Talli Roland's Build A Man

ound of Words check in - I had a dry Friday and got a few hundred words yesterday. Trying to write as much as I can in order to devote the last few days of NaNo to typing them all up.

Meanwhile, though, I've been reading - finally got around to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series, and I've also just read Talli Roland's Build A Man, out now on Kindle.

(cover image by India Drummond!)

"How far would you go to create the perfect partner?

Slave to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every pitch she sends out disappears like her clients' liposuctioned fat, never to be seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie -- the hang-dog man determined to be Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in between -- giving Serenity a story no editor could resist.

With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy's life. But when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her dream job."

This book was both funny and touching. Serenity draws you in right away - I loved seeing London through her expat eyes and her caustic comments on all the "Botox Bitches". I enjoy the pacing in Talli's books, and this one is no exception - she always has me turning the pages, even if it's past midnight!

I could have used a longer denouement, but that's me, always looking for more romance. Still, it's great know there's a sequel coming, Construct A Couple - yay for more Serenity and Jeremy! Well, of course they get together, what did you expect? But you'll have to read the book to see what happens - it's not necessarily what you'd expect.

Meanwhile, I was a third of the way in before I even realised that the story's told in present tense - the last time that happened was when I read Water for Elephants. Nothing better than a story that feels so real that you forget the craft!

Talli's having a launch party on 7 December:

"Drop by to vote in an interactive poll to construct the 'perfect partner' -- if such a thing exists."

Read the opening chapter of Build A Man here!