Marrying Up

June 18, 2012
In this scathingly witty commentary on the perks and pitfalls of love among the British upper class, Holden (Gallery Girl) tells the tale of two childhood adversaries and the vastly different roads they travel in search of true love. Social climber Allison, who now calls herself Alexa, is a college dropout determined to bag a titled husband at any cost. Low-key archeologist Polly meets and falls in love with an appealing veterinary student named Max. After Alexa is outed in the British press as “Heirfix” (“Because you find a title and you stick to it like glue”), she sets her sights on the crown prince of Sedona, a Mediterranean principality abutting Monaco. Trouble is, said crown prince—who has been training to be a veterinarian in Britain—has already fallen hard for Polly, who doesn’t know he’s a prince. After Max’s true identity is revealed, hijinks—including run-ins with whimsically named characters (“Wharte-Hogge,” for starters) and ill-timed snogging in the back of a Land Rover—ensue. Will deceit triumph over true love? Readers will rush through this dishy chick lit tale to find the answer. A Cinderella story for the beach bag. Agent: Deborah Schneider.

August 1, 2012
A cheeky expose on gold digging (the marital sort) from the British bestselling author of Beautiful People (2009) and Filthy Rich (2008). A large cast of characters searching for something--money, excitement, love, ancient Roman toilets--all show up at the novel's glamorous royal wedding finale, but it takes a lot of scheming and luck to get them there. Polly, an archaeology student, is on Lord Shropshire's estate unearthing Roman artifacts when she meets the dashing Max. A veterinary student spending the summer at Shropshire's manor (he's a bit vague on the connection), he and Polly begin an easy summer romance. Meanwhile, Alexa MacDonald (formerly Allison Donald, only child of an embarrassingly working-class couple from the Midlands) is looking for a rich husband. She studied hard and made it to St. Andrews but squandered her time at university attending parties, hunts and weekend soirees--all in search of a marriageable title--but now she is both without a degree or a husband. If only she could have been born into Lady FlorenceTrevorigus-Whyske-Cleethorpe's high-heeled Manolos. Lady Florrie, a fixture of Socialite magazine, is beautiful, fashionable and innocent as only the superprivileged can be. She has no interest in marriage or money; she just wants some fun, life as an endless banquet. Just as Max and Polly are falling in love, he has been summoned back to Sedona, a principality on the Riviera. Turns out Max is the heir apparent, and his father is insisting he marry. Sedona needs to attract investors, and there is nothing like a royal wedding to court publicity. While Max is fighting his father, Alexa has the help of Barney, an equally dedicated social climber and hanger-on. Alexa, an odious character from the beginning, has to sleep with so many ghastly lords (and one Russian oligarch) that, by the end, even she deserves a little happiness. As for Max, he's been fixed up with Florrie, but not if Polly can steal him away before the wedding. Holden, a former writer for the Mail on Sunday, certainly knows her way around snarky royal gossip and delivers here a very guilty pleasure.

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August 1, 2012
Three young women circle a royal marriage in this chick-lit confection. Polly is studying buried ancient Roman toilets at an English country estate when she meets Max, a charming veterinary student, and Alexa MacDonald was a schoolmate of Polly's but prefers the royal company of Lady Florence Trevorigus-Whyske-Cleethorpe, who is only ever sober enough to feel hung over. The story shifts to the tiny Riviera nation of Sedona (think Monaco but smaller), where the only hope for the failing tourist economy is a fabulous royal wedding, if only the king can persuade his oldest son to leave his studies in England behind. The reader can see where this is going, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the ride. Polly and Max spend too much time apart for the romance to really develop, but Alexa's audacity and Florrie's utter cluelessness propel the book forward. Anglophiles who stayed up all night to watch William and Kate walk down the aisle will have a lot of fun here, as will readers of Sophie Kinsella's frothy Shopaholic series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)