Girl in a Spin [Paperback]

Jenny Hannigan is 24 years old. She's a nanny and has been seeing Richard Allam, a 36 year old rising politico for the past year. He's told her he's separated form his wife, Julia, but they've kept this information private. Jenny is sort of a free spirit. She's not had a conventional upbringing and has no family, having been in the foster system since she was a child. To help with Richard's image, Dev Tennant, an old friend, and publicist is brought in to add a positive spin to Jenny's image and make sure she doesn't negatively affect his campaign. Dev is about the same age as Richard, and he can't help but be attracted to Jenny the first time he meets at a wedding, before he finds out she's Richard's new lady love. So he feels let down when they meet again and he discover who she is. Dev can see from the start that Richard and Jenny won't make it in the long haul, but he decides not hurt Jenny and let her learn on her own.

I really enjoyed Girl in a Spin. The premise was something I had not heard before, and having just recently read Clodagh Murphy's previous release, The Disengagement Ring, I was extremely eager and excited to read this book. And boy am I glad I did not wait too long. I really liked Jenny. She was fun, vivacious, and had made some bad choices while having the best of intentions. Her main goal was to find someone to love and care for her. She thought she had found that in Richard, only to be let down when some hard truths came out. Dev was kind, caring, compassionate, and handsome to boot! He really had Jenny's best interests at heart, even when it seemed he was being mean. I liked how Ms.Murphy allowed us to get into the heads of all the characters, not just Jenny and Dev, but Richard and Julia too. Now I will have to eagerly await her next release which we won't see until Spring/Summer of 2012.

Girl in a Spin, the second novel from Irish author Clodagh Murphy is out the park good. This story has romance and betrayal, politics and scandal, and a delightful heroine who will not give up on love. I know some chick lit fans are wondering about the "politics" word I used, which isn't so common for chick lit novels. Jenny Hannigan, the good-hearted and optimistic main character, falls for Richard Allam, a recently separated politician. Jenny thinks she has found true love with Richard. He is the complete package- charming, successful, wealthy- but Jenny also believes Richard has a kind heart and loves her back. When Richard's publicist Dev Tennant gets involved for Richard's upcoming election, his job is to "spin" Jenny into someone the public can support- the perfect politician wife. But while Jenny has a slightly wild past, Dev's job turns out to be harder than he imagined- but he still can't stop himself for beginning to fall for his boss's girlfriend. While Jenny finds herself attracted to Dev, she remains loyal to Richard- until Richard's real motives for leaving his wife are brought to light.

I think the main reason that I loved Girl in a Spin so much is because of Jenny's character. She actually reminded me a lot of myself, which was fun to notice, but also because she is so darn loveable. I loved her optimism. Even though she came from a tough background and supported herself most of her life, she never gave up on thinking she could get a happy ending. Even though a lot of the book covered political topics- campaigns, speeches, appearances- I was never confused or bogged down by the political references. And the hilarity in many of the scenes! Jenny has quite an unconventional background, complete with a few stalkers that make for some laugh out loud lines, and Murphy does a spot-on job at mixing humor and more serious topics. I thought the politics and the scandal that goes along with Richard and his divorce is (unfortunately) quite a common occurrence nowadays, and that really kept me invested in the story. I liked how readers are able to get into different characters minds- from Jenny all the way to Richard's estranged wife, Julie. I was hooked until the very last page, and Girl in a Spin will definitely be making it on my Favorites List!