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Who's That Girl?

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 1,884 ratings · 188 reviews

If only you knew then what you know now…

Imagine you could go back ten years and meet your younger self – would you recognise her? And what advice would you give?
•Wear sunscreen
•Back away from those PVC trousers
•DON’T give that idiot your phone number
•Lemon juice won’t bleach your hair – it just attracts wasps…
•He's The One - don't let him get away

For Charlotte Merryweathe...more

Paperback, 370 pages

Published 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton (Hachette Livre UK) (first published December 23rd 2008)

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Jun 21, 2011 kari rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Intriguing premise, not well executed......and tedious.
This could have been a great story if the author had actually committed to what she was setting out to create, but she didn't seem to know how to actually do that.
If the story is about going back in time to help yourself make other decisions, then the characters should do that and as an author you should do that and not have it that she can't actually change anything. Other wise you've wasted not only the character's time, but also mine and...more Intriguing premise, not well executed......and tedious.
This could have been a great story if the author had actually committed to what she was setting out to create, but she didn't seem to know how to actually do that.
If the story is about going back in time to help yourself make other decisions, then the characters should do that and as an author you should do that and not have it that she can't actually change anything. Other wise you've wasted not only the character's time, but also mine and I'm not happy about that.
Charlotte, in her present life, seems stupid for a woman who owns a company and all. She goes back in time to stop the one thing that she recalls changes her life from a happy-go-lucky girl into a driven cold-hearted name-that-someone-calls-her-which-she-deserves. And yet she fails. She just thinks she's so smart and, of course, her younger self is still her and she outsmarts herself.
Again, if this is the moment life changed, then put everything else on hold and make sure this one event does. not. happen. I was so angry reading that and then on page 339 what decision she made because of it. First of all, don't toss that into what's a light breezy read and expect me to just say oh, I see. Well that makes me dislike her quite a bit and not make me sympathetic toward her. And then this subject never comes up again. So why the heck is it even in here? A life-changing moment gets one page and yet there are page after page after page of lots of busines matters and her boyfriend and her friend's marriage.
If the premise of the book is how she goes in time to change the past, then the past should have been changed. Otherwise, Charlotte could have simply be remembering and this book could have been a w h o l e lot shorter. It is way too long for what's here and if the premise isn't actually going to be a part of the story, then why have it here?
Oh and one more thing, okay a few more things. Constantly telling me about how her groin feels whenever a particular guy is around is. not. amusing. It also isn't romantic or hot or making me want them to get together. It terms of romance, I don't want to read the word groin. And while we're at it, please leave out the word turgid as well. It doesn't appear in this book but just in general, not sexy.
And speaking of the romance, if that's the story being told, then again, tell me that story and not all of the stuff about her business and the skeevy dentist and her young self partying and all of the other stuff. The romance appears in almost the last page. And not worth waiting for, btw, although he is an interesting character who could have been developed more.
I was bored throughout most of this and I doubt I'd pick up another book by this author.(less)

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Nov 11, 2011 mrsj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Simply amazing. A magical story that makes you reflect and ponder what you are doing in life and if you are really happy in what you are doing now?

Charlotte Merryweather is 31, successful, owns a PR agency, has her own apartment, dresses in designer wears, has a boyfriend and a very very busy and hectic lifestyle.
But, is she happy?

Out of the sudden, while out driving, she saw a girl who looks like her, 10 yrs ago.
And chance upon a guy whom she did not notice 10yrs ago.
What happened next is simpl...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Hana Bilqisthi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

compare to you're the one that i don't want, this novel more serious and depressing .. i like the characters actually because the 30-years-old Charlotte remind me of myself and Miles is kind of the guy of my dream...

"I have tons of allergies, which is a bit embarrassing, as that makes me sound like one of those trendy, annoying types who wear Crocs and think it's cool to have a wheat intolerance, but I genuinely do have allergies"

"also a bad sleeper. Just terrible. I find it so hard to switch o...more compare to you're the one that i don't want, this novel more serious and depressing .. i like the characters actually because the 30-years-old Charlotte remind me of myself and Miles is kind of the guy of my dream...

