About Books #12: What a Girl Wants

So here’s something you probably already knew about me: I absolutely love chicklit. And that love isn’t just limited to my favourite authors either. If I find a new book that gets me to have all the feels – you can bet I’ll be trying to read more by the same author. Kate Perry’s What a Girl Wants? Definitely that kind of book!

So first things first: I actually found this one through Kobo. You see, I’m trying to do the thing where I don’t spend a lot of money on books this year. In trying to find an alternative,  I inscribed to the BookBub newsletter. Basically: a daily list of all the cheap and free e-books available at the moment. Because quite a lot of those books weren’t necessarily available through Google Reads, which I would’ve usually used, I ended up downloading the Kobo app. Let me tell you: not disappointed. Anyways, What a Girl Wants was one of the first books I downloaded this way. I basically flew through the story. And loved every bit of it, naturally 🙂

Plot

Let’s go to Goodreads for this, shall we?

“Sebastian Tate knows two things. One: Life is short. Two: Family is all that matters.

Which is why he left his successful advertising firm in New York to take a prolonged sabbatical in London​. His days of being a high-powered mogul are happily behind him.

Until a former business associate calls in a debt. Reluctantly, Sebastian returns to San Francisco to help the man’s daughter build her homegrown organic skincare company into an international brand.

But Ariana Warren isn’t the spoiled little rich girl Sebastian expects her to be. Independent and smart, Ariana has distinct ideas about her business and life, and they don’t include Daddy’s help–or Sebastian’s. In fact, Ariana doesn’t want him at all. Which is a problem, because she’s exactly what he wants. With Ariana pushing him away, Sebastian decides to put all his advertising efforts into selling her on the fact he’s​ what she wants, too.”

Now, I personally feel like that synopsis gives slightly too much attention to Sebastian’s point of view, considering that over half of the book is actually told from Ariana’s POV, but all the same: you get the pic 🙂

Characters

Ariana’s basically the classic rich girl who feels that she doesn’t really belong in her family. After all, they’ve all managed to be utterly brilliant at whatever it is they’ve wanted to do. She, on the other hand, seems to have gone from failed attempt to not-so-much-talent, and is currently feeling like the family’s black sheep. Sure, she now has found something she’s not only good at, but can also make a living from, but you know… Her dad is still pushing her to try for more, her sister’s so perfect even I got annoyed at her sometimes, and her mother is just, well… Talent personified.

Of course, then she goes on to find out about something that changes just about everything. And now she has to try and find a way to regain her balance in life.

Sebastian might just be the one to help her do so. He’s one of those characters that might be accused of being a Mary Sue. Still, he brings quite a bit of humour to the story, and I actually found myself rooting for him throughout the story.

There’s quite a few extra characters. From Ariana’s dad, who’s not quite sure how to handle the transition from ultra-successful business guy to being retired, to Ariana’s best friend, George, who is just basically awesome. As a matter of fact, the entire street where Ariana lives seems to be filled with quirky, yet incredibly likeable people. Not always that believable, but it does make for a very enjoyable read!

Overall: 4/5

In many ways, this is your typical chick lit story. You have the changing POV, the (possibly) expected turns in the road, the happy ending. However, Kate Perry managed to bring all that with a certain level of humour and relative-ness. And that just makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read. I read this one right after my exams were done. I needed something that would make the world seem a little brighter again. This is definitely the perfect read if you’re in need of something quick and fluffy, that’s going to do exactly that: make your world just that tad-bit more sunny!

If you feel like you want to give this one a try now? You can find it on Kobo – last time I checked, it was still free!

-Saar