Author: Wendy Holden
Publisher: Plume
Publication Date: January, 2000
Genre: Chick-Lit
Description: After being dumped by her rich, handsome boyfriend, Anna vows to give up men forever. She takes a job as a nanny in the ritzy Kensington home of the Knights. Armed with a Hoover in one hand and Harry Potter in the other, Anna finds herself living with the family from hell: Cassandra, a social-climbing romance novelist with writer's block; Jett, Cassandra's cheating rock-star spouse; and Zak, their spawn-of-Satan son. So when Anna meets Jamie, the dashing heir to a castle in Scotland, she figures he's too good to be true. And she just may be right . . . Featuring an irrepressible heroine and a story that bounces along at the speed of laughter, Bad Heir Day is the hilarious follow-up to Wendy Holden's irresistible debut novel. It is a witty and delightful romp certain to captivate readers on both sides of the Atlantic.
My Thoughts: I immediately got a clear sense of how miserable Anna’s life is when I began this book. The author doesn’t waste precious time or pages dragging the reader through a maze of miscommunication and inner dialogue to bring us to the conclusion that Anna’s life is crap. I rather enjoyed that this information is thrown into the mix right from the start. It’s important that I learned this sooner rather than later because only then would I understand how Anna could end up working for Cassandra Knight, a vile, cruel, rude beyond belief, arrogant witch of a woman who is so full of herself it will make you sick. Anna takes a job with this horrible person, thinking the position will be as an assistant to a best-selling author. Instead, she somehow gets roped into being the nanny to Cassandra’s son, Zak, who is just as vile as she is. Unfortunately, desperate times call for desperate measures on Anna’s part.
Even as horrible as Anna’s time under the Knight household is, this book made me laugh deeply and loudly at some of the antics going on. Cassandra takes center stage with her drunken outbursts and anger management issues. Her son, Zak, is a spoiled brat who behaves like a troll, while managing to deflect it back onto his mother. Then there’s Cassandra’s husband, Jett, an aging rock-star, who can’t seem to keep his trousers on. Throw into the mix several supporting characters who I found to be quite interesting makes for an enjoyable story.
My Final Verdict: I liked this book. The story does a good job of making the reader forget her troubles for a while by bringing to light a whole new dysfunctional group of people. It made me laugh a lot and I am still amazed that there wasn’t any bloodshed in the Knight home. I cheered Anna on when she finally gets the opportunity to leave but continued to empathize with her situation when it appears she jumped from the frying pan straight into the fire. This story has many twists which make the plot so interesting.
Fans of chick-lit will enjoy the snarky British humor laced throughout the story, but be prepared for the profanity that comes along with it. It didn’t offend me or pull my attention out of the story at all, most likely because I, myself, was directing quite a few profane statements in Cassandra’s direction. This was my first book by Wendy Holden and I am looking forward to reading more from her.
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