"I have tons of allergies, which is a bit embarrassing, as that makes me sound like one of those trendy, annoying types who wear Crocs and think it's cool to have a wheat intolerance, but I genuinely do have allergies"

"also a bad sleeper. Just terrible. I find it so hard to switch off. As soon as I close my eyes, all these niggling worries begin running around in my head like millions of ants. I tried counting them once, like they tell you to do with sheep, but it had the opposite effect. Instead of making me fall asleep, it made me wide awake with fear and I ended up staying up that whole night watching cosmetic-surgery-gone-wrong programmes on TV. Not only was I exhausted the next day, but I now have these weird nightmares about vaginal rejuvenation. (Trust me, there is such a thing as too much information.) So that's the last time I'm ever going to try that."

"I mean, what's the point of worrying all the time?' She shrugs.
I stare at her, perplexed. Is that a trick question?
'Well, it's not about there being a point…'
'So why do it, then?' she asks simply.
'Because…' I open my mouth to explain, only I can't quite think of anything to say.
'It's a total waste of time.' She reaches for a pot of glittery nail varnish and tries it out on her big toe. 'If the worst is going to happen, it'll happen. Worrying can't protect you from that. And if it doesn't happen' - she raises her eyebrows - 'then you've missed out on all the time when you could have been having fun.' Smiling brightly, she puts down the pot of glittery nail varnish and picks up a bright purple one instead and starts doing the other foot. Meanwhile I'm looking at her in astonishment. How did I change from her to me? From this carefree person into someone who spends their whole time with a nervous knot in their stomach. What on earth happened to me?"

"there has been something missing in my life, I was missing in my life. I lost sight of who I was. I lost myself. And now here, in this bedroom, I've found myself again
"
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Jan 17, 2012 Karla Mae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, chicklit, covers-me-like, e-books, life-and-beyond, young-adult

I've been seeing a lot of Sandra Potter books lately and think why not try one of it? and Who's that girl is the first that i got.

Charlotte Mayweather is the famous owner of a PR Company based in London. She definitely has any girls dream in life: a successful business, a good enough of money that can sustain her life and an almost perfect boyfriend, but she still finds herself stressed from too much work, a little bit lonely and alone at times. She finds herself thinking of things that she coul...more I've been seeing a lot of Sandra Potter books lately and think why not try one of it? and Who's that girl is the first that i got.

Charlotte Mayweather is the famous owner of a PR Company based in London. She definitely has any girls dream in life: a successful business, a good enough of money that can sustain her life and an almost perfect boyfriend, but she still finds herself stressed from too much work, a little bit lonely and alone at times. She finds herself thinking of things that she could have done differently 10 years ago. What would have happened if she did this instead of that? Meet this instead of that?

Charlotte has been experiencing some weird coinidences like finding her old car driven by a girl who looks just like her and parked on the same apartment where she lived 10 years ago and even has the same name as hers.

The characters are okay. Beatrice, Charlotte's assistant, well i really like her. I like her for simply being always there for Charlotte, not only because she is her assistant but because she consider Charlotte as her friend. She always stands beside her in times of needs and usually comes up with witty remarks to light up the situations. Vanessa and Julian, they are Charlotte's long time friends, though these two are experiencing a little trouble with their marriage, i still like them. Well, they are also there to support Charlotte in times of needs.
Then here is, Charlotte who is very hard working that all she could think about is to work, work and work and she simply goes to the flow of the people around her and because of too much work she is already experiencing from too much stress that she doesnt even notice it by herself. Until Oliver came, a barman who has known her and has an eye on her for 10 years ago but only its only now that she sees him differently, the appearance of Oliver is one of the key to the changes in Charlotte's life.They may have a little arguments and their relationship is only empahasized at the near end of the story, its still too obvious that they have that certain connection that would draw them to each other no matter what they do.

The story is kinda weird and it really does remind me of the The Time Traveler's Wife. But yea its different to that. But i liked this one, it has its own body and structure. I could say that it has been a good start for me and Sandra Potter. Way to go!

