Learning Curves

Since I used to live in London, I buy any chick-lit that's based there, whether I think it looks interesting or not. This book stuck out at me since it's rare to see a chick-lit book that explores mildly-intellectual things (business ethics for example) while still telling a single-girl-coming-into-her-own story. The premise of the book is that Jen's mother wants her to infiltrate her estranged father's company to find evidence that he is linked to some illegal business dealings. Jen's parents divorced nastily fifteen years before, and her mother went on to start an "ethical" business consultancy to compete with her father's "big business" company. Jen joins the company, and quickly right becomes wrong, left becomes right, the good guy becomes the bad guy. With a neat and tidy little twist at the end, the book is clever and tells a good story. It drags on in parts, and the dialogue isn't the greatest (the "real life" conversation between Jen and her boyfriend ordering takeout made me want to scream) but I definitely think it's a great escapist chick-lit book, ranking up there with Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding.

This book was truly enjoyable. This book is the 2nd I've read written by her. I enjoyed it and kept wanting to read more!

I had a really time getting interested in this book. I wasn't a big fan of the character, Harriet (Jen's mom), and wasn't looking forward to reading too much more about her and her interactions with Jen. Luckily Harriet was not in all that many scenes in the book. Once I got going with the book I enjoyed it. I found most all the characters likeable. I didn't necessarily feel like I got to Jen all that much but there was enough to work with and relate to. The book picked up and I sat down and read straight through the last 80 pages. I would recommend it.

I liked this author's first book, Little White Lies, but this is so much better. Its centred around corporate intrigue, family feuds and corporate greed, and also has a great love story and a character who actually rings true instead of the usual airhead.

Harriet Bell, CEO of Green Futures, a firm that helps British companies provide environmental friendly services around the globe, is concerned with a brewing construction scandal in Indonesia. An earthquake destroyed over 500 homes many built to weather natural disasters after the Boxing Day Tsunami. Fingers point at the construction company Axiom with claims of corruption and bribes involving her former spouse's company Bell Consulting. She asks her daughter Jennifer to visit her father George who she and her mom have not seen in over a decade since he deserted both of them, to learn the truth using their MBA program as a means to get inside. Jennifer does not like the idea of spying on anyone let alone her father, but her mom plays on her conscience so she reluctantly agrees. However, nothing seems right as she tries to avoid her dad, digs for dirt on his company and meets and falls in love with lecturer Daniel Peterson. Using the environment as an underlying issue, LEARNING CURVES is an interesting boardroom romance with two other couples augmenting the relationship between the lead pair. Harriet and George are intriguing support players who stubbornly blame the other for the end of their marriage while their offspring learns a lot more than she bargained for when she joined the Bell Consulting MBA program. Gemma Townley provides a deep character driven tale of romance in the world of big business. Harriet Klausner