Customer Reviews

Mirandas Big Mistake

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Miranda works at Fenn Lomax salon as a junior stylist. Poor Miranda though can't seem to do anything right. First she gives away one of the salon's client's money to a homeless man. Next she gives the homeless man a pair of very expensive gloves, only to have the rightful owner call to say he is coming to pick them up. Hey it wasn't Miranda's fault that the owner after six weeks all of a sudden decides he wants his missing gloves back. Though some miracle, Miranda's boss Fen Lomax tolerates all of Miranda's antics.

Chole Malone has just received the biggest shock of her life. She is pregnant. She and her husband never planned on having children but sometimes surprises can be a good thing...right? When Chloe shares the good news with her husband, Greg, he is anything but thrilled. In fact he is so irate that he packs up and ditches Chloe. But he does leave her the clock his grandmother gave them as he isn't a bastard that way.

While attending one of her friend's charity parties, Miranda meets the most handsomest man there. Instantly they experience a connection. HIs name is Greg. Will Greg end up being Miranda's biggest mistake yet?

Miranda is such a sweetheart. You won't meet anyone with a bigger heart then her. I can't get enough of her and all of her friends. Miranda may not see herself as star quality material but she is wrong. What a fun, flirty, fabulous summer read. Miranda's Big Mistake I can assure you will not be a mistake to read. The only mistake you will be making is if you don't read this book. This is the first time I have read anything by Jill Mansell and it won't be the last.

I only gave this book 3 stars because it wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. I won't go into plot details (looks like there's plenty of other reviews that do that for you.) I'll say this: I do think it was fairly well-written, but very predictable. And at 475 pages(!) that's much too long to be so predictable. At every turn in the story you can call how it's going to go. Overall it was ok, but it definitely won't be one of those books you keep to read over again years down the road.

This is one of Mansell's better romantic comedies. Miranda is an apprentice hairdresser who seems to have the worst luck when it comes to meeting men. Her current boyfriend - Greg - turns out to be a louse, and the one that follows Greg isn't much better. Instead of stopping to evaluate herself and what she really wants, Miranda goes merrily along to the next guy and overlooks some of the more interesting (and potential) men in her life. The story is very cute and starts right away; the characters are introduced and we get going into their lives with very little back-story, which was great. I've read all of Mansell's books and this one stands apart from the others in a few ways. One, you know right away who Miranda will end up with (she doesn't, but we do) and it was touching to watch their relationship unfold. Two, all of the characters are intertwined or interrelated somehow - the storylines thread easily into one another and it's not just a series of subplots, but a single plot with multiple supporting characters. Three, the ending was given enough time to be romantic and fulfilling. This wasn't as funny as some of her other books have been, but the characters were much richer and more likeable (all of them but one) and it's definitely worth reading.

I read another Jill Mansell book (Millie's Fling) - which I pretty much inhaled. I couldn't put it down and finished in a few days. I was very excited to find an author that can keep me glued to a book as such. I didn't hesitate one bit to download this book, but boy has this been a disappointment. I'm not sure what it is, but instead of being glued to a book I am having a very hard time getting into this one. I'm now a couple of chapters into it and I'm having a hard time keeping track of the characters. I'm not sure what it is, but this one is not for me. I'm happy I only spent $.99 on it and not full price!

I LOVED this book! Miranda is one of the most engaging heroines I've met in a longtime. She's the quintessential good girl, naive, trusting and altogether unsuited for life in London. From the first scene, where Miranda, an assistant at a posh hair salon, is sent out to pick up coffee for an important guest and she uses the change to buy a sandwich for a homeless man, you just know this is going to be a great book. Miranda gets into one scrape after another, and not even her incredibly kind yet worldly landlady Florence can help her. Nothing is as it seems in the book, with people pretending to be homeless, pretending to be gigolos, and in some cases (of course) pretending to be single.

Of course, this being a modern day fairytale, everyone ends up paired off at the end and lives happily ever after. And those who deserve to be taken down a peg or two get theirs -- and then some. This book will lift you up, make you feel optimistic about life -- and (be warned), it's also one of those books that will make you laugh so hard you can't catch your breath, which is always a little embarrassing in public.

One thing, though, the writing is very British -- so if you're not too sure about carrier bags, loo rolls and people 'not giving a toss', you might want to brush up on your slang first. Enjoy!

Awhile back, I began to wonder if I were getting too old to appreciate chick lit. I mean, I still knew that enjoyed the new "mom-lit" type books, but I thought maybe true chick lit had passed me by (or should I say I passed it by). Well, I know that is definitely not the case ever since I discovered Jill Mansell. A few months ago, I read and reviewed AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE; and I really liked it. Well now I've read another one of her books MIRANDA'S BIG MISTAKE, and I think I enjoyed it even more.

