Review: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

At 17, Lola Malone was dating 18 year old Dougie Tennant.  Dougie’s mother found Lola to be unsuitable and offered her £10,000 to break up with him.  At first, Lola was insulted and refused the offer.  When she later discovered her beloved stepfather needed the money to pay off a gambling debt she returned to accept the money. She gave her stepfather the money, vowing to never divulge his secret to anyone.

Heartbroken, Lola wrote a letter to Dougie and moved to Majorca for three years.  When she returned to London, her stepfather repaid her ten-fold with money he made from an internet business he had started.  Lola found a job in a bookstore and bought a nice flat and settled into a pleasant life.  Walking home one evening, she came to the aid of a woman being robbed.  The woman turned out to be Mrs. Tennant, so Lola met Dougie again.  When Lola saw Dougie again, all of her old feelings for him re-surfaced, but he had moved on with his life and didn’t want to have anything to do with her.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell is the story of Lola and Dougie and their family and friends.  There is a lot going on in this book, but the story lines are easy to follow.  This book is pleasant and entertaining and the characters are quirky and likable.  I loved the fact that Lola worked in a bookstore and loved to read.  It is somewhat predictable, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.  It’s a light, quick read and I found it delightful.

Jill Mansell is a best selling British author.    An Offer You Can’t Refuse has sold over 4 million copies in Britian and will be published by Sourcebooks in the United States this month.

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.