Emma is like every girl in the world. She has a few little secrets.

Secrets from her mother:
1. I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom to Danny
    Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs
    watching Ben Hur.

...From her boyfriend:
2. I'm a size twelve. Not a size eight like Connor thinks.
3. I've always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in
    Barbie and Ken.

...From her colleagues:
4. When Artemis really annoys me, I feed her plant orange
    juice. (Which is pretty much every day)
5. It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all
    the times.

...Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone in the world:
6. My G string is hurting me.
7. I faked my maths GCSE grade on my CV.
8. I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it
    is...

...until she spills them all to a stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger...

Just imagine someone knowing all your secrets! I mean, everyone has some things that no one should know. Even if it's just those bodily functions that won't behave, that you wish you could share...like aliens popping out of your ass. Oh...that's just me? Besides, that's not a secret! So yeah...ummm, this looked like it might be funny in a cringe-worthy, and blush-making fashion. The blurb on the book sounds fun, so I guess we'll see.

July 13th 2003
The End

I seem to be in a book-a-day mood at the moment, which will be good for my 'to read' list! This book wasn't the best thing I've read recently, but it was fairly enjoyable in a popcorn kinda way.

It's a comedy of errors...except it's not entirely funny. It's amusing, and unrealistic, and a catalogue of misunderstandings and crossed wires which reminds me a lot of The Bridget Jones Diaries (movie not book, I do have some standards!).

If you believe in romantic ideals (which I don't) this is probably a really good love story, about two people who meet in exceptional circumstances and move heaven and Earth to be together. Except it doesn't quite ring true. How many times (honestly) do you meet a mysterious millionaire who falls instantly and completely in love with you while you make a complete tit of yourself? Never happened to you either, huh? Only Emma and Julia Roberts get this kind of Cinderella life!

There were a few things that could be related to. Being with a seemingly perfect man who you don't feel everything you should for. Totally being unable to utter meaningless terms of endearment. Wandering down the street happily unaware that you're flashing your bra to the world. Nonchalantly trying to blow off the embarrassment of walking into work after ultimate humiliation.

So, sure, empathy is really what makes this story work. You might not always believe all the twists and turns in the plot, but you can empathise with the situations Emma finds herself in.

I wouldn't choose to read this again, but it was a pleasant enough way to spend the day. I didn't really feel we ever got a glimpse of who Jack was, and so it was hard to see why Emma would fall for him. His actions were charming enough, but there really wasn't anything charismatic.

I hesitate to dismiss this (or any novel) as fluff, but really this was nothing more than a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. With a little Girl Power thrown in for good measure. Fun, but with little substance.