOO UNREAL.

Not a great one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but..., June 22, 2006

By 

Julia R - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions (Paperback)

I liked this book but felt myself becoming slightly impatient with wanting to just find out what happens with Natalie. The characters were great and the writing was good but I gave it a 3 because I got a bit bored a little more than halfway through. But it won't stop me from checking out her other books...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Won't Lie to You, August 11, 2005

By 

Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions (Paperback)

This book wasn't wonderful - it was entertaining and even fun at times, but the storyline was pretty unbelievable and the main character, Natalie, was as smart as a doorknob. From a writing standpoint, I can already see the problem with this author - she does not create smart and sophisticated 20something women, and she leaves the storylines hanging - this was very evident in While in Rome and again in Little White Lies. In Little White Lies, Natalie Raglan `takes over' the persona of Cressida Langton but the `takeover' isn't well crafted - instead of really having a good time with the storyline (ie having Natalie mistaken for Cressida in public), we are cheated and left wondering what Leonora said to the Rutherford family when Natalie was discovered. This was a crucial point in the story and the author just glides over it and moves to the next chapter - perhaps her writing skills are not strong enough to actually write out what would have happened? We hear so much about Leonora, Leonora is the only person who can expose Natalie, and we don't even get to hear Leonora speak! It was ridiculous. My major point of discontent with this book (and her previous one) is just an overall lack of character and story development. The book is fun, sure, and quick to read, but it's lacking quality and is the reason this writer won't ever be among the best in this genre.