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Life is easy, it's men she'll never figure out...
When hotel manager Daisy MacLean meets cocky sports hero Dev Tyzack, it's a no brainer-stay away. He is arrogant and sarcastic-but also incredibly sexy.
Daisy tries her best to steer clear of him, yet soon comes to realize he is the one guest she can't bear to see leave.
Then she learns a devastating truth: most people are not who they seem to be, for better or worse...
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author-smart, sassy, savy women's fiction that never disappoints!
"Another jaunty read about life, love, and laughter."
-Reading Evening Post
"Engaging, warm, and funny...an entertaining romp."
-Liverpool Echo
"There's trouble at Daisy's hotel when she has to deal with a colourful set of wedding guests and her own troubled love life. Sure-fire bestseller from Queen of chicklit, Mansell."
-Heat
"A lively, appealing, and sassy comedy of errors about second chances...Romantic storyteller Jill Mansell is in top form."
-Nuneaton Evening Telegraph
From Eloisa James's "READING ROMANCE" column on The Barnes & Noble Review
Most women would agree that it's preferable to be labeled a goddess than "hardheaded." It's true that Cat Stevens celebrates his hardheaded woman -- she'll "make me do my best" -- but Elvis Presley has a different take, calling her "a thorn in the side of man." Love songs aside, a man with a "head like a rock" is not high on my list of ideal spouses. However, these five novels make a strong play for the desirability of a stubborn partner. The problem is that a hardheaded person is likely to have planned out his or her life without including you. And he or she is unlikely to want to change direction.
Julia London's A Light At Winter's End is a complex and heartbreaking novel about a country western songwriter, Holly Fisher, whose sister has a breakdown and dumps her baby on Holly's doorstep. Heathergraduated valedictorian, married the perfect man, and wears diamonds and heels. Holly, on the other hand, has stubbornly kept writing country music her entire life, in the face of her family's conviction that she's a drifter and a failure. Holly's career is finally taking off when she has to move to the country to take care of the nephew she hardly knows. Her neighbor turns out to be a lonely cowboy, Wyatt Clark, who knows more about babies than she does, since his wife left him, taking their child. Together Holly and Wyatt forge a sweet, tentative, and joyful family -- until Heather reappears. When Holly, sans baby, is swept off to Nashville, she leaves Wyatt behind. She's spent her whole life fighting to be a singer, and she can't imagine changing direction -- even just to include Wyatt in her plans. It takes her quite a while to realize that she'd been a fool to think that her life had to go as planned. When she tells Wyatt that she misses him, that she loves him more than anything, "more than music," it's doubly romantic because we've watched her fight so hard against that realization.
Jill Mansell's Staying at Daisy's features another woman whose stubbornness almost costs her a happy future. Daisy MacLean's husband was in a car crash with the girlfriend Daisy knew nothing about -- and who turned out to be pregnant. So Daisy avoids charming men like her former husband, especially Dev Tyzack, a sarcastic, gorgeous man with the habit of saying things like, "You know, if you relaxed more, I'm sure you could find a husband." Daisy doesn't kill him on the spot, which is a tribute to her self-control. But her self-control is also the problem: she can't relax enough to admit that Dev might break the mold. Like Holly, Daisy cannot picture a future other than the one she has planned for herself. It takes a head like a rock to inform Dev that now they've had their fling, "you and I will never see each other again, and we'll all live happily ever after." But in her blow-off is the clue to the hardheaded person's primary mistake: they have already decided exactly how to live happily ever after. It's not easy for Daisy to take the plunge and realize that a safe life is not necessarily a happy one.
Cathie Linz's hero in Bad Girls Don't knows exactly what he doesn't want in his life: chaos. Skye Wright, a single mom, belly dancer, and self-proclaimed free spirit embodies chaos. Sheriff Nathan Thornton is repelled by the very idea of a girl with a purse full of unpaid driving tickets, and the conviction that waving a smudge stick around her apartment will "cleanse" it. Too bad this former Marine's commonsense is overruled by fierce desire. This is an enchanting novel, full of funny characters and -- at its heart -- a stubborn man who does his best to resist when Skye dances her way into his life. As with Daisy, there's a tragedy at the heart of Noah's stubborn wish to color within the lines. And in her own way, Skye is just as hardheaded: she wouldn't have considered a policeman as a boyfriend in a million years. But as she says, Noah doesn't "kiss like an uptight cop." Noah and Skye bring out the best in each other: he grounds her, and she takes the edge off his cautious approach. If you haven't discovered this happy, funny book, grab it -- and then save it for a rainy day.
