JENNY COLGAN

 TALKING TO ADDISON

Jenny Colgan's second novel Talking to Addison arrives with a flourish following the success of her debut Amanda's. Sharp, quirky one-liners complement merciless observations of human foibles and the London scene to make this romantic comedy a cut above the rest.

The story opens with the modern-day heroine Holly trapped in the flatshare from hell with members of "Scary Clean Freaks Incorporated", ruled by the obnoxious Carol who "dispensed ... Robert de Niro-to-doomed gangster stares". Even when Holly escapes the suburban inquisition, life still isn't a bed of roses: she's an unemployed florist, in love with a recluse and she's being bullied. She's in good company though when she moves in with a bunch of equally maladjusted misfits: Josh, a terminally nice boy, has issues; Kate, the high-flying and no-nonsense career girl, wilts every time a married man comes along and then there's Addison--the drop-dead-gorgeous lodger ("Johnny Depp in geek form")--who never leaves his room, already has a girlfriend (albeit over the Internet) and is a certified Trekkie fan.