From Notting Hill with Love… Actually by Ali McNamara

Actually, Book 1

Synopsis: Scarlett loves the movies – they’re just so much more exciting and romantic than her own mundane life mending popcorn machines and living with her DIY obsessed fiancé David. So when everyone keeps telling her she needs to stop day-dreaming her life away in Johnny Depp & Brad Pitt’s arms, and settle down and get on with real life, Scarlett decides to prove them all wrong.

When she’s given the chance to house-sit in Notting Hill for a month, Scarlett thinks this will be her ideal opportunity to prove her family wrong about the movies. But she quickly finds the real Notting Hill is nothing like the celluloid version, and after she meets her new neighbour – the cool, confident, but movie-hating Sean, Scarlett starts to realise this challenge might be trickier than she first thought.

Every day Scarlett tries – usually unsuccessfully – to place herself in as many movie scenes as she can. But it’s when she’s least expecting it that she finds a link to one of her favourites…and it’s then that she discovers so much more than the fairytale ending she’s always dreamed of.

Review: I heard great things about this book, so when I saw that it was out in French, I told myself that it was an opportunity to see how it really was. And I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the heroine.

Scarlett is an unusual young woman. Indeed, the movies are more than a hobby for her, and she often loses herself in her mind to imagine surreal scenes. And therefore she escapes into a different world where her imagination allows her to create a new story. She is very happy like that, but this is unfortunately not the case for everyone such as her father and her fiancé David. In addition, the date of her wedding is approaching. This, added to the criticism of her companion about her obsession, Scarlett decides to take a short break away from the people she knows to show them that real life can also be seen as a movie. This little break will also bring her in the area of ​​ Notting Hill, one of her favorite story. She will meet fantastic people who will help her as much as they can, as a Sean who has a big influence on her life.

I loved this novel and all the references. Because, yes, of course, I knew all the quotes as I am a good follower of romantic comedies and it was a great pleasure to be able to replace everything. I must say that our heroine has without realizing it, a life worthy of a story like that the ones she loves. Yet her life is not easy, her mother disappeared when she was little and although she wants to find her, it all seems quite difficult. And her fiancé David does not seem to be the person with whom she could be really happy. I should also say that my feeling has completely changed about this character. I did not really enjoy him the beginning of the story, seeing he did not really try to accept the peculiarities of Scarlett. Yet while the story unfolds, we begin to understand him and see that he is serious about his love for our heroine. All this even to the point of letting have the space she needs. But when we meet Sean, we know immediately that our heart will swing for him. It is astonishing that our beloved heroine happens to resist him that much after all he did for her. But it is true that I had many doubts about him still, as Scarlett. I had a little trouble with some of his choices or his actions, but I’m really happy to see how the story was also carried out and concluded.

So it was a very nice story well done and it was a real pleasure to follow it. I would definitely recommend it if you want to read a nice story full of wonderful references associated with movies that we all know.

4

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