Book Review - Falling In Love with English Boys

Written by: Melissa Jensen

Published by: Speak (Penguin USA)

Released: December 23, 2010

Source: Purchased ebook from PenguinUSA

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - I enjoyed it a lot!

Synopsis (from PenguinUSA): Sixteen-year-old Catherine Vernon has been stranded in London for the summer-no friends, no ex-boyfriend Adam the Scum (good riddance!), and absolutely nothing to do but blog about her misery to her friends back home. Desperate for something-anything-to do in London while her (s)mother's off researching boring historical things, Cat starts reading the 1815 diary of Katherine Percival her mom gives her-and finds the similarities between their lives to be oddly close. But where Katherine has the whirls of the society, the parties and the gossip over who is engaged to who, Cat's only got some really excellent English chocolate. Then she meets William Percival-the uber-hot descendant of Katherine-and things start looking up . . .

You know that an Anglophile like me couldn't walk by a book with this cover without, at least, picking it up. I mean, I love chick-lit, Cadbury chocolate and hey, who doesn't love a tall, good looking British boy? But what I love most is a well-written story about a girl who finds herself in a different place and while getting her bearings, she still manages to stay true to herself. Falling In Love with English Boys is just such a story.

Melissa Jensen presents a plot line which switches between modern-day Cat and Napoleon Era Katherine. The two girls have more than a love of writing in diaries (or blogs) in common -- they're about the same age, want to fall in love with the right guy and find friendship when they least expect it. Although, there is a historical aspect to the story through Katherine's diary, what I loved the most are the parallels between Katherine's and Cat's families which I found completely relatable.

And then there is the romance. Sure, I was interested in Katherine's season but I was more interested in the adorable ancestor of hers, William Percival. Fortunately, so was Kat. Their encounters had that delicate balance I love in a romance -- the awkward first meetings, the inevitable mix ups and well, yes, the resolution.

I'm recommending this book but only if you promise to read it in just the way I did -- sitting in your favorite chair with a Cadbury Milk Chocolate bar close by and a cup of coffee made just right (the scene where Kat tries English tea is quite funny). In a few hours, you'll sit back with a smile on your face. You may even tweet this: "Falling In Love with English Boys is such a cute romance. I want to carry it with me on cloudy days when all I want is a cup of tea and one heck of a Kissy Scene."