Busy Women Seeks Wife - Annie Sanders

Calm and collected Londoner Alex Hill has it all - a stimulating job as a sportswear exec, the perfect apartment, and the fast track up the career ladder. Things on the domestic front, however, are a little less organised - the shower's leaking into her downstairs neighbour's flat, the washing machine is broken, and when she gets back from her latest business trip Alex finds her housekeeper in bed with a stranger. Her best friend, Saff, has taken the opposite route - a full time wife and mother, Saff's house is redolent with the smells of furniture polish, freshly cut home grown flowers and freshly baked goods.
When her flamboyant former It Girl mother falls and fractures her arm, Alex doesn't have the time (or, to be frank, desire) to nurse her - particularly not when she has a new line to put together. To help her out Saff posts an ad " busy woman seeks wife" - to cook, clean, take care of the domestic chores (like getting the washer and shower fixed), and look after her mother.
Feckless Ella applies for, and gets, the role, but she's really not the domestic type and besides, a radio career beckons. To the rescue, once again, is her far more domestic and reliable brother. An aspiring actor, he's charmed by Alex's mother, capably takes care of the housework, and gets to know Alex through the notes she leaves and the stories of her semi-estranged mother. The only problem is that Alex still thinks Ella's doing it all. Well, that and the fact that her career seems to be falling apart.
I thoroughly enjoyed this escapist read, the perfect holiday book. Well, not quite perfect - the career sabotage was a little obvious from the outset, but otherwise a fun frolic. The estrangement between mother and daughter was believable, and goes a long way toward explaining Alex's persona; the secondary plot (about Saff's so-called perfect life) was as engaging as the main story; and the romance was relatively natural. - Alex