When her gambler father Lord Davenport leaves, Portia is the only sane family member who can possibly hope to keep the ancestral Irish home from ruin. Cash-strapped, she rents the pile out as a movie location. Hours of fun.
*Bantam, 34.95)
* * *
Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes
British toff Plum Sykes lives in Manhattan and does a bit of magazine writing. She could well be the heroine of her first novel, who ponders existential dilemmas such as whether to skip work for a Chanel sample sale. Deeply superficial social comedy and seriously funny.
* Viking,$35
* * *
Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
Another instalment from committed shopaholic Becky Bloomwood. This time she's back from overspending on honeymoon to discover she has a long-lost sister who seems not to have inherited her shopping gene and won't be tutored in credit card debt.
* Black Swan, $26.95
* * *
Being Committed By Anna Maxted
Hannah has intimacy issues, stemming from her failed marriage. Her idea of togetherness is going to the toilet while her boyfriend's in the bath. A hilarious, well-written journey of overcoming a commitment phobia without the touchy-feely Deepak Chopra stuff.
* William Heinemann, $34.95
* * *
Lots of love by Fiona Walker
A fabulous blockbuster in the grand tradition of master page-turner Jilly Cooper. Our heroine Ellen turns up in a Cotswold village and makes an immediate impression on the locals, not least the brooding bad-boy blue-blood Spurs Belling.
