Helpful Score: 5
A warm story about a small town girl with big time dreams. Jo, the main protagonist is your quintessential girl next door, with a laid back boyfriend, relatable parents and friends she has grown up with. She knows she wants something more out of life and when the chance comes, she grabs it. In London she is a nanny to a crazy bunch of kids, and almost seems to be parenting the parents at times. How she adapts, finds love, finds her groove....is what this story is all about. A warm, bedside read on days when you want pop fantasy instead of the reality of a cold morning.
Helpful Score: 4
This is the first book I've read by Melissa Nathan, but it sure won't be the last.
The Nanny is the story of Jo, she's just had her 23rd birthday and feels this restless desire to do something different in her life. She's been with her boyfriend for 6 years, lives with her parents and does the same things every Friday and Saturday night. Then she finds an ad in the local paper and decides to take a job in London (a far cry from the little town she's from) for a family with 3 kids, two stepchildren from a previous marriage, and a very dysfunctional relationship. She's terrified but she needs to make a change in her life to find where her true priorities lie. Jo then meets Josh, the 25 year old son of her employer who she is forced to share a room with which makes her question her desires for her boyfriend of 5 years. All sorts of other plot twists ensue and Jo is forced to make a decision, her old life or her new London life?
While its not going to change your life one way or another this book is a really light and fun read. Jo is a very likable character and her confusion is believable. The ending is very predictable, but then again you shouldn't read this book if you're looking for deep and profound revelations. I will be reading all of her other books after this one.
The Nanny is the story of Jo, she's just had her 23rd birthday and feels this restless desire to do something different in her life. She's been with her boyfriend for 6 years, lives with her parents and does the same things every Friday and Saturday night. Then she finds an ad in the local paper and decides to take a job in London (a far cry from the little town she's from) for a family with 3 kids, two stepchildren from a previous marriage, and a very dysfunctional relationship. She's terrified but she needs to make a change in her life to find where her true priorities lie. Jo then meets Josh, the 25 year old son of her employer who she is forced to share a room with which makes her question her desires for her boyfriend of 5 years. All sorts of other plot twists ensue and Jo is forced to make a decision, her old life or her new London life?
While its not going to change your life one way or another this book is a really light and fun read. Jo is a very likable character and her confusion is believable. The ending is very predictable, but then again you shouldn't read this book if you're looking for deep and profound revelations. I will be reading all of her other books after this one.
Helpful Score: 1
This ended up being a feel good story so things ended well for everyone involved, maybe in a too pat way, but it was just the type of book to cheer you up after a bad week. It did not feel short and fluffy, it felt like it had more depth than that, and it was a satisfying read. There are some comments here about being a working mother in need of a nanny, and family dynamics - the woman's role versus the man's, which made it a well thought out book for me. I also enjoyed the humor throughout the book - although sometimes the sarcasm was surprising, it was refreshing to read a book about the trials of parenting that come along with the joys, and to see a parent who loved their kids but may not be cut out for staying at home with them. The romance in this book was sweet as well.