We can't change the things that happened on the past. We should learn to live with our decisions and have a greater view on life.
(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 Cynthia rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book that I read written by Alexandra Potter(The first is Me and Mr.Darcy, pretty boring to be honest!!) and I am SURPRISED how much I'm fond of it despite they are from the same author -.-

Most fantasy book make their characters able to change what they've done wrong during time travel, however Charlotte/Lottie(I prefer Lottie actually) didn't succed instead she understands the fact that maybe after 10 years, the moment to start with Mr.Barman right is finally right. Being abl...more

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May 03, 2013 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is my first of Alexandra Potter's and i have to say i truly enjoyed reading it. I was drawn to this book mainly by this tagline "If only you knew what you know now". Also, i am exactly that kind of girl who would always play time-travel either to my past or my future so i thought this book might be my cup of tea and it turned out just as that. Before i read this book, i wondered how the author would spin a time-traveling tale in a modern age setting as time travel is physically impossible u...more This is my first of Alexandra Potter's and i have to say i truly enjoyed reading it. I was drawn to this book mainly by this tagline "If only you knew what you know now". Also, i am exactly that kind of girl who would always play time-travel either to my past or my future so i thought this book might be my cup of tea and it turned out just as that. Before i read this book, i wondered how the author would spin a time-traveling tale in a modern age setting as time travel is physically impossible unless there is some magic, i guess. Whether it is just a figment of Charlotte's imagination or the morphine effects done to her brain, we are not sure. In fact, has she really met her twenty-one-year-old self in real life? No one can tell. however, the main concern here is Charlotte, now 32, after meeting her 22-year old, she has changed back to the person she had always wanted to be - the jovial, live-in-the-moment girl who holds onto her passion, which is writing. Looking at her 32 self, which is a far cry from what she had wanted to be, she starts to have all the reflective moments as in is she making the right choice to move in with her current boyfriend which she realises she isnt in love with. Also, it then dawns on her that she had never thought of being a PR person, let alone owning a company. All her current allergies are probably come from being over-cautious to food and her health, which she didnt give it a hoot in her 22-year old self. If meeting her younger self changes her life, rekindling the relationship with the barman who had secret crush on her ten years ago makes her life complete. This is a tale which is completely funny, relatable (esp if you are a thirtysomething) and definitely makes us reflect on our current life and also looks back at our younger years when we are almost fearless, spontaneous and laugh like there is no tomorrow.
As much as I love the story, I thought it would have been even more compelling if only there is more appearance of Oliver in the book as I think his character is not vividly painted out to readers. It is a such a likable character that it is a shame he doenst deserve more limelight.
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Jun 27, 2011 Juliane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books-i-read

Review auch hier: http://buechertruhe.blogspot.com/2011...

Inhalt:

Charlotte ist 32 Jahre alt und steckt in ihrem Leben fest: Sie hat eine eigene PR-Firma, die zwar einigermaßen läuft, sie aber nicht glücklich macht. Sie arbeitet rund um die Uhr, hat ihren gesamten Tag durchgeplant. Ihre Nerven liegen blank, sie ist seelisch und körperlich nahe dem Absturz. Ihr Freund Miles sieht sie immer mal wieder, aber nicht so oft wie sie es gern hätte. Er plant mit ihr eine Zukunft, doch auch in der Sache fü...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Limau Nipis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, on-nook, modern-romance

Charlotte is a successful PR, who runs her own company. She feels like she has everything. And then she bumps with her 21-year old self.

OK the premise of the novel was fine, but it was quite slow for me. 31-year old Charlotte to bump with her 21-year old takes half of the novel, that I was thinking to give up reading it. That shows how slow it was. I know that the author wanted us to know more about Charlotte's current life, but the problem is, it takes such a long time to build up the momentum....more

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Oct 09, 2009 Miaoxiaoyan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "I'm fine, but I've grown up.“

To be frank, I was attracted by the sentence on the cover at first sight.

Then, I couldn't help reflecting...what if...?

To most people, Charlotte Merryweather is a successful thirty-something modern girl, who is running her own PR company and having a therotically perfect boyfriend. She used to think her life was perfect in all respects unitl she bumped into her younger self. Lottie, actually the younger Charlotte 10 years apart, lived a totally different life...more

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Miaoxiaoyan "I'm fine, but I've grown up."

To be frank, I was attracted by the sentence on the cover at first sight.

Then, I couldn't help reflecting...what if......more
Oct 09, 2009 07:41pm

Nov 20, 2012 Gynen Kyra Toriano rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-lit, young-adult

“If I knew then, what I know now.”

An inspiring tale about finding oneself, literally! The story itself did not draw me in, truth be told, everything sounded a little too familiar for I might have watched too many time-travelling movies. Paris as the setting in the epilogue though, I am always biased when it comes to anything French related. Ha! You caught me there but kidding aside, the last part got to me, you know the part when the main character finally finds her happily-ever-after and with i...more “If I knew then, what I know now.”