Tamara Hogan's Taste Me offers a fascinating riff on a similar couple. Scarlett Fontaine is a rock star with all that label entails -- fans, grueling tours, amazing musical ability, a wild lifestyle. Lukas Sebastiani is a lot closer to Noah. He's not a cop -- and since this is set in a paranormal parallel universe, he's actually an incubus -- but as head of Sebastiani Security, he has a cop mentality with, as he puts it, "control issues." He doesn't want to be with Scarlett because he can't be absolutely certain that he can protect her: "Intellectually, he knew that he had to step back, let her take risks, to live her life -- beautiful, wild, and free." This makes Scarlett sound a bit like a lioness in Born Free, but Lukas's and Scarlett's clash is classic. Where Scarlett sees a shooting star, Lukas sees space debris hitting the atmosphere. Taste Me is a fantasy, with a secondary plot that involves a crazed murderer with a possession problem. But the fun of the story isn't merely in its paranormal flourishes (though the co-existence of Annie Leibowitz and fairies is a burst of creative anachronism) but in the collision of two hardheaded people. Both Taste Me and Bad Girls Don't make it clear that airy-fairy, politically correct girls can be just as narrow-minded as the obstinate, conservative men who long to keep them safe.
Molly Harper's How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf pushes the pairing of a free-spirited heroine and a hero with uncanny abilities and over-protective instincts to hilarious extremes. Mo Weinstein has dropped everything in her life, put her belongings in a beat-up Ford, and rented a tiny house in Grundy, Alaska -- as far from her parents and the "lower 48" as possible. In short, she's the epitome of a free spirit, although she desperately wants to deny that her hippie parents had anything to do with her choices. Mo's first rebellion had her almost married to a Christian Conservative with membership in the Steak of the Month club; her second takes her to Alaska. She meets Cooper Graham as soon she enters Grundy. He's the opposite of the "normal" man she hopes to find: he's a werewolf who hates back-to-nature weirdos (read "free spirits"). And Mo realizes, with a sinking heart, that he's just her type: "That cinched it. He was an asshole. I was definitely going to end up sleeping with him." How to Flirt is a rollicking, sweet novel that made me laugh aloud. Cooper is the epitome of a stubborn male, determined to stay far away from Mo until he's certain he can protect her. But it's really Mo's wise-cracking, hilarious voice that makes this novel such a pleasure to read.
There's a canonical base to each of these novels, obviously: opposites attract. But I think the real pleasure of watching an obstinate man or woman fall in love is that they try so passionately to avoid it -- and that burst of emotion makes for great romance. When Lukas, in Taste Me, finally succumbs to the lust and love he's been fighting, Scarlett says he "tasted of coffee and desperation": that desperation is a reader's treat. It's hard not to finish reading these five novels and find yourself agreeing with Cat Stevens: once a hardheaded man (or woman) stops fighting the conviction that he don't want you, "the rest of your life will be blessed."
In the absence of a gavel, Hector MacLean seized a heavy glass ashtray and rattled it against the mahogany-topped bar. 'Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. Quiet at the back there, you Aussie riffraff. I feel the need to propose a toast. Over here, darling, over here.' Beckoning Daisy towards him, he slung an arm round her waist. 'And now would you all raise your glasses... to my beautiful daughter.'
'To your beautiful daughter,' chorused everyone in the room, causing Daisy to roll her eyes.
Honestly, did he have to be quite so embarrassing?
'You missed a bit out,' she told him. 'What you actually meant to say was "To my beautiful, intelligent, and staggeringly hard-working daughter, without whom this hotel would crumble and go out of business within a week."'
