Your New Best Friend

Good intentions go awry in this delicious romantic comedy by Denker (the Marsden series). During a chance encounter with an upset young woman, 29-year-old real estate agent Melanie Abbott hands out some well-meaning suggestions and soon finds herself in a thriving business as a professional friend, advice giver, and matchmaker. Denker nods to Jane Austen’s Emma and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion with her likable protagonist, who’s dubbed Henrietta Higgins by the local paper. Judgmental, self-confident Melanie rises to stardom by bluntly doling out resolute advice to remold the characters in her small Massachusetts seaside town. Denker credibly conveys her fall from grace and the consequences of her inaccurate predictions, along with her inability to examine herself and her insensitivity, which cause heartaches for both Melanie and her clients. The relationship between Melanie and her childhood friend Connacht Garvey strongly parallels that of Austen’s Emma and Mr. Knightley; Connacht repeatedly scolds Melanie for her blunders. Her gradual development of self-awareness and determination to repair the damage she’s caused are heartwarming. In addition to Melanie’s lively first-person narrative, there are a few surprises that keep this sweet story about social graces entertaining. (BookLife)