An inspiring tale about finding oneself, literally! The story itself did not draw me in, truth be told, everything sounded a little too familiar for I might have watched too many time-travelling movies. Paris as the setting in the epilogue though, I am always biased when it comes to anything French related. Ha! You caught me there but kidding aside, the last part got to me, you know the part when the main character finally finds her happily-ever-after and with it comes her realization? That’s the part. Talk about learning from your younger self when all the while you thought she could learn from you.

Ten years from now, if I were to meet my 21-year old self, I wouldn’t have gone to the same conclusion as to what Charlotte (the main character) had decided when she first found herself faced-to-faced with Lottie, her carefree 21-year-old self. In fact, I wouldn’t try to change anything at all. I’ve already written a few years back in my blog what I would do if I had given the chance and I'm glad to know that I still agree with myself. I wouldn’t wanna alter anything at all for it all boils down to what you will become in the future and I’m pretty sure, as nonchalant as I am, that I am doing my best to make the most of what I have in the present but not to the extent of making decisions that will lead me to regret in the future; a balance of a carefree but proper life. This all coming to a touchy subject which is why I feel the need to explain myself a tinsy bit. Exhibit A. I don’t smoke nor consume alcohol nor go out and party every weekend until daylight strikes. No, I don’t. But I do, on a few occasions, go out at night with my friends to a club and indulge in the music, I might drink a bottle or two but only of the lightest drinks they have available and none at all, if possible. So yes, I am not missing out on enjoying the benefits of being legal age. Anywho, I wouldn’t wanna give you anymore examples for this’ll turn out into another long post so I better get ahead of myself and leave you with this:

I quite enjoyed reading the book but not to the extent that I’ll be putting this up as an addition to my “favorites” book shelf. I felt shivers run down my spine when I read the epilogue which is a good surprising feeling and I loved the notes Ms. Potter left for us readers on the last part. Nothing like a good ‘ole book that will leave a mark of realization in your own life. :)(less)

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Mar 28, 2009 Winna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklits

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 04, 2013 Karschtl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2013, chick-lit

I find the idea to meet your younger self really interesting. But the book was a bit different from what I'd expected. The larger part of the story is set in today's time, also due to the fact that the first real meeting between Charlotte and Lottie takes place about 1/3 into the book, and Charlotte constantly switches back to her real time (I think I expected that the turning-back-the-time would be something that you cannot reverse that easily).

When Charlotte realizes what a chance she got, she...more

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Sep 16, 2009 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-2009

My first Alexandra Potter book was Going La La and after that I read Be Careful What You Wish For. I’ve also read Me & Mr Darcy but can’t really remember it. Who’s That Girl? is more in the Me & Mr Darcy vein that the other two as both main characters see – apparently – someone from long ago – Mr Darcy in Me & Mr Darcy and Charlotte see’s her twenty-one-year-old self Lottie.

I enjoyed the book in as much as it was an easy, told-in-first-person read and didn’t seem the 363 pages it act...more My first Alexandra Potter book was Going La La and after that I read Be Careful What You Wish For. I’ve also read Me & Mr Darcy but can’t really remember it. Who’s That Girl? is more in the Me & Mr Darcy vein that the other two as both main characters see – apparently – someone from long ago – Mr Darcy in Me & Mr Darcy and Charlotte see’s her twenty-one-year-old self Lottie.

I enjoyed the book in as much as it was an easy, told-in-first-person read and didn’t seem the 363 pages it actually was. The ending was confusing – and I hate unclear endings – was it all a dream or did she actually see her 10-year-younger self? To be honest I have no idea.

I found Charlotte annoying until near the end of the book when she let go of all her problems and “allergies” and became a bit more normal and less controlling. I liked Lottie (Charlotte’s-21-year-old-self) so much more than I liked Charlotte although we do find out why Charlotte is the way she is near to the conclusion of the book.

Beatrice was by far my favourite character, she was hilarious. I don’t think we saw/heard enough of Miles. He wasn’t really in the book, he was more on the sidelines for the entire book. Vanessa and Julian’s relationship was strange. It seems Alexandra Potter had made up her mind to have him cheating and then changed her mind and changed the storyline completely. It just seemed very fishy. I really liked Oliver’s character and would have preferred to have him present through-out the book instead of when it was convenient to the story – back in 1997 or when Charlotte was in his restaurant. There were a few more minor characters; Oliver’s grandad, Larry Goldstein and his wife… they were only minor but I liked the scene with Oliver’s grandad in. I saw through Goldstein, though, and couldn’t believe Charlotte didn’t.

