Queen of Babble

Cabot, author of the wildly popular Princess Diaries, delivers another charmer, this time taking on the misadventures of a college girl looking for Mr. Right in Europe. Fresh out of the Univ. of Michigan with a B.A. in history of fashion, Lizzie Nichols sets off across the pond to spend the summer with British boyfriend Andrew, whom she barely knows. When Lizzie learns that Andrew isn't the man she imagined, she changes direction and heads for France, where her best friend Shari is working at Chateau Mirac in the Dordogne wine country. En route, she meets Jean-Luc de Villiers, a French-American hottie whose father owns the chateau, and who would be so easy to fall in love with if he weren't already taken. Lizzie discovers sixteenth-century wineries, kir royals and vintage Givenchy dresses stored in the attic, while matching wits with Jean-Luc's ambitