It should have been me

Title: It should have been me

Author: Phillipa Ashley.

Publisher: Little Black Dress, 2009

Carrie is really happy. The little production of Grease she’s been playing is a hit in her town and she is getting married to her boyfriend (Huw) of 10 years. Her life is simple and mapped out. She helps run Huw’s family farm business while her acting fills her spare time. Then two weeks before the wedding, Huw dumps her. She is naturally shell-shocked and her world falls apart. Her best friend Rowena – also a fellow actress- does the best she can to console her friend. Just when Carrie seems alright, she receives some horrible news: After only four months, Huw is getting married to another woman. She decides to wreck their wedding day, only to be stopped by Huw’s old college friend- Matt.

Matt is a doctor working in a remote area for a medical charity. He has been quite happy with his life until a terrible accident convinces his boss to send him back to England for a couple of months. He is bored out of his mind and he decides to do two things fun: hanging around with his bed buddy Natasha and seeing Huw at his wedding.

Carrie only ends up doing a little damage and getting pissed off by Matt. Of course it would be cool if she never saw Matt ever again. But Rowena has to bail out on their European camping trip because of a career opportunity and “forces” her friend to take Matt with her.

She finds Matt patronizing, arrogant and infuriating. He is also intense, interesting and confident. Just when she decides he might be fun after all, things get complicated. She realizes she is developing a huge crush on him.

The book is really funny and entertaining and it can get pretty romantic at times. Carrie is not that hard to identify with. After all, it can happen to anyone: finding herself out of a long term relationship; all disappointed, bitter and clueless. She learns to cope, to stand on her feet again. She finds out what it is like to be single, to have fun, to have complete freedom. Her half hating, half-friendly relationship with Matt is quite a riot. Matt is also an interesting character, even though he an quite be a pain in the arse sometimes. The book is an escapist novel marketed directly towards female readers; from the characters to the plot, and from the pink/blue cover to the title. It is a fast read and it is harmless. The feelings might be intense between Matt and Carrie- but it is tricky as they hook up with others and go from wanting to bite each other’s heads off to really enjoying each other’s company. Read it on the beach, at night and keep it hidden from boys.