'All that. Absolutely. Goes without saying.' Hector gestured expansively with his tumbler of Glenmorangie. 'Everyone here already knows that. Just as they know you're also stubborn, bossy, and incredibly lacking in modesty. But I'm still proud of you.
Considering all you ever did at school was smoke and play truant, and your mother and I never thought you'd amount to anything, you've turned out pretty well. And now, for my next toast, I'd like you all to raise your glasses once more to dear old Dennis.'
'Dear old Dennis,' they all bellowed back at him, even those guests who hadn't the foggiest idea who Dennis was. That was the thing about Hector MacLean, his enthusiasm and joie de vivre was infectious.
As usual, Daisy marveled, and in no time at all, a quiet gathering for a few drinks had turned into an impromptu, rip-roaring party. It wouldn't be long now before her father called for his accordion and got the dancing underway. The fact that they were all supposed to be taking advantage of these few relatively peaceful days-the Christmas guests having departed and the New Year's Eve ones yet to arrive-was of no consequence to Hector. The fact that it was December the twenty-eighth was, as far as he was concerned, a good enough reason to celebrate. Why take it easy when you could be having fun?
Daisy, glad that her spritzer was nine-tenths soda water, eased herself onto a bar stool while her father greeted a couple of late arrivals as though they were his dearest friends.
'At last! How marvelous! Listen, we're in danger of having a bit of a knees-up-either of you two handy with a piano?'
One of the Australians materialized at Daisy's side as she was busily lining her empty stomach with cashews and roasted almonds.
Not ideal but better than nothing.
'Your dad's a character. When this place was recommended to us, we thought Jeez, some old country house hotel full of la-di-da tweedy women and pompous old colonel types, no way. But our friends promised us it wasn't like that here, and they were right. This place is great.'
'You may change your mind,' said Daisy, 'when my father gets his bagpipes out.'
'You're kidding!' The Australian's face lit up. 'He actually plays the bagpipes?'
'No. He just thinks he can. If you know what's good for you,'
Daisy whispered, 'you'll persuade him to stick with the accordion.' He laughed, even though she hadn't been joking.
'And who's this other guy we just drank to, dear old Dennis? Is he someone else who works here?'
'Ah well. Dennis is our benefactor. Without him,' Daisy explained, 'we wouldn't have this hotel.'
'You mean he owns it?'
Behind the bar, Rocky casually flipped a tumbler into the air and caught it. No one was currently drinking cocktails but he did it anyway. Grinning at Daisy, he began to whistle a catchy tune.
'You probably know Dennis,' Daisy told the Australian. Tilting her head in Rocky's direction she added, 'If you recognize that song, you definitely know him.'
Standing next to the Australian, Tara Donovan joined in the whistling. The Australian frowned. 'It's that kid's thing, yeah? Dennis the Dashing Dachshund? I'm sorry, you've lost me.' Unable to help themselves-they'd started so they'd finish-Rocky and Tara whistled and jiggled their way through to the end of the song.
'My father may not have been blessed with many brilliant ideas in his lifetime,' Daisy said fondly, 'but twenty-five years ago he had an excellent one. He came up with Dennis.'
'You're kidding! Are you serious? That's incredible!' The Australian slapped his knee in delight. 'I used to buy those books for my kids.'
Rocky was well away now, tap-dancing behind the bar and singing under his breath, 'My name is Dennis, the dashing dachshund,' because Dennis danced like Fred Astaire and Rocky liked to show off the fact that he had been to stage school.
Actually, Daisy amended, he just liked to show off. Then again, it was why she had hired him in the first place.
'Dad used to make up stories for me when I was small,' Daisy told the enthralled Australian, 'about this effeminate dachshund. But I didn't know what he looked like so Dad started drawing pictures of him. I took the pictures into school, told the stories to my friends, and the next thing we knew, all the mothers were asking where they could get hold of these Dennis books their kids kept pestering them for. So Dad sent his stories off to a publisher and they snapped them up. Then a TV company got involved and Dennis fever took off-soft toys, games, pajamas, the whole merchandising malarkey. All from one dear little idea. Dad sold the rights five years ago and bought this place,' Daisy concluded. 'So you see, we owe everything to Dennis.'