I couldn't get enough of MIRANDA'S BIG MISTAKE and characters; and I didn't want the book to end. After reading two of her books, I now consider myself a huge fan of Ms. Mansell's; and I am glad that Sourcebooks is releasing more of her books in the next few months. I can't put my finger on exactly why I enjoy her books so much, but I think it has something to do with the way she writes them. She comes up with an entertaining story, creates memorable and likable characters, and then writes her books with lots of humor thrown in. Whatever it is, it's a formula that definitely works for me!

There were so many great characters in this story. Of course, Miranda was terrific and I couldn't help but like her (even when I knew she was being rather thick-headed.) But I actually liked some of Miranda's friends (and housemates) even more. I absolutely loved Chloe, the woman whose husband left her when he found out she was pregnant; and I also loved Florence, the older woman with whom Miranda lived. I even really liked Miranda's hot boss Fenn and her best friend at work Bev. All of the characters, even the minor ones, were interesting and made the story better; and they all complimented Miranda perfectly.

In addition to the characters, I thought this story was terrific. There were quite a few twists and turns and even some confusion between the characters that caused some awkward (yet hilarious) moments. And while I was expecting this book to be very funny, I have to admit that I was surprised by the serious turn the story took. I can say that I was actually shocked at one point in this book, and I found myself appreciating the story on a whole new level. Don't get me wrong: MIRANDA'S BIG MISTAKE is an overall fun read and perfect for the summer, but there were a few pages that did make me a little sad.

As was the case in the last Mansell book I read, there are a lot of characters and a lot of side storylines going on in MIRANDA'S BIG MISTAKE. In fact, this book is pretty long compared to your typical chick-lit book -- it's around 475 pages; however, the book is a very light, fun read and it's not at all hard to follow all of the characters and their stories. I know this sounds sappy, but I loved that all of the characters (well, the likable ones) eventually discover love and happiness. I guess that is the reason that I read these types of books -- for the happy endings.

The way this book is read on the kindle, it is difficult to transition between characters. In some instances it doesnt make sense. Other than that a good story.

STORY BRIEF:
Miranda works in a hair salon washing hair and sweeping floors. She is a fun quirky personality with odd colored hair. She rents a room from and lives with Florence who is wheelchair bound due to arthritis. Miranda runs errands and does chores for Florence in return for low rent. Chloe unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Her husband Greg leaves her because he doesn't want children. When Florence learns this she invites Chloe to live with her as well.

Miranda meets and has relationships with three men. The first is Greg. He doesn't tell her that he is married and separated. She thinks she's in love and is devastated when she learns the truth. With the help of friends she gets revenge, but she is unhappy until she finds someone else.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I was hoping for delightful and funny, but it was just ok. The Miranda story was interesting but not memorable and not a favorite. I loved the Chloe story. There were surprises in the Chloe story. Someone ends up being attracted to her which was totally unexpected. It was the best part of the book. But it was a secondary story. I wanted more of it.

Chick lit is not my preferred genre but I'm willing to give 5 stars if it's great. But this was just ok. Chick lit means it's more about Miranda and people in her life than the development of a romantic relationship. I think chick lit fans might like it more than I did.

Miscommunication and inaccurate assumptions were the reason Miranda didn't end up with a true love until the end. That's an overused source of conflict in romance novels which is partly why I found this to be just average. I prefer conflict based on other things like personality, third parties, and outside events.

DATA:
Story length: 475 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day London, England. Copyright: 1999. Genre: chick lit.

This was another fun read from Jill Mansell. Again, her cast of characters are so loveable that you want them to be your friends! Miranda's life seems to be a mess - but she is surrounded by many friends who love her and care about her - from her landlady Florence, her boss at the hair salon, Fenn and her best friend Bev. Even though she seems to have her share of bad luck when it comes to men, it seems that everyone who comes in contact with her is instantly taken in by her warm and giving personality.



Miranda befriends a homeless man who sits outside the salon - she gives him half her lunch whenever she sees him - and even goes so far to give him money for tea and a scarf and gloves. Of course, the gloves were left at the salon by a client, and after waiting weeks to take them and give them to this homeless man, the client phones up and wants them back! This sort of tells you how her life in general seems to go. How would you feel if you had to go back to a homeless man just minutes after giving him a warm pair of gloves and tell him that you needed them back?

After Miranda finishes with Greg, the soon-to-be ex-husband baby-daddy of her new flatmate, she decides that she is happy just as she is - until, of course, she catches the eye of a very handsome, very well-known race car driver. How fast can she fall for him?

I have really been enjoying Jill Mansell's books. If you missed my review of An Offer You Can't Refuse you should really go check it out too. I also did an interview with Jill Mansell - just click on her name. I am really excited to tell you she is going to have a fall release also - Millie's Fling! Watch for details.

The story was entertaining, but the formatting of the Kindle version is terrible. The story jumps from character to character without section breaks/spacing. It was confusing at times.