I think it was a great idea in theory but I don’t think it was written brilliantly. The alleged (I say this because I still don’t truly understand the ending of the book – did she or didn’t she?) time-travelling seemed wasted – it would have been good if Charlotte’s meddling actually effected things in the future and the list Charlotte made for Lottie was pointless filler, it had no real effect on the outcome of the book particularly since Lottie didn’t even listen anyway…

I also think it was a shame the ending was wrapped up so quickly – after the way things were with Oliver and Charlotte they resolved it pretty quickly, I’m sure there could have been a few more pages dedicated to Charlotte and Oliver explaining things out to each other.

I read the book quite quickly and did find myself wanting to read more to see if anything came of the Charlotte/Lottie time-travel thing but ultimately I found it disappointing.

Rating: 3/5(less)

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Jan 04, 2013 Ubi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Basically it is a romantic story. Ok, everybody knows that.

It is like some kind of movie plot with a time-travelling involved. For short, it is story about an unhappy 30-years old woman whom meet her 20-years old herself and decide to change her.

But anyway, she actually realized that she didn't want to change anything about her in a past life but changing herself in present.As one have said:-

'We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better th...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Vicky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Let me start by being honest. I don't usually read chick-lit. But recently, due to insomnia, I'm craving a relaxing book , and so I started looking through Amazon for something easy to read and came across this.
Reading the back of the book, I admit I was already excited at the idea of this book. I was thinking a little too much along the lines of "being Erica" (goggle it if you don’t know it as if you enjoyed this book you will enjoy the TV series) and perhaps even a little sci-fi-ish....? (I s...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Ali rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book.
It raised some interesting questions, ok it's daft how she gets to time travel to meet her younger self but come on how many of us would love to do that? Or loathe to do that, but either way you probably have feelings about that.
The interesting point is there is a young girl - she doesn't have much - but she has the freedom that comes with not having much.
Then you have the older, more regal self who has all the things you think an adult should have, or nearly - she's not quite...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Cjoy Esguerra rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love it! It kept me awake till 2 in the morning to finish reading - no, scratch that, it kept me awake till 3 because I can't sleep, I still can't seem to move on and I tried to imagine them, Charlotte in a wedding gown walking the aisle. Oh boy! The story is just so cute. I love how it turned out in the end. And, there's a bunch of nice quotes. And the mystery of the emerald ring. Time travel seems to be a trend. :))
At first, I'm not lured by its title. But reading it, the title fits perfectl...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

I got about a 1/3 of the way through the book, but it is just boring. The premise is reasonably intersting, but the writing is just dull. I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe someone else would enjoy it.

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Jan 18, 2009 Fluffychick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: don-t-bother, romance, books-read-in-2009, chick-lit

Okay - you can tell what you're getting from the cover! Predictable and baically about believing your gut instinct, enjoying your youth whilst you can and enjoying life!
Actually found the character of the sloany Beatrice more interesting than Charlotte and wish she had been developed more, likewise the best friend Vanessa, was thinly sketched so you didn't care if her husband was having an affair or not.
The whole time travel thing has been done better by others - and the same author has done som...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Naomi rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was about a 31 year old who meets her 21 year old self. As a 31 year old she intends to teach her 21 year old self some of the things she has learnt in her life to stop her making the same mistakes she made. However, she ends up learning things from her younger self- something she did not expect to happen.

This book was easy to read, light-hearted and funny. At the beginning this book seemed to go on a bit and every single detail about every single thing was wrote down, however, the bo...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall it was a nice book for what it was, especially for a 21-year-old, which i did not know and expect... It does make some really good points and it does have a meaning of existence... You feel like you have learned sth at the and of it... Of course, it's light reading, it doesn't have any world changing story line or any of the sort, it's just a beautiful story well written...

The only thing that really annoyed me, which i wouldn't have noticed if i haven't read any other of her books, is th...more

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May 05, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, humor, romance

Charlotte fährt mit ihrem Auto zufällig eine Umleitung entlang und trifft dadurch auf ihr zehn Jahre jüngeres Ich. Die beiden Freunden sich an, aber nur Charlotte erkennt sich selbst wieder. Also versucht sie möglich viele Fehler der damaligen Zeit ungeschehen zu machen, was zu allerlei Problemen führt...

