Monkey Love [Paperback]

Brenda Scott Royce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2006

Holly Heckerling has a great set of power tools, and she knows how to use them. It's a good thing, because her career as a stand-up comic isn't exactly paying the rent...yet. But nothing's going to stop Holly's rise to stardom. Not the pickpocketing monkey she's been persuaded to pet-sit, or the friends who constantly need her to come to the rescue. And definitely not her meddling aunt, who can't understand why Holly's never had a relationship more than three months long.

Actually, Holly's starting to wonder the same thing.Maybe it's time to stop monkeying around and settle down with a fellow primate (preferably one without fur). Too bad that when it comes to dating, it's a jungle out there, and you never know which way fate's going to swing next.

But if there's one thing that's really unpredictable, it's love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Royce, director of publications at the Los Angeles Zoo, populates her first novel with as many critters as humans, including Grouch the Cat, Rocky the Boa and Tallulah the monkey-plus a freezer full of rats from FrozenRodent.com. Holly Heckerling is a New York City jill-of-all-trades whose freelance business, Holly's Hobbies, is fueled by her boundless energy and countless gratis mochas from her best friend, Starbucks barrista Carter. Keeping herself afloat until her comedy showcase hits big, Holly juggles typing duties, animal husbandry, tax preparation and hair styling while getting dumped by her neglected boyfriend and inadvertently alienating friends and family. Lucky for Holly, it's not all crisis management: when a compelling manuscript lands in her lap, she discovers its handsome, available author may be interested in more than her typing skills. Attitude and eccentric characters abound in this rollicking novel, and fans of quirky heroines making a go of it in the big, bad city won't be disappointed.
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Review

Attitude and eccentric characters abound in this rollicking novel, and fans of quirky heroines making a go of it in the big, bad city won't be disappointed.

--Publishers Weekly

The characters in this farce are funny and well developed... Beneath the hysteria is a well-told tale of friends and family, with a few surprises.  Read and reread this book for a good laugh and a warm feeling.
--Romantic Times

The cute story of single New Yorker Holly Heckerling, struggling to get by with little money and dramatic friends. Throw in a pickpocketing monkey and, as you might expect, chaos ensues.
--OK! Magazine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217543
• ISBN-13: 978-0451217547
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I sat down to write my first novel, I had no idea there would be a monkey in the book. But I remembered the age-old advice, "Write what you know." At the time, I was studying primatology at Cal State Fullerton, working part-time observing orangutans at the Los Angeles Zoo, and volunteering on weekends as a chimpanzee caregiver at a wildlife sanctuary. So what I knew was apes and monkeys. Before long, Holly, the protagonist of Monkey Love, became the babysitter of a mischievous monkey.

My childhood ambition to study chimpanzees in Africa with Jane Goodall eventually gave way to "more realistic" goals of becoming either an actress or a writer. At thirteen, I moved with my family to Venice, Florida, and was accepted into the Sarasota Visual and Performing Arts Center at Booker High School. After graduation, I moved to New York City, where I studied acting and worked a series of odd jobs while awaiting my "big break"--which never came.

Eventually I moved to Los Angeles and turned my attention to writing and editing. I've worked in the publishing industry for nearly 15 years, including stints as an editor of pop-culture books, and assistant managing editor for a medical publisher. I've written everything from books and magazine articles to DVD liner notes, movie reviews, and encyclopedia entries. And I've abridged over 100 books for audio, by a diverse range of authors including Al Gore, Stephen J. Cannell, Edith Wharton, Mary Kay Andrews, Fern Michaels, and Janet Evanovich.

My career came full circle in 2004, when I became director of publications for the Los Angeles Zoo. Being able to combine my love of writing with my passion for animals has been a dream come true. And you can bet that animals will figure prominently into the plot of my next novel!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out-loud, wet-your-pants funny!, March 9, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monkey Love (Paperback)

Holly has a degree in primatology from Columbia (which her family refers to as "monkey school"), but to make ends meet, she does a series of activities which make up "Holly's Hobbies". This is anything from pet sitting, baby sitting, running errands, doing taxes, and typing and helps her supplement her income while she pursues a career as a stand up comic. Holly was raised by her dictatorial aunt when after lost her mom as a child and her father deserted her.

She is the go to gal for her pals, which results in hilarious hijinks when she adds a monkey to the menagerie already holding court in her home, which means she can put all she learned in monkey school to practical use. Unfortunately, Holly can never say no to anyone, so she tends to get walked all over. When steady man Marcus dumps her in the middle of a catastrophe, she is surprised that she is not as devastated as she thinks she should be. And when sexy and soon to be single dad Tom enters her life, she has someone else to aid. And then there is the writer who has her transcribing for him. His words are poetry to her and oh so familiar.

Told in first person, this is one of the most hysterical and laugh-out-loud funny books I've read - second only to "Tales of a Drama Queen." The humor is dry and filled with so many wry observations that readers will find themselves chuckling out loud, which can be a little embarrassing on a commuter train! Pick it up and check it out - you won't be sorry!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys, February 13, 2006

By 

Gerard J. Waggett "Book Fan" (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monkey Love (Paperback)

It sounds like a pretty easy recipe to turn chick lit into comedy: just add monkey. But Brenda Scott Royce's gift for comedy begins long before her heroine, Holly Heckerling, winds up caring for the monkey Tallulah. In addition to working a variety of odd jobs (some odder than others), Holly has been moonlighting as a stand up comedian. With comedy, humor often comes not only from the situation but from the delivery. Brenda Scott Royce really understands that concept. Holly Heckerling gets herself into a variety of situations (as in situation comedy)-- an early example in the novel: Holly removing a would be actress's leg cast with power tools. I won't even delve too deeply into Tallulah the monkey's reactions to Regis Philbin. What ups the comedy level in these situations and throughout the novel are Holly's own observations about what's going on. Brenda Scott Royce has a great comic voice and a perfect character through with to speak in Holly Heckerling. Brenda Scott Royce also has a wonderful gift for crafting poignant moments that don't turn maudlin or prevent the reader from comfortably getting back into laugh mode. There is a moving scene in which Holly meets David, the quadriplegic whom Tallulah has been trained to assist. Royce has created a New York in which it makes perfect sense that an aspring stand up comic would be housing a monkey and a boa constrictor in her sixth floor walk-up. It's just one more slice of the craziness in Holly's life, but a craziness not so far removed from reality that we can't all relate to it. That's part of the fun of this novel, part of the humor, the belief (the fear maybe or the hope) that all this zaniness could happen in our own lives. Janet Evanovich's blurb on the front cover likens the novel to a jelly donut; I see "Monkey Love" more as a many-layered cake with lots and lots of frosting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Had me laughing out loud, July 12, 2007

By 

N. Clark "book crazed tree-hugger" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monkey Love (Paperback)

I read A LOT of books and before reading Mokey Love I had only come across one book that had me laughing out loud. I loved this book from start to finish. Holly and her monkey friend kept me laughing through out the entire book. It's wonderfully funny.