'I used to have a Dennis the Dachshund duvet cover,' Rocky put in cheerfully. 'And Dennis slippers with ears on them that waggled when you walked.'
'I had Dennis everything.' Daisy groaned and pulled a face.
'By the time I was nine it was embarrassing. All I cared about then was Madonna.'
One of the late arrivals was being persuaded to go and fetch his harmonica; he might not be able to play the piano but, Hector assured him, a mouth organ would do just as well.
'I love this place,' exclaimed the Australian. 'I must go and talk to your dad.'
'Are you all right?' Rocky leaned across the bar and lowered his voice as the man moved away. 'You look a bit... knackered.'
'Me? I'm fine!' Daisy realized he'd caught her off guard for a moment. What was the difference between putting on a brave front and telling a great big bare-faced lie? 'Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?'
Rocky shrugged, reached for the silver tongs, and lobbed a couple of ice cubes into a tumbler.
'Thought you might be missing Steven. When's he back?'
'New Year's Eve.' Scooping up another handful of nuts, Daisy gave him a bright smile. Rocky wasn't wild about Steven, she knew that, and he might even have an inkling about the events of the previous week, but there was no way in the world she was going to blurt out the whole story. She hadn't told a soul. Not Tara, not even her own father. For now, she just had to carry on as if nothing was wrong.
'Because if you're feeling a bit lonely, I know just the thing to cheer you up.' Rocky waggled a playful eyebrow as he said it, flashing her his naughtiest Robbie Williams smirk. 'I'm young, single, and available. Not to mention totally irresistible.'
Rocky was twenty-three, with a wicked smile and a peroxide crop. His favorite band was Oasis, which meant she could never fancy him in a million years.
'It's really kind of you to offer.' Solemnly, Daisy patted his hand.
Daisy, after a failed marriage, finds herself back at home. Home, in this case, is her father's hotel, and Daisy is managing it. Managing a hotel is easy; managing relationships are not. She thought her marriage to Steven was a dream come true, but his infidelity put an end to their love. Before they divorced, Steven was killed in a car accident. Now Daisy isn't sure she can trust any man, although there are several around. Dev is a famous national sports star, and he seems interested, or is he? Josh is a former boyfriend who has popped back up and into her life.
As tough as love is for Daisy, she is not alone. There is Barney, who comes to the hotel to thank Daisy for donating her husband's kidney to him and finds exactly what he has been looking for his whole life. The problem is that what he has found is the woman who was involved with Steven. Then there is Tara, Daisy's best friend, who can't seem to catch a break with men, and always gets taken for granted. Even Daisy's father has a mystery love affair that may or may not work out.
Reading a Jill Mansell book is like settling on the back porch with a glass of ice tea, while the flowers bloom and the wind whispers. Her characters are recognizable, and written with charm and wit. Humor and a refusal to let life defeat them is a mainstay, and this is a wonderful change from the tragic books that abound in the marketplace. Readers will laugh out loud, and cheer for the characters who manage to resolve their life issues. This book is recommended for readers ready for a light-hearted book that carries a powerful message.
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 4, 2012
This book was a joy. I love Ms Mansell's work anyway. The stories are always so loving and joyous. This one was especially fun to read. The supporting characters were a scream. Watching Daisy's father was a scream. Daisy is a strong woman who didn't have much faith in men and love, she rose above it and watching her character develop was fun. Great book!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 29, 2011
Great quirky love story with lots of laughs. Great fun read. Looking forward to reading other books by her!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 7, 2011
Another great book from Ms. Mansell. My only complaint is that it was over too soon!
