Holly's Inbox

The Story This isn't your typical ChickLit story, it is a completely new spin on it as it is not a novel like you'd typically expect. Rather, it is a publication of fictional emails belonging to a character named Holly Denham at her job as a receptionist at an international bank in England. The pages contain nothing but emails in the inbox & outbox of Holly (...and a few of her friends). And, what friends she has! Holly's "email friends" include a gay hotel manager and her girlfriend Aisha who works for him as a receptionist. Holly quickly makes friends with the senior receptionist, Trish, who is the kind of gal we'd all love to work with. At the bank, Holly also works with an old friend from school, Jennie. The sorted cast of characters who also email Holly are her mother, grandmother, sister, brother, and friend "Pregnant Pam." Each of these characters have a host of interesting stories from their lives that the reader discovers through their emails. Holly finds romance at the bank with the gorgeous James, however is unhappily faced with the fact that her high-school boyfriend, Toby, has joined the firm and has set his sights on her. The Review First, I want to communicate that I really enjoyed this book. It's format is a great spin on "ChickLit." The website, www.HollysInbox.com is an on-going site with regular entries in the story of Holly. The "backstory" to this creative project is that the true author of this project is Bill Surie. He is the owner of an employment agency in London who specializes in receptionists and secretaries. Surie started the website in 2007 and received over 90,000 visitors. Eventually these website emails made their way into a book. Although the book is a tad thick at 665 pages, because of the "email format" of those pages, it really reads rather quickly. I became quickly entangled into this book and its host of characters. Holly is an extremely likeable character, one that I'd liken to Bridget Jones. What the reader gets from Holly's Inbox is humor, romance, and views of true friendship between its characters. On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:" This isn't your typical ChickLit book, but if you're a fan of the genre (as I am!), you will love this book. This book has it all from romance to friendship... to ties with crazy family members... to the frustration of dealing with unbearable bosses and gossipy co-workers. Every tid bit of the book is JUICY and fun! It's very different in format, but brings everything you need in a story alive one email at a time. For the genre Fiction:Women's/ChickLit, I am going to rate this book an 8 OUT OF 10.

Who would have thought that you could learn so much about someone from reading their email? This book was hilarious - and very believable. Even though I have not been in the work force for 5 years - I remember how people would email me rather than just picking up the phone! I am sure that email has only gotten more prevalent since then. The entanglements and problems that Holly gets into are pretty common - but the presentation of those situations - learned entirely through email is very original! I flew through this book quicker than I ever though possible. It was very clever the way it was laid out - 5 months - week by week - day by day - mainly being Holly's inbox with the occasional detour to one of her friends. There is Trish - the other receptionist - who at first you think is going to be really tough to work with, but that soon changes. Then there are her friends Jason and Aish - Jason being more of her confidente and problem solver while Aish gets into a lot of trouble on her own that she needs help getting out of. Charlie, her brother, who is trying to open a fetish club and always seems to need Holly's help. Alice and Matt, her sister and husband, who have the interesting occupation of raising snakes. . . And then of course Holly's Mum and Dad and dear old Granny - who seems to get into as much trouble as Holly - w/o even trying! You can begin to get an idea of what the book is alike by visiting Holly's Inbox online. Warning - You will be addicted!

I could not put this book down! My friend gifted me this book for my birthday (1 of 3 books). I'm a fan of chick lit every now and then, and boy this book did not disappoint! The format is great, compilation of emails between Holly the receptionist and protagonist, her hilarious friends and family. There is a wide array of colorful characters in this book--ones you just love and ones you absolutely hate! So many twists and turns...AND incredibly funny! I don't think any book I've read has made me laugh this hard! This is a MUST read! Have fun and happy reading!

Okay, get out your pen out and add Holly's Inbox to your must read chick lit list! Holly Denham begins work as a receptionist at the banking firm of Huerst and Wright. It's a busy place, requiring two receptionists. Policy also forbids conversation unless it is business related. The next best thing? E-mail! The entire book is a series of emails from Holly's Inbox! We meet Holly's two best friends who both work at her last job - reception at a large hotel. Jason is incredibly funny, Aisha is a bit of a runaround. We get to live Holly's life vicariously through the corresponcence of these three. And really, doesn't everyone have a bit of peeping tom in them? We meet her meddling mother, her siblings (one who wants her to deliver some frozen rats to Spain) and her gran, who has just discovered the world wide web. She helps Holly out by signing her up for cheap flights and dating services. But Holly doesn't seem to need the dating services. She begins to date one of the traders from the bank. But then..... And that's where I'm going to stop. I don't want to spoil the story. And I could go on and on, as I couldn't put the book down. Devoured in two days! Reading it was eating a bag of candy, one more piece, one more page until sadly the whole thing was done. Mind you, at almost 700 pages, it was satisfying! This is an charming, amusing, entertaining read. One of the best chick lit books of the year for me. Holly's Inbox covers the first five months at her new job. I can only hope that it continues! If you'd like to check out Holly's Inbox online you can - at www.HollysInbox.com. Really - it's her email account.

In a story told completely by email we get a glimpse into the life and loves of Holly Denham. From her first day as a receptionist in a London investment bank we go share the ups and downs during five months worth of Holly's interactions with friends, family, co-workers and of course the men in her life. Being fed bits and pieces with each email keeps the pages turning. Holly's conversations jump from family arguments to flirting with the hot VP of Corporate Finance to snarky conversations with the office know-it-all. Throw in backstabbers, sluts and long lost loves and you have the makings of a hilarious adventure. This book was so unique. In first glancing at the book you might be put off or overwhelmed by the heft of 665 pages but they fly by so quickly you're left wondering why there isn't any more. The only down side to the book is that the emails jump from one sender to another with just a change in subject and sometimes I got caught up in the story so much that I frequently skimmed over the subject in my haste to continue reading and got thrown off by the changes. If you're a fan of chick lit then this is a must read for you and don't forget to visit HollysInbox.com to catch up on Holly's most current inbox revelations. Reviewed for IJustFinished.com