Die Geschichte mit ihrer sympatischen Protagonistin liest sich flüssig und enthält Witz. Dennoch ist der Werdegang ziemlich vorhersehbar, was mich aber in diesem Fall nicht so gestört hat, da ma...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Tfrances rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My first thought after finishing… “It was alright.” I didn’t hate it, but I certainly didn’t love it. It was okay. It was mediocre. It was something to read for a day, I guess. My real problem lies with the characters. Looking back over part book reviews, I am always talking about the characters. I guess I really need good characters to love a book. And this book gave me alright characters. Charlotte, the present Charlotte, was way to neurotic. I guess she’s supposed to be. It’s the Christmas Ca...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Winna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chicklits

The idea is quite original, although it reminds me of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me, which is the opposite (a woman becoming her older self instead of meeting her younger self). It is also very different from her other works, although she has explored imaginative themes before, such as in Me and Mr. Darcy, and Be Careful What You Wished For, which I loved.

I have to say I prefer her more realistic approaches to life and love, though, such as in Calling Romeo, which is my favorite. Th...moreThe id...more

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Oct 17, 2010 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chic-lit

Imagine if one day, you had the opportunity to meet your younger self? What would you tell this person? Would you have any specific advice for them?

This is exactly what happened to Charlotte Merryweather, a successful public relations executive in London. At age 31, she has her own PR firm, a stylish wardrobe, a personal trainer and what would seem like the perfect boyfriend for the perfect life. Underneath it all, is a stressed out executive who at the bottom of her heart, wonders if she's mad...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Ciara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crummy-chick-lit, read-in-2010

this was just okay. i was intrigued by the concept ("what if you could go back in time & stop your 21-year-old self from making the mistakes you regret?"), but the writing dragged a little & the story execution failed to live up to its promise.

charlotte merryweather is soon to be 32 years old & seems to have it all: cute apartment, great job running her own PR firm, super-helpful assistant named beatrice, fun & sassy best friend with two adorable little kids, & trustworthy bo...more this was just okay. i was intrigued by the concept ("what if you could go back in time & stop your 21-year-old self from making the mistakes you regret?"), but the writing dragged a little & the story execution failed to live up to its promise.

charlotte merryweather is soon to be 32 years old & seems to have it all: cute apartment, great job running her own PR firm, super-helpful assistant named beatrice, fun & sassy best friend with two adorable little kids, & trustworthy boyfriend. she's living the life of 6am work-outs with her personal trainer, designer heels, an addiction to self-help books, & rarely having time to go out to the country to see her parents.

on her way to work one morning, she sees a car that looks a lot like the old orange beetle she drove when she was 21. when she gets a glimpse of the driver, she is surprised to see that she looks a lot like she did when she was 21. she chalks it up to a coincidence & carries on with her day, having a business lunch with an american cosmetic dentist who wants to expand his star smiles empire to england. she has dinner that night at a posh pub with miles. miles gives her a lot of helpful tips of managing her pension, while charlotte has an unpleasant encounter with the bartender.

anyone familiar with the conventions of chick lit will see exactly where this is going: the girl in the beetle IS 21-year-old charlotte, through some poorly-conceived time travel/wormhole-type situation. charlotte will finagle a way to interact with her 21-year-old self & attempt to give her some helpful hints on improving her life, but surely the tables will be turned & her 21-year-old self will show buttoned-up professional charlotte how to let her hair down again. charlotte will ditch miles for one reason or another & a romance will blossom with the crotchety bartender. but there will be some kind of stumbling block in their road to love, most likely having something to do with charlotte's high-powered career, & even more likely having something to do with the cosmetic dentist client. the book will end with miles out of the picture, charlotte happily dating the bartender & on leave one way or another from her job, re-connecting with her best friend & her parents while her angelic assistant holds down the fort without ever compromising charlotte's trust or authority. having served her purpose, 21-year-old charlotte will vanish again.

