Queen of Babble

Kirkus Reviews: Recent college grad (or is she?) sets off on a romantic lark to London and has to quickly readjust her plans. Lizzie Nichols has finally graduated from college, lost weight and snared herself a sexy English beau. Granted, she only met him one night before he moved back to London, but surely Andrew is as sweet as his letters and as sultry as that accent. Turns out, he's neither sweet nor sultry. Andy lives with his parents, has a gambling problem and wears terrible clothes. To make matters worse, he's trying to fleece the government and is demanding Lizzie's financial help. Time to flee! Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend is spending the summer with her boyfriend at a luxurious chateau in the French countryside, where they are setting up for an elaborate wedding in exchange for free lodging. A room is open to Lizzie if she's willing to help with the preparations. Distraught and frazzled, Lizzie finds herself on the Chunnel, unloading all her internal baggage-including intimate details of what she and Andy did in bed together-to a handsome stranger who offered her a seat. But that's what anonymous train rides are for, right? Oh dear. Handsome Stranger Luke disembarks at the same time as Lizzie-and tells her his own secret: His father owns Chateau Mirac. Soon she finds herself in a fairy tale world of sparkling wine and pool parties-and on an emotional roller-coaster ride when she learns that Luke's lithe golden girlfriend plans on turning the glorious chateau into a gruesome liposuction spa. Oh, and while Lizzie clearly has no trouble spilling secrets, there is one she has kept bottled up all summer-and it's about to pop like a bottle of fine champagne. Chipper European romp for adult girlswho have graduated from The Princess Diaries.