THE GIRL MOST LIKELY

A decade after high school things are rarely the same, the ‘girl most likely to have fun’ is desperately trying to start her own business and the class ‘nerdboy’ has become a hottie millionaire. With the banks reluctant to invest in her plan to open a cheap but healthy restaurant Katie Buick approaches high school classmate Richard Emerson at her dad’s bidding. Although she lands the loan what Katie is unprepared for is not only taking on Richard as a business partner but also the attraction for the guy she spurned as a prom date.

Richard has always been in love with the pretty Katie and it was her rejection that spurred him on to work hard as well as work out. Ten years on fate has put Katie back in his life and Richard has to decide, in the face of his first love’s reluctance to mix business and pleasure, whether to woo Katie or take his long awaited revenge. br>
This is not just a love story but also a tale of how labels limit you and the different means people take to escape the pigeonholes people put them in. Sometimes you are spurred on by the desire to thumb your nose at the naysayers but sometimes if you are lucky, as Katie is in the story, you have the support of someone who loves and cherishes you to help you escape old labels, even when your own family doubts your capabilities.

An interesting read with which I have only one quarrel: why wait ten years to make the couple meet, especially if they are family friends. Other than that the plot is believable and the twists it takes enjoyable. The struggle Katie faces as she tries to reconcile her attraction with her reluctance to get involved, after being burnt before, is brought out beautifully by the author making for a wonderful read. What makes the book even most delightful is the loving persistence of the hero, which finally makes for the inevitable happy ending.

Reviewed by Raakhee Suryaprakash  for The Road to Romance