& sure enough, this is exactly what happens. part of the appeal of any genre fiction (& chick lit is definitely genre fiction) is the familiarity of the formula. you don't know the characters yet or exactly what their problems are or how they'll play out, but you have a general sense of what's going to happen. it's like putting on an old pair of shoes. it's just comfortable.

what sets good chick lit apart from bad, or boring, is the quality of the writing & the characters. you know the happy ending is coming before the end of the book, but a clever twist or an especially engaging narrator really separates the wheat from the chaff. the reason i love the "shopaholic" series is because i really like becky, the narrator (usually--she starts to grate toward the end of the series). her best friend is also really endearing, & her husband is charming & good-natured. here...nothing grabbed me. charlotte's only connection with the bartender is that she discovers that he had a crush on her when she was 21. she never noticed him then, but when she goes back in time, she notes that he is serviceably cute. "well, he liked me ten years ago," isn't really a great reason to start a relationship with someone. it doesn't feel genuine.

there's a completely baffling side-plot involving charlotte's best friend, vanessa. vanessa is convinced that her husband, julian, is sleeping with his secretary. the evidence mounts: charlotte sees julian at a drugstore far away from both his home & office, buying condoms, after vanessa had complained to charlotte the night before that they hadn't had sex in months. charlotte's assistant, beatrice, sees julian at a posh hotel...holding the room key for the biggest suite in the place. vanessa finds an agent provocateur receipt for bunches of sexy lingerie in sizes far too small for her. it seemed damning to me. come to find out, julian had simply been making arrangements to re-ignite the romance with vanessa. by buying a jumbo box of condoms days in advance in a part of town totally out of his way, making a hotel reservation on a weekend evening in person for a completely different night & for some reason being given the keys in advance, & then wasting a bunch of money on lingerie not in his wife's size. (supposedly he told the shopkeeper, "she looks like cate blanchett, so the shopkeeper chose items in cate blanchett's size. o...kay?) this all sounds like a really hokey lie to me, but vanessa is happy so supposedly it's all true. it was a distraction that never felt true to me. so...fail on that.

i was also distracted by the fact that charlotte grew up in the states & didn't move to england until she was an adult (21, in fact). but she uses british words like "windscreen". there were several other examples of this sprinkled throughout the book. every time, i found it jarring. make a british person use those words, sure, but an american ex-pat? i don't buy it. it came across like a british person trying to write an american character living in england.

then there was a whole weird reveal toward the end of the book concerning an abortion...i was worried it was going to go down a strange "post-abortion stress syndrome" path, & it kind of took a few steps in that direction, before righting itself & managing to not be offensive. but it seemed kind of like a really weird throw-away designed to contextualize charlotte's personality, & again...it didn't really work.

& one more thing: i recently read an interview with literary agents on things they hate to see in fiction. they were unanimous that they hate it when characters are shown waking up in the morning with an alrm clock, because then you know you're going to have to slog through their whole boring daily routine. & even more annoying is when the character wakes up to an alarm clock & says, "oh no, i'm late!" why'd you set your alarm clock to wake you up late then? WTF? that totally happens in this book. *sigh*(less)

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Jan 21, 2011 Czarina Licong rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Charlotte's strong character. I was truly inspired by her and learned a lot being a 22-year-old myself. I wanted to quote what the author had written, "You can't buy back time, not for any price. There are no second chances. Every second is precious, so don't waste a single one. Time, quite literally, is priceless." It's true, you can't really buy time, however, in reality, I believe there are times when you encounter second chances. I enjoyed reading the book and had reflected a lot on i...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Dana rated it 3 of 5 stars

The author didn't really pull you in to the story which i found a bit boring but nonetheless she successfully delivered her message. No matter how hard you try you can't change your past, instead you need to learn from your mistakes, afterall they made you who you are today, a wiser, smarter, stronger adult "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger", let go of your regrets and don't allow them to keep you from the life you wanted. Live in the moment and above all, never ever let go of yours...more

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Oct 31, 2009 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: english, favorites

I find this book to be pretty interesting, and funny at the same time.
Even though I don't really understand the ending,
I still can say that the author has impressed me.

Since the author uses a first-person perspective, the words used are quite simple.
But it doesn't affect the quality of the story that's being told.
The story itself is about a successful urban woman who meets the younger version of herself.
By looking back at her past life, she learns a lot of things about life.
She is also reminded...more

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Jul 30, 2010 Astrid Paramita rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's a 3.5 stars from me. I round it up to 4 because overall it's a good light read for those relaxing summer days.

The idea itself is not that original, but I like how she tackles her time travel subject. You could argue about some plot holes, but I don't find it annoying. Sure, it's not completely sane, but what's really sane about a story of meeting your 10 years younger self anyways.

