(60)Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell

Nadia Knows Best

by Jill Mansell

@JillMansell

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Pages: 480

Buy it Here!

It is a cold and snowy night when Nadia runs her car off of the road in the middle of nowhere.  She is rescued by a handsome Knight in Shining Armor, Jay.  They end up spending the night together (platonically) while waiting out the storm.  Even though she is attracted to him, Nadia keeps it platonic because she has a boyfriend back home.  The even more handsome, Laurie.

Flash forward fifteen months and Nadia has been dumped by Laurie.  She is working at the local Garden Center and living at home with her family. There is Clare, the artist, and Tilly, the teenager.   The three of them live with their father, (well, father to Nadia and Clare, and father figure to Tilly) and their Grandmother. It is a bit of an unusual situation, but they are her family and Nadia will do anything for them.

Running into Jay again turns out to be an event that changes Nadia's life forever.  She leaves her job at the Garden Center and becomes a full time Gardener in Jay's employment.  But things get complicated fast when Laurie returns to pick up where they left off and the girls' absent mother turns up trying to woo Tilly into living with her.  Nadia feels that things are spinning out of control and she needs to make some tough decisions or risk losing everything.

I just love Jill Mansell.  LOVE HER!  Her writing is fluffy without being silly.  There is real heart in all of her stories and her characters are always flawed, yet lovable. Nadia is no different.   She tries so hard to be everything to everyone that sometimes she forgets to be true to herself and often finds herself going down the path of least resistance.   Clare is an absolute nightmare.  If I could have reached through the pages to slap her silly, I would have.  Many times.   And poor Tilly is trying so hard to fit in to a family that she doesn't thing she belongs in.  Together they are just trying to make it through life and love.

Nadia Knows Best is another successful story for Jill Mansell.  Now how long do I have to wait for the next one?