Little Lady, Big Apple, Hester Browne (The Little Lady Agency #2)

To read my review of The Little Lady Agency, click here.

Melissa Romney-Jones went from doormat to diva when she donned a blond wig, became Honey, a no-nonsense bombshell, and set up shop providing London's most clueless men with all the basic girlfriend services -- except, of course, for sex and laundry! Now, her business is booming, but when her flat-mate decides to renovate, she has to temporarily find a new place to live. Then Melissa's dashing American boyfriend (and former client) Jonathan Riley gets a promotion that takes him to New York. There's only one solution: an extended holiday for Melissa in the Big Apple.

Entrusting care of the Little Lady Agency to her tactless best friend and her melodramatic sister, Melissa crosses the pond and finds herself out of her depth among Jonathan's hard-charging friends and his interfering ex-wife. Although Jonathan works all the time, he asks Melissa not to take on any new clients while she's in his hometown. But when she's presented with a tempting new challenge, Melissa decides to put her expertise to use. Then her project lands her in the tabloids, which sets off a hilarious and heartbreaking chain of events that could force her to choose between the man she loves and the unique business into which she has poured her heart and soul.  

When the Little Lady Agency left off, Melissa had just gotten together with her crush, Jonathan, Nelson and Gabi were another new couple, and Melissa's Agency was hopping. Little Lady, Big Apple starts off with Melissa in her now fulfilled life, until she's kicked out of her apartment for a few weeks while they do construction. With nowhere else to go and convinced into wanting a vacation, she follows Jonathan to New York where he had to return for business. There she has to deal with the stresses of leaving her business in the hands of her rather forceful and blunt best friend and sister, her boyfriend's possessive and manipulative ex-wife (though I'm wondering how she had the nerve to mess with his head after his having his brother's child), Jonathan's friends, the good and the bad, and an extremely difficult new client. The client himself, Godric (not Gryffindor), isn't that difficult, rather Melissa trying to keep jealous Jonathan from finding out is difficult. See, Jonathan doesn't want Melissa to have male clients anymore, even though he knows that all her clients are male. Through all this, plus family crises, Melissa manages to keep going with a smile on her face. She amazes me.

I don't like Jonathan. While reading Little Lady Agency I kept hoping Jonathan would fall off a cliff or move across the world or something so that Melissa would get over him and finally get together with Nelson (despite the fact he has the name Nelson). The two of them live together and act like an old married couple, and there are many subtle cues that Nelson is indeed in love with her (though she never picks up on any). And after this book, I have come to the conclusion that Jonathan is a selfish hypocritical snob and Melissa is way too good for him.

5 stars.