I like the love story, the build up to it certainly is romantic and I could feel the butterflies.

Overall, I'm p...more

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About Alexandra Potter

Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, I graduated from Liverpool University with an honours degree in English Literature and Film Studies. In 1993, at the age of twenty-three, I moved to London to be the editor of a puzzle magazine. Yes, puzzles! For someone who can never get that last crossword clue, it was pretty daunting, but it was my first break into the world of magazines and publishing, and I loved...more Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, I graduated from Liverpool University with an honours degree in English Literature and Film Studies. In 1993, at the age of twenty-three, I moved to London to be the editor of a puzzle magazine. Yes, puzzles! For someone who can never get that last crossword clue, it was pretty daunting, but it was my first break into the world of magazines and publishing, and I loved it. (And it turned out my job was making up the clues, not solving them – phew!)

In my spare time I was always writing articles and trying to get them published, until finally my persistence paid off. For the next five years I saw my features published in many of the big name British glossies – ELLE, Company, She, Red, More!, Here and Cosmopolitan, before travelling to Sydney, Australia, where I spent six months working for Australian Vogue and Cleo magazine.

However, for many years a dream of mine had been to write a novel and, in 1999, I finally took the plunge. Every lunchtime and spare weekend was spent working on my novel, What’s New, Pussycat? until finally I’d written three chapters, which I sent to several agents. I was so nervous waiting for their responses that I tried to forget all about it by going on holiday to Los Angeles to visit my sister. This was in the days before email, and so I couldn’t believe it when I returned home, checked my answering machine and discovered messages from several interested agents. The word 'excitement' doesn't even come close.

In the end I signed with my fabulous agent, Stephanie Cabot. She loved what I’d written so far, loved the character of Delilah, a girl from Yorkshire who moves to London with just her Tom Jones collection and her dog, and was eager to read the rest of the novel.
Now, all I had to do was write it!

So I took a gamble. I resigned from my job, sold my car, and gave myself a deadline of six months (which was when the proceeds from my car would run out). Within days of handing in the finished manuscript, a bidding war broke out between several interested publishers and I ended up signing a two-book deal. What’s New, Pussycat? was published in April 2000 and immediately made the bestseller lists. Proof that dreams really can come true.

To date I’ve written seven romantic comedy novels and am currently working on my eighth. During these past ten years, I’ve sold the film rights to What’s New, Pussycat? and Calling Romeo, seen my books translated and published all over the world, including Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Thailand and Indonesia, appeared at the LA Book Festival, and been interviewed for the BBC, Channel 4’s Big Breakfast, ITVs Calendar, and in the US, ABC’s Nightline.

I was delighted when my fourth novel, Do You Come Here Often, was made book of the month, by Woman’s Day in Australia, and in May 2008 I was thrilled to win the Best New Fiction award for Me and Mr Darcy, at the Jane Austen Regency World Awards.

Aside from novels, I’ve also contribued a short story - No Strings Attached - which was published in an anthology entitled Girl’s Night In in aid of the international charity: WarChild. More recently, while living in LA, I’ve had my own column in Celebrity Homes magazine, written features for Woman’s Own and Eve, and contributed to Elle by interviewing several celebrities, such as Samuel Jackson and Rachel Bilson. It’s a hard job, but someone’s got do it…

My latest book, Who’s That Girl? came out in the UK in January 2009 to rave reviews and made the bestseller lists straight away, thanks to my wonderful readers. It's due to be published next yer in the US under a different title, The Two Lives of Charlotte Merryweather, and has already been sold to Germany, France, Poland and Macedonia which is all really exciting stuff.

In the meantime, I'm hard at work writing my new book - this is going to be number eight! I still can't quite believe it...(less)

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Quotes from Who's That Girl?

“Life isn't complicated. It's very simple, really. It's us who make it complicated.” — 13 people liked it

“And so taking the long way home through the market I slow my pace down. It doesn't come naturally. My legs are programmed to trot briskly and my arms to pump up and down like pistons, but I force myself to stroll past the stalls and pavement cafes. To enjoy just being somewhere, rather than rushing from somewhere, to somewhere. Inhaling deep lungfuls of air, instead of my usual shallow breaths. I take a moment to just stop and look around me. And smile to myself.
For the first time in a long time, I can, quite literally, smell the coffee.” — 11 people liked it

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