Game Over - Softcover

Parks, Adele

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140290664 ISBN 13: 9780140290660

Publisher: Penguin, 2001

Synopsis

Cas Perry doesn't want a relationship. When her father walked out on her and her mother she decided relationships, love, marriage, the whole shegang, simlpy weren't worth the heartache. But is Cas, immoral most of the time and amoral when it comes to business, going too far with her new TV programme, Sex with an Ex? Unfeeling and unscrupulous, she ruthlessly manipulates everyone she comes into contact with. Until she meets Darren. A babe. Trouble is, he's a highly principled babe. He believes in love, marriage, fidelity and constancy, so can he believe in Cas? Is it possible the world is a better place than she imagined? And if it is, after a lifetime of playing games, is this discovery too late?

About this title

Review:

I'm as hard as nails on the outside. Scratch the surface and I'm as hard as nails on the inside. Impenetrable. Well, emotionally impenetrable, not the other. Not frigid. Technically, I guess, for want of a more user-friendly term, I'm a slapper.

Cas Perry's self-portrait is astute. Since her father deserted the family home when she was only seven, Cas has led a life "awash with cynicism, constraint and calculation". As she points out, the psychology isn't difficult to figure--to protect herself from being betrayed again, she "dumps before she's damaged." And there are plenty of men queuing up to be dumped--what with her glamorous job and "sexy, cool, flawless" looks, Cas normally has charge of the relationship reins, until she meets Darren. A breathtakingly beautiful tree-surgeon, with long gypsy hair and a set of teeth the Osmonds would be proud of, Darren looks as if he has just what it takes to smash through her tough-gal stance.

Game Over is a saucy twist on the twentysomething girl-meets-boy fiction that has bombarded our bookshops recently. Cas is an exhilaratingly unconventional female protagonist and it's refreshing to read a city-girl novel about a woman who is trying her hardest not to find Mr Right. That said, there's also a comforting predictability about her--just like the hero (yes male) in a Mills and Boon romance, it's inevitable that Cas will "submit" to love. The question is will Darren be interested when she does. Like Adele Parks' debut novel Playing Away, Game Over looks set to be another winner.--Jane Honey

Review:

'When it comes to fiction reflecting feminine issues, Adele Parks has her finger on the pulse' (Glamour)

'Wonderfully plotted, moving and insightful...shot through with funny, tender and observant moments' (Daily Mail)

'Full of emotional set-pieces and real insight into relationships between men and women' (Heat )

'A fabulous mix of comedy, real life and emotional depth' (Daily Express)

'A wicked pleasure' (Woman & Home)

'She is a particularly acute observer of relationship ups and downs, and her stories are always as insightful as they are entertaining' (Daily Mirror)

'Guaranteed to keep you hooked until the end' (She magazine)

'Parks writes with wit and a keen eye for detail' (Guardian)

'Deliciously down to earth' (The Times)

'Entertaining and sophisticated' (Marie Claire)

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0140290664
• ISBN 13: 9780140290660
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400