Don't Want to Miss a Thing

Publisher: Headline

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope?

Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood – a much better place to work on his parenting skills – and he and Molly become neighbours. There’s an undeniable connection between them. But if Dexter’s going to adapt, he first has a lot to learn about Molly, about other people’s secrets…and about himself

My thoughts:

Jill Mansell has long been a favourite author of mine – ever since I read her first novel, Fast Friends, back in 1991. This is her 24th novel and I still love every book.

Dexter Yates is young, good looking, rich and has women scrambling at his feet. His only relative is his sister Laura and the two are very close. When Laura gives birth to Delphi, Dexter falls in love …..but soon after tragedy strikes and Dexter finds himself the guardian of baby Delphi. Can he give up his old life and be the parent that Dephi needs?

As always, Jill Mansell has created a wonderful cast of characters. As charismatic and good looking as he is, Dexter is probably the kind of bloke that any right thinking woman should avoid like the plague – he seems to be incapable of being faithful and believes in living life to the full in his London bachelor pad. However when baby Delphi comes into his life, we see another side to him emerging. It remains to be seen whether a leopard can change his spots though.

When Molly, his neighbour in the Cotswolds village of Briarwood first meets Dexter, there is an instant attraction between them – but Molly won’t stand for any nonsense and the story follows the ups and downs of their friendship. I loved the character of Molly. She’s a talented artist, with a kind and caring manner but who seems to attract the wrong men.

The story is not all about Molly and Dexter however and another main character is Molly’s friend, Frankie. She runs the local café and has her own relationship and family problems to deal with.

This was a fabulous warm, romantic and witty read with some great characters that you could relate to and engage with. Delphi was just adorable and one of the few fiction babies that could make me feel broody. I became completely engrossed in their lives and although you could probably predict how the story would end, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

My rating: 5/5

author website: http://www.jillmansell.co.uk