Monkey Love by Brenda Scott Royce

Monkey Love by Brenda Scott Royce

Holly Heckerling has a great set of power tools, and she knows how to use them. It's a good thing, because her career as a stand-up comic isn't exactly paying the rent...yet. But nothing's going to stop Holly's rise to stardom. Not the pickpocketing monkey she's been persuaded to pet-sit, or the friends who constantly need her to come to the rescue. And definitely not her meddling aunt, who can't understand why Holly's never had a relationship more than three months long.

Actually, Holly's starting to wonder the same thing.Maybe it's time to stop monkeying around and settle down with a fellow primate (preferably one without fur). Too bad that when it comes to dating, it's a jungle out there, and you never know which way fate's going to swing.

This is one of those books that right after reading, you want to go around and tell all your other friends to read it. This isn't your stereotypical chick lit, but it does fit Màili's idea of chick lit (I'm pretty sure anyways). It's full of humor and shows a turning point in a woman's life—Holly, in this case. Holly Heckerling has a standup comedy gig with a friend and also does odd jobs to support herself. She went to school and received a degree in primatology, but you can't do much with monkeys in New York.

Basically a bunch of interesting things happen throughout the story. There's a mysterious writer who drops off hand-written notes for Holly to transcribe, a monkey to babysit (as well as lots of other animals), crazy relatives, crazy friends....but it all works. And it all works together to create a story I had a very difficult time putting down. I never thought I'd read it right away. When I first got it in the mail (this was a newsletter win from Candy Covered Books), I just cracked open the first page in curiosity. Which was a bad idea as I couldn't stop reading. So the other books I was reading got shoved aside and I spent all my time finishing this one.

So if you're looking for a great chick lit novel, I highly recommend this one. Prepare to laugh, though. If Brenda Scott Royce writes another one in this vein, I'll definitely be getting it.