TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is a great book full of wonder, love, and family. Cleo is a twenty-something who has always felt awkward and out of place. Her best friend Ash is the same way. He is a radio DJ. On the air, he can let himself be the man he wants to be. We also get to meet their friends and family. Will Newman is the man Cleo thought she would be with for the rest of her life. Fia comes to the village after her marriage falls apart. Abbie, Cleo's much older sister, is having problems with her marriage. Tom, Abbie's husband, has a secret that could rip their marriage apart. Johnny LaVenture is the guy from Cleo's childhood that is always in her head. Who will Cleo end up with? Will Ash finally come out of his shell off the air?

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is about all the characters taking a chance on life, on love, and on friendship. All the characters are very well thought out and are so real that it made me want to move to Channings Hill. It was such a quaint little town where everyone knows everyone, and they are always there to help each other. Jill Mansell successfully meshes all the characters' stories together, and makes it so believable you feel you are there.

Jill Mansell reminds me of my favorite author, Maeve Binchy. They both write stories that make you believe in love and romance, and show you that life is messy and drama is all over the place no matter where you live. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is the kind of book you want to savor and re-read because you miss the characters so much.

Book Summary

Love is always just around the corner in a Jill Mansell novel--in this case, in the picturesque town of Channings Hill, where everyone knows everyone. Even if she wasn't a chauffeur for a limousine company, it would be hard for Cleo to avoid running into Johnny LaVenture, famous sculptor and her personal childhood nemesis. But since she's seeing the perfectly gorgeous Will, she figures it will be easy to ignore Johnny. If only he didn't get under her skin quite so much...

And then there's Cleo's sister, Abbie, who has just discovered her husband's love child, and her neighbor, Ash, a famous DJ but in love with a woman who doesn't know he exists. Add Fia, Will's not-so-ex-wife, and the vitriolic Mandy, and you have the perfect mix for an entertaining read.