Thursday, July 9, 2009

Holly's Inbox, by Holly Denham

Don't let the length of this book intimidate you. At 668 pages, yes, it qualifies as a chunkster, but since it is written entirely in E-mails, it goes by quickly. Very quickly. And there are so many delicious plot lines, it's hard to put down.

Holly Denham has a new job as a receptionist at a large bank in London. She has a lot to deal with during her first week on the job: a co-worker who doesn't seem to care for her, a bitchy PA, and a colleague who went to school with her, who seems to know something devious in Holly's past--but she's not letting on. Yet.

And that's just at work. Holly also sends lots of E-mails out to her best friends, Jason and Aisha. Jason works at a hotel where Holly was once a receptionist. Aisha has a rawther complicated love life and constantly looks to Holly for advice.

Then there's Holly's family, who all have moved to Spain. Mum keeps meddling in Holly's affairs, much to Holly's chagrin. Charlie, her brother and the only family member remaining in England, is trying to start a nightclub--a different sort of nightclub. Elderly Granny has just discovered the wonders of the Internet, and has started to sign Holly up for various different websites.

Holly's life does get rawther interesting juggling all of these kooky correspondences throughout the day. But the most interesting tidbits are reserved for Holly herself--and we find out about them through random E-mails from people other than her friends. Let's just say that the phrase "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive" is an appropriate description for Holly's character. Eventually, her lies--and her past--catch up to her. The untruths build the novel up to an interesting climax and finale, where Holly promises that "she'll be back."

This was delightful reading for me. It was quick, cheeky, humorous, and just plain dishy. I loved it, especially as it progressed. I loved learning little details that one might dismiss as unimportant, but then they crop up again later in the novel, and one sees how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Serena over at Savvy Verse and Wit had the author contribute a guest post. You can read that post by clicking here. Holly's Inbox has an interesting backstory; it actually started off as a website, which you can find by clicking here. And there's more to it, but I'll leave it to the author to explain what it is.

I won't tell you much about the ending, but it does leave room for a sequel. I hope it happens!

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 Chunkster Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all of my reads!

8 comments:

drollgirl said...

i just bought this book! it is YUGE! it is about 6 books away from being read. ;)

Holly Denham said...

YAY!!- thank you for this review - I'm so pleased you mentioned the little bits which added up as you went along - when I read a book I love having those tie-up bits and pieces, so I was really pleased you got them.
THANK YOU FOR MY REVIEW
Very kind of you. If anyone has any questions I'll be back -
x
Bill/Holly

Serena said...

I love your blog! I'm so sorry I've gotten way, I mean way, behind in google reader. I will catch up!

I loved your review and have added it to my post. You should check out Diary of an Eccentric's guest post here: http://diaryofaneccentric.blogspot.com/2009/07/guest-post-bill-surie-author-of-hollys.html

She's reviewed the book too.

Kristen said...

It sounds like my kind of book. Great review!

Anonymous said...

I love a quick, funny read!

Jenners said...

Oh I'm so glad you liked it! The author (!!!!) actually wrote to me to invite me to review this book and, of course, I said "yes." How could I resist? (He said some very very nice things about my blog.) It sounded like a good fun read so I'm glad to hear it was!

Serena said...

thanks for adding the link to my guest post!

Jess said...

Great review -- I have been hoping to win this through one of the blogger contests, but no luck! I will have to see if the library has it -- it sounds like a fantastic read!