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kimmie_H
Posted May 24, 2011
The book was okay. It dragged alot....or maybe I was ready for it to be over. It was a cute read though.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is my first book by Jill Mansell, and I have to say that her cast of fun and quirky characters remind me a lot of my favorite books by Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes, and not just because they're all from the same side of the Atlantic. Daisy and Dev, Tara and Josh, Hector and Maggie, and Barney and Mel all felt like close and personal friends by the time I finished this novel. Their ups and downs had me completely enthralled. As they did embarrassing things, I cringed. (And then I usually laughed-loudly, to be honest. It's always funnier when it's not happening to you, of course.) I groaned in frustration at Daisy's complete and utter delusion.and my hands were itching to shake her by the shoulders the whole time. I will definitely be looking forward to reading more by this author.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 17, 2011
STAYING AT DAISY'S by Jill Mansell is an interesting chicklit/contemporary romance set in present day.This is an reprint from 2002. This is a sweet romantic comedy which has hilarious characters and is fast paced.Although,some parts are a little slow.The charactrs are charming, interesting and will easily capture your heart. This story has several characters staying at a hotel.The story is written from each character's perspective.While the story has a lot going on,it also has a heartwarming plot,wonderful characters and witty banter.A great read for all chit lit readers,romantic comedy readers and cotemporary romance readers.This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at Sourcebooks Landmark,an imprint of Sourcebooks and My Book Addiction and More
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In her latest novel, Staying at Daisy's, Jill Mansell delivers another hilarious and fast-paced romantic comedy. Her combination of endearing and sympathetic lead characters placed in humorous situations wins out again.
This time round, Mansell takes on marital infidelity from the point of view of Daisy MacLean, an unsuspecting wife who invariably receives an unwelcome shock. And from the point of view of Tara who is faced with an ex-boyfriend who professes undying love hours before his wedding. Mansell throws into the mix an old boyfriend from university, a gorgeous sports hero, a popular children's author, and other fun and memorable characters.
Fans of British chicklit are sure to find Staying at Daisy's a delightful and engrossing read!
ISBN-10: 1402243847 - Paperback
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (March 1, 2011), 512 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 27, 2012
Cute and light. I enjoyed it.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 16, 2012
Not mt fav
Did enjoy the British slang
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 25, 2013
Hi maysn ur review touched me!
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Posted March 25, 2013
I'll be back at around 7:00pm
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Posted March 26, 2013
Heyy where r u
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ruth52
Posted March 3, 2013
This was the first time I read this author and loved this book, could not put it down. Writing was very refreshing and fun. I have already purchased another one of her books.
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Posted February 10, 2013
Fun and charming voice, quirky characters. I would have liked more interaction between Daisy and the hero. Especially after their inauspicious meeting, I'm not sure how the attraction developed from there, but it's a fun read.
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Posted January 11, 2013
i enjoyed all the characters, and cheered along with them as they traveled on their individual journeys. i loved mansell's voice and her undeniable humor.
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Posted August 16, 2012
First book read by this author, I found it slow at the start, but gradually got better as it went along. It was a bit hard to adjust to the British terms/ slang. The book IS set in Great Britian. I found myself laughing and cringing all in the same chapters. The characters seem genuine and realistic. I was really curious to see how she would wind this story line all up into a tidy ending....the entire second half of the book I had a hard time putting it down! Over all, very enjoyable!
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Posted July 18, 2012
I gave this book 4 stars because overall I did like it. In the beginning, I had a hard time remember which character was who and I didn't like how it went back and forth and would then bring in other characters. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for more from Dev and Daisy. I loved the connection between Daisy, Barney, and Mel. I liked Tara and I'm thrilled with the way the book ended in her love life. I enjoyed Maggie and Hector's relationship, but again I wish there would have been more with them and less of Paula. . I enjoyed reading what each character was thinking. It was a charming book with lots of funny parts
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Posted June 10, 2012
Not as good as other Jill Mansell books, but still worth reading.
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Posted June 3, 2012
It was ok but not my favorite of Jill Mansell's books. I loved the others that I read but this storyline was not as good.
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Overview
Life is easy, it's men she'll never figure out...
When hotel manager Daisy MacLean meets cocky sports hero Dev Tyzack, it's a no brainer-stay away. He is arrogant and sarcastic-but also incredibly sexy.
Daisy tries her best to steer clear of him, yet soon comes to realize he is the one guest she can't bear to see leave.
Then she learns a devastating truth: most people are not...