The Not-So Secret Diary of a City Girl by Allie Spencer
Banking analyst, Laura McGregor has her secret diary accidentally uploaded to the Internet. The diary contains her thoughts about her lacklustre relationship with a
trader, her attraction towards a “dirt-digging journalist” and massive discrepancies in the accounts of her new manager.
| The Not-So Secret Diary of a City Girl by Allie Spencer | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: John Harding
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| Summary: A well-written romantic novel about the chaotic life of a banking analyst. It's a feel-good book whichis full of humour and a good read. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 320 | Date: April 2010 |
| Publisher: Little Black Dress | |
| ISBN: 978-0755352944 | |
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My first impression on opening the book was the small type and tiny line-spacing, with it using a smaller font than just about every book on my bookshelf. It's not that it is unreadable sat on the sofa, but I would imagine that a moving train or bus would cause more problems to the reader.
That aside, the book is easy to read and does flow nicely. The author has a good writing style and added lots of humour to her story, such as her dreadful restaurant date with Alex. I could easily picture the scenes being described, from the threat of redundancies at the beginning of the book to Laura's awkward conversations with her family. The dialogue and interactions between characters was well-written and natural.
The book concentrates heavily on the central character, Laura McGregor and her chaotic life. There are other characters who I would have wished explored and developed more than they were, but they were sidelined. This was a little disappointing as all the characters in the book are a colourful mix of personalities whom I found easy to relate to. I wanted to see a bit more of them.
The book contained a few sub-plots and interesting distractions from the main storyline - the heavies from Bristol repeatedly chasing debts, the strained relationship with Isobel from Marketing and the shared past Laura has with Alex the journalist. The outcomes from these, and the emotional turbulence that they cause are all nicely woven back into the storyline and it adds to the book's appeal. As someone who is a polar opposite to my sibling, Laura's tribulations with her sister were both amusing and easy to empathise with.
The book however did read like it had not been completely proof-read. A few nuances in the plot that didn't quite add up and a few sentences that weren't quite right. An example would be a taxi driver doing “a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree-turn” in the road, when the text should obviously read 180. I felt it impaired the enjoyment of the book a tad, especially for a pedant like myself.
Overall though, I certainly enjoyed reading the book more than I thought I would. The publisher claims on the book “It's a girl thing” and while I am sure middle-aged man is not the key demographic for the story, it is surprisingly readable despite its flaws. I found it hard to put down and certainly have no hesitation in recommending it.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If this book appeals then why not try Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista by Amy Silver?
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Not-So Secret Diary of a City Girl by Allie Spencer at Amazon.com.
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