I've Got Your Number

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A breezy comedy of errors that begins with a missing emerald engagement ring and a businessman's stolen phone lead two people to unexpected love.

At a party one night, Poppy Wyatt loses both her antique engagement ring and her cell phone. Desperate to stay in contact in case her ring turns up, salvation appears in the form of a phone in the trash - except it soon turns out that its owner, Sam Roxton, needs the phone back. Their compromise leads to sharing an email inbox, and Poppy can't keep herself from prying into Sam's life - with mixed results.

Poppy's on her way to the altar and Sam's in the middle of a crisis at work, but the purloined cell phone draws them closer together through a flurry of texts and email. It's a romcom plot in book shape, and as fluffy and fun as a meringue.

Techno-haters will likely be annoyed by the amount of time Poppy and Sam spend glued to their phones (even when face-to-face!), but the plot moves forward text by text, smiley face by smiley face. The ending is inevitable but sweet as Poppy's heart is drawn away from her handsome, "perfect" fiancé toward Sam. All in all, it's a great summer beach read for anyone who wants to dive into a modern romance.

Chick lit is somewhat controversial. It has fierce detractors and defenders, like most genres adored and written mainly by women. But I've never let other people's opinions get in the way of a book I want to read!

There are so many fun reads in this genre, of varying levels of depth: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding is probably the best-known British work of chick lit out there, thanks to the movie version. Kinsella (also British) is best-known for her Confessions of a Shopaholic series (which led to an Isla Fisher film of the same name). You might also try Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (again, there's a movie).