Review: An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell.

Main Characters: Lola, Doug, Sally, Gabe, Nick, Blythe
Series: None

Nothing could tear Dougie and Lola apart, except his mother… When Dougie’s mother offers young Lola a 10,000 pound bribe to break up with him, she doesn’t refuse. The only way she can save her family is to take the money. Now ten years later, a twist of fate has brought Dougie and Lola together again. Her feelings for him are as strong as ever. Lola thinks she’s irresistible and surely time heals all wounds… But how can she possibly win him back without telling why she broke his heart in the first place?
Jill Mansell has hit it out of the park again for me with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I loved how Mansell wasted no time in jumping right into the thick of things. This book starts off when Lola is 17 and madly in love with Dougie Tennant. Dougie is getting ready to go to university in Dublin and though he’s mad for Lola, they’ve worked out how they were going to do things. If things got to be too much, Lola would move to Dublin to be with Dougie but until then, they would take turns making the drive each weekend to see each other. The plan never came to fruition because Dougie’s Mom made an offer that Lola was only too crazy to take.

Just like that, their dream love was over and done with.

Did Lola take the money? Of course, she did. Did she have a valid reason for taking the money? You’ll have to get your sorry butt in gear and read this book yourself for the answer to that one but did I hate Lola? Heck to the no, she was fanfrickintastic and I adored her from the beginning of this book to the end, even when she was stalking Dougie’s life.

So, here we are ten years later and as fate would have it, Dougie and Lola are reunited. Is Lola happy to see Doug? You bet your bottom dollar she is but is Doug happy to see Lola? Not even a little bit. He’s good and pissed that she’s come back into his life because he’s over her and doesn’t want to have anything to do with a gold digging hussy. But when Lola’s got it in my mind to do something, she’s going to see it through and that is when the laughs begin.

Lola was a fabulous heroine. I loved her sparkling personality, her quirky wit and just her outstanding presence. It stood out in this book, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her because even when she was being a total boob about something, I wasn’t annoyed with her, I was laughing at her. She’s hilarious and she had me saying those cute British sayings like, “You’re such a prat” or “Blimey”, I even asked my work friend, James if he fancied a girl in HR to which he gave me a look that said I’d completely lost my mind. It was great!

The book follows a cast of characters, all of whom I enjoyed getting to know. I adored both Sally and Gabe. I loved Lola’s father, Nick and I really, really enjoyed watching Lola’s Mom and her blossoming relationship with Malcolm. All in all, this was a delightful chick lit read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. Fanfreakingtastic!

What I loved most about this book was how Lola slowly began to realize that not everything is about what’s on the outside. She learned that people can be gorgeous on the outside and still not be compatible with each other and I thought it was good for her to learn because holy goodness, I wanted to swat her upside her head a few times but alls well that ends well. This book is great so if you haven’t already, pick this one and read!

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

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