Model Misfit by Holly Smale

Amazon Synopsis: “My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.”

Harriet Manners knows a lot of facts.

She knows that humans have 70,000 thoughts per day.

She knows that Geek + Model = a whole new set of graffiti on your belongings.

And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this.

But Harriet doesn’t know where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives. And with her summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get away.

Can Harriet cope with the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes?

Will geek girl find her place on the other side of the world?

It is officially getting warmer and as it gets warmer my patience for dense, serious literature wains to the point of extinction and has to be replaced by light, romantic, and easy reading. Criteria that is filled entirely by this book series. 

Harriet Manners is still on the loose in the fashion world but about half a year has passed since her embarrassing time on national television. Cue last GCSE exams and the summer holidays. Once the summer holidays come though Harriet's plans are blown to smithereens when her best friend is punished. Chance to redeem herself though comes in the form of some work in Japan. 

The time between reading the first and second novel in this series was quite a long once and so some details from the original book were lost when Model Misfit was picked up. The time jump between the books helped in this respect. There is flashbacks used and often we are reminded what happened which helps fill in any loose gaps. It does not take long for this book to grab your attention again even amidst the confusion. 

The short chapters and quirky humour make this book (and indeed series) the perfect summer collection. I got through both one and two in the equivalent of a days reading despite it being 300 plus pages. Do not let the size throw you off. Its fast paced plot and sweet narrative soak you in and provides a feel good book to spend a relaxing day with. 

Smale is a master at making situation comedy that is familiar with any slightly awkward teenage girl. This means the characters relatable and lovable despite some of them being completely bonkers and unbelievable. The relationships between these characters are also adorable in every way. You can feel the individual personality and love radiate off the pages for each character. 

The plot itself is a little predictable. The mystery that is put in place is not hard to figure out quickly but the fast progression of it means that we focus more on relationships than we do intrigue. A more enjoyable plot than the first one though. Smale is really getting into her element for this one.

The perfect series for summer. Quick and fun these books are wonderful for people coming from exams or work for a bit of summer relaxation. Plus the first three books are pretty cheap from most retailers and I suspect the fourth one will be as well soon enough.