I've Got Your Number

February 13, 2012
In her newest (after The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic), Kinsella pens her most lovably neurotic protagonist yet, throws her into a thoroughly modern romantic love triangle, and creates a laugh-out-loud comic caper. Physical therapist Poppy Wyatt is engaged to Magnus Tavish, a pseudo-celebrity academic and author of a book on cultural symbolism. A week before they're to be married, Poppy loses her emerald engagement ringâa Tavish family heirloom. In a hard-to-believe twist of fate, she ends up finding a stranger's cell phone in a garbage bin, which belonged to the former personal assistant of a handsome executive, who agrees to let her hold onto the mobile (whose number she's already given to everyone who might have information on the ring) until she gets her jewelry back, as long as she forwards any and all important messages his way. As Poppy continues her frantic quest to plan her wedding and impress her fiancé and his equally erudite parents, her life begins to intertwine with the mysterious exec in a way she never thought possible. Fresh, fast-paced, and fiercely funny, Kinsella proves once again that in chick-lit, it's less about the predictably feel-good dénouement, and more about the rollicking good ride it takes to get there.

January 1, 2012
Plucky bride-to-be makes an unexpected connection after she appropriates a stranger's cell phone. For Poppy Wyatt, losing her priceless antique engagement ring during a boozy pre-wedding brunch at a fancy hotel is bad enough without the added indignity of having her phone nicked by a drive-by bike mugger. All is not lost, though, as she discovers a perfectly good phone in the trash in the hotel lobby. Anxious to get the ring back without alarming her fiancé Magnus, she gives out the new number to the concierge and her friends. But the phone, it turns out, belonged to the short-lived assistant to Sam Roxton, an acerbic (but handsome) young executive in a powerful consulting firm. Given to one-word correspondence, with little patience for small talk and social niceties, Sam understandably wants the company property back. But Poppy has other ideas and talks him into letting her keep it for a few more days, offering to forward him all pertinent messages. In spite of Sam's reticence, the two strike up an oddly intimate text correspondence, with Poppy taking a way too personal interest in Sam's life--including his odd relationship with his seemingly crazy girlfriend, Willow. Sam, for his part, confronts Poppy over her fears that she is not good enough for Magnus' highly-educated family. Misunderstandings ensue, with Poppy's well-intentioned meddling causing multiple headaches. But when Sam gets embroiled in a corporate scandal, Poppy jumps in to help him in the only way she can. Meanwhile, a scheming wedding planner, and Poppy's conflicted feelings for Sam, threaten to derail the planned nuptials. Cheerfully contrived with a male love interest straight out of the Mr. Darcy playbook, Kinsella's (Twenties Girl, 2009, etc.) latest should be exactly what her fans are hankering for. And physical therapist Poppy is easily as charming and daffy as shopaholic Rebecca Bloomwood--minus the retail obsession. Screwball romance with a likable and vulnerable heroine.

(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 1, 2012
Kinsella, author of the popular Shopaholic series, offers a charming stand-alone tale about how modern technology changes lives. Poppy Wyatt is beside herself when she loses her engagement ring and her cell phone in quick succession. When she finds a cell phone in a trash can at the hotel where she lost the ring, she seizes it, giving out the number so that people can contact her if they find the ring. It proves to be a company phone that belonged to the now former assistant of businessman Sam Roxton, who is none too pleased that Poppy has claimed it as her own. He reluctantly agrees to let her keep it until the ring is found as long as Poppy is willing to send him any business e-mails that come to the phone. It's not long before Poppy decides to answer several e-mails she thinks Sam is neglecting, while Sam points out a few issues in Poppy's seemingly perfect engagement. Readers will know that Poppy and Sam are destined to be together, but getting there is a delightful and exciting ride. One of Kinsella's best.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)