Author: Nikki Moore
Publisher: HarperImpulse
Publication Date: August 2015
Genre: Chick Lit
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN
Description: The last story in the fun & flirty #LoveLondon series from exciting new chick lit author Nikki Moore! The perfect novel for reading in the sunshine… and falling in love with London.
A summer to remember or forget?
When Zoe Harper returns to the UK after five long years in New York, the last thing she expects is to find her younger sister Melody jobless, homeless, broke and dumped. Unfortunately, life has a way of delivering the unexpected. She should know that, given her ex-fiancé Greg’s faithless behavior.
Filled with rage and determined to get revenge on the infamous Reilly brothers for her sister’s heartbreak, as well as get some answers, Zoe hatches plan Nannygate. Unfortunately that means moving in with the gorgeous but uncaring music producer Matt Reilly to be nanny to his two adorable, complicated children. But something isn’t adding up, and over the course of the hot London summer, she starts to think that perhaps Matt isn’t so bad after all.
Let down by his last nanny and weighed down with guilt about his wife’s death three years before, wealthy but camera-shy Matt has spent a long time pushing people away, including his own kids. His stunning new nanny challenges him every single day in completely different ways, but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing?
But what happens when you open your heart, and someone isn’t who you thought they were? And can it really be true love when it’s on the rebound, and starts off with a plan for revenge?
My Thoughts: I eventually liked this story but I had some problems with it in the beginning. I had a hard time with the fact Matt chucks Melody out of the house and her job without giving her a chance to explain. As her employer, I thought he handled it very poorly and thought he had some major character flaws and this was a big one. I also had a problem with Zoe’s motivations in going to Matt’s house to confront him. I personally felt it was impulsive and rash and not her place. When she is mistaken for an applicant for the nanny position and doesn’t set the record straight bothered me. Zoe is coming out of a very bad relationship and I suspected she was using her pain and outrage at the cheating fiancé to get revenge on Matt. When the plan of revenge was revealed, this book nearly became a wall-banger.
I had a hard time seeing these two flawed characters with major trust issues between them ever manage to become intimate, much less build anything solid together. As I read and got to know Zoe and Matt better, I began to warm up to them and empathize with them. Zoe brings a breath of fresh air into Matt’s world, though he really isn’t prepared for it or wants it. She gets him to see that he has withdrawn into himself since his wife’s death and that his children are suffering for it. Through Zoe’s efforts, Matt’s relationship with his children changes drastically for the better and that was wonderful to see. His relationship with his wife’s mother also improves.
In spite of her deceit in obtaining the job and continuing in the job, I admired that Zoe was committed to the welfare of the children and was really good with them. They bonded quickly and Zoe was able to draw them out of their shells too. It still bothered me that Matt never gave Melody a reason for her abrupt dismissal and acted without investigating what he had been told. It also bothered me how long Zoe waited to tell Matt the truth, the whole truth and I was frustrated at the consequences of her actions. All ends well, though the finale felt rushed and there is no closure between Melody and Matt. Perhaps this will be addressed in another book in this series.
My Final Verdict: Fans of chick-lit stories about forgiveness and second chances will enjoy this story. If deception, misunderstandings and miscommunication in the plot is frustrating to them, they may want to take a pass.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Picnics in Hyde Park from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
