Sophie
returns to her old home after a year away and decides to welcome herself home
by playing a little prank on her best friend and childhood sweetheart, Gareth.
She isn’t the least bit attracted to him now, of course she isn’t, though she absolutely can’t stand that tart he’s sleeping with, but she still
enjoys embarrassing him half to death and generally making life difficult for
him. As for Gareth, the feeling is absolutely mutual.
On the surface, this book is an excellent romantic comedy, light and funny and frothy and everything else you’d want a romantic comedy to be. But this book is a lot cleverer than it might seem at first. It seemed odd to me that Sophie was able to pile up a good twelve square feet of snow in the middle of the night without too much trouble, yet a small amount of snow shovelling gives her a major backache that requires osteopathy from Gareth. True, backs are funny things. Mine has decided that when I’m hairdressing, it’s going to hurt me a lot less if I stand on one leg. But now I think I know what the writer was doing. When Sophie is piling the snow up in the middle of the night, there’s no one there to see her. But when she’s shovelling the snow, Gareth is watching. A very important distinction there, I think.
I love this story. It’s sweet and romantic
with lots of really funny moments. Sophie and Gareth are so obviously perfect
for each other, and even when they’re arguing, there’s something really sweet
about them. It was slightly disappointing that they spent almost the whole of
the last chapter having sex - I wanted to read about these great characters
doing something interesting. You can’t have a decent conversation during sex. But
maybe most people like reading about the more intimate moments, and it’s important to appeal to the
majority.
They did jump into bed very early in their
relationship, but I actually didn’t mind that. The (uncredited) writer makes it obvious that
they know each other very well – better, in fact, than their know themselves,
as far as their relationship needs are concerned. Even though Sophie and Gareth
spend a lot of time playing jokes and insulting each other, there’s obviously a
great camaraderie between them. And that’s what makes them perfect.
Gareth’s other girlfriend Imogen is a great
character. In some ways, she’s a bit of a stereotype, and you do wonder what
Gareth sees in her, but I think that’s part of the point. Stereotype or not,
girls like Imogen do exist (I’m actually more like Imogen than Sophie, though
hopefully I’m less bitchy and not quite so much of a slut). Gareth is
completely blind to the fact that Sophie is perfect for him, which means he has
no idea what his ‘type’ is. So he goes for the stereotype, the kind of girl
every guy ‘should’ want. Who wouldn’t want a girl as beautiful and glamorous
and adoring as Imogen? Well, Gareth, for a start.
Then there’s Emma. Very sweet, quite quiet,
but there’s a lot more to her than you might think at first. A lot like the
Emma I named her after. She’s a really well-written character because she doesn’t
dominate the story in an obvious way, but when you reach the end, you see how
important she is.
To be honest, I did have a bit of trouble
believing Sophie was me. There are a lot
of very specific ways in which we’re very different. I have no trouble
imagining myself being able to drive cars and ice-skate. I can’t do either of
them in real life, but I feel it would be possible for me to learn if I had a
very very patient teacher with strong nerves. But I had a bit of trouble
believing that my birthday was suddenly in winter. Also, if I’d got Sophie’s
birthday presents, I would be devastated, and there’s absolutely no way I would
go out on my birthday wearing denim and cords. I don’t even own any denim and cords, I’d be there in
six inch heels, a mini dress and no coat, complaining about the cold. And it
doesn’t take me an hour to get ready. Two hours absolute minimum, but I really
need three.
But however hard the writer tries, a
personalised book can’t get everything right for everyone, and although it’s
always wonderful to see yourself in the book, the parts of your character that
aren’t like you do tend to stand out. All the writer can do about it is make
sure that people will enjoy the book even if they can’t suspend their disbelief
the required amount. And I really did enjoy it.
The fact I don’t really see Sophie as me
doesn’t alter the book’s quality. Anyone who enjoys reading (which probably
includes everyone who owns a personalised book) can appreciate a good story.
It’s great reading about a really likeable couple who completely fail to
realise how perfect they are for each other. There are so many romance novels where
the characters get married and you just know it won’t last a week. Sophie and
Gareth could believably last forever, and that’s the most important thing of
all.
