Love @ First Site:

by Jane Moore

Book Overview

Spunky, sweet-natured Jessica Monroe is thirty-four years old and perfectly happy being single. Her girlfriends, however, disapprove. And when they secretly place a personal ad on a hot singles... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767916913
• ISBN13: 9780767916912
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 358 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A great read for a single girl

I just want to say that this book is witty and cute for single girls who are on the computer a lot. Even if you aren't, it will make you change your mind about internet dating. the main character is a doll!!! She is soo cute, with her self conscious way of viewing herself , yet shows confidence enough to tell these ignorant guys where to shove their insensitivity. It is a great book. It took me only a few days to finish, and i work 2 jobs. I recommend it to any young female who has dated onthe internet...

Definately a read!

If you like to read a book that is "light" or a beach read like they say this is definately the one! I liked the book coz it was not just about some really hot girl who is "misunderstood" & then finds a hot guy......happily ever after story. The book deals with a ton of things, family member going through cancer, bieng a people pleaser & most imp you don't choose the guy coz he's hot but because he's a good man at heart. Loved the book!

Charming chick lit with a serious subplot

Jess Monroe is an over-30 single woman in London who is ready to settle down. For her thirty-fourth birthday, a mean-spirited friend buys her a membership to an online dating service, complete with a posted photograph. Jess rather hesitantly accepts the gift, prompted by her friends to give online dating a try. She is unhappy being single; she is unhappy in her job as a producer at a seedy morning show; she figures she has nothing to lose. After receiving more than thirty e-mails her first day, Jess narrows the responding suitors down to three: an attractive man who may or may not be married and who bolts in the middle of dinner, a vegetarian who spends lunch berating her for being a smoker, and a man so unattractive she pretends to be someone else to get out of the date. Compounding her bad experiences, Jess's sister Olivia becomes unexpectedly ill, which causes Jess to reevaluate the way she's living her life--and to change the things she doesn't like about her employment and dating circumstances. Jane Moore's LOVE @ FIRST SITE is a charming and witty look at the perils of online dating. Moore is an entertaining writer; her narrative voice is sharp, frank, wry, and wildly funny. In the tradition of Bridget Jones, Jess Monroe is an honest and substantial heroine, looking for love and usually striking out. While the serious subplot of Olivia's illness is unexpected in a lighthearted piece of chick lit, it does add substance to the story and is an important part of Jess's evolution from a discontented single girl to a more mature and self-satisfied woman. LOVE @ FIRST SITE is what it is: a piece of chick lit, but a refreshing and enjoyable piece. I'm not usually into chick lit, but this is one my mom--who has had her own unbelievable experiences with online dating--picked up and recommended. And I must say, I enjoyed this book as a relaxing piece of escapist fiction. I only took issue with one aspect of the book: the use of dollars instead of pounds for currency. Jess obviously lives in London; she works for a show called Good Morning Britain, and Moore, her creator, is herself British. The book is peppered with British slang...My point is, LOVE @ FIRST SITE obviously takes place in England, and it was published there first. So why does Jess pay 75 DOLLARS to enter a speed-dating event? There are other references to money as well that I just can't recall at this moment. What, did the publishers think we Americans aren't aware of the fact that England uses a different currency than we do? This discrepancy threw off the book's authenticity for me a bit. Overall, though, my impression of the book was a positive one. A lighthearted story with a serious edge, LOVE @ FIRST SITE is entertaining and brilliantly funny, a fairy tale with a modern twist.

Wity, delightful romance combining both humor and pathos

I'd like nothing more than to be curled up on the sofa watching (TV) with a glass of chilled white wine in one hand, a tube of salt and vinegar Pringles in the other. But instead, I'm on a blind date with Chewbacca." So begins Jane Moore's London-based, delightful story that chronicles a year in the life of Jessica Monroe as she attempts to play the hand that life has dealt her as a single, thirty-something in search of Mr. Right. She's a sweet-tempered people pleaser who sometimes drinks too much to avoid confronting those who routinely take advantage of her --- from the duplicitous sods she meets on the Internet to her fashionista Mum, from her antagonistic boss to her malicious "friend" Kara, all of whom abuse her basically tender nature in one way or another. Kara, for example, secretly signs up Jess for an Internet introduction service. And, being the compliant friend that she is, Jess agrees to select three men out of the 3,456 matches that responded to her posting. All she has to do is fill out a form and "I can tap in my preferred requirements, such as hair color, height, and religion, and up comes a list of all the men who fit my specifications. How very Third Reich." This kind of subtle humor is effortlessly sprinkled throughout, keeping the reader both engaged and amused. Lest you think that this book is simply a bowl of Cool Whip, there are several underlying themes that add a serious note. Most notable involves Jess's sister, Olivia --- not only her sibling but also her role model and best friend --- who is diagnosed with breast cancer. All the apprehensions that accompany this heinous disease serve to help Jess look beyond herself at some of life's deeper issues. Olivia's description of how she feels about her cancer is knowingly accurate: "It feels like there's a time bomb inside you, ticking away, possibly getting bigger, possibly spreading undetected to somewhere else..." Moore deftly handles both the humor and pathos without ever becoming heavy-handed with either. The reader is kept guessing about which of the suitors will finally win our heroine, but avid romance fans will be rooting for the right one. From the obligatory gay couple to the loving "parentals," each of the supporting characters adds wit and dimension to the whole. This third novel is definitely a charm for Jane Moore. --- Reviewed by Maggie Harding, a substance abuse counselor in Phoenix, AZ who wanted to be Brenda Starr before life intervened. She also reviews for www.faithfulreader.com and www.womenonwriting.com. (...)

Highly recommended summer chick lit

This was an immensely satisfying read, a breath of fresh air after the trite novels which usually characterize the chick lit category. I prefer the chick lit writers from Britain because their wit is dry and they can take any situation and take a look at it in perspective. The heroines of British chick lit also seem less shallow than the heroines of American chick lit. As a result, the characters are fresher and the subject is more appealing. This book features the dating adventures of Jess Monroe, a woman who, at 34, seems happy in her single life in London. But secretly, she envies her sister, who has a perfect marriage and two children. This book takes a good, long look at the 21st-century way of dating- pulling it apart, sometimes exhibiting its merits- but always looking at it in perspective. On her 34th birthday, Jess gets a card from a friend she detests- the friend has signed her up for a dating service, something which Jess has never even considered trying. At first, she is dead set against online dating- think of the dangers. But after receiving 48 e-mails from potential suitors, how can she resist? And some of them sound pretty decent. Alas, nothing is ever as it seems; some of the men who contact her have buffed out their profiles considerable to make themselves seem more attractive. Those 48 e-mails are quickly reduced to 12 men, and Jess sets up dates with several. The first is Simon, a guy who seems perfect for her. But after what seems like a wonderful date, he ditches Jess, leaving her to pay the bill herself. Her friends ostensibly think that he's married and is simply a player. Nevertheless, Jess keeps on trudging along Following suit are dates with a vegetarian, and a man who somewhat resembles a Yeti, as well as countless others. Will Jess ever find The One? Will an online dating service help solve her dating problems? Or will it merely serve to confuse them? Summa, with a dry wit, this book was extremely funny (take, for example, the scene at the beginning of the book- aka, the date with the Yeti). Sure, its not high-class literature; but what else can you expect from a chick lit novel? This is a highly readable book, not just for those who have put their toe into the proverbial online dating pool (or considered it; because honestly, how many single people are out there who haven't?), but for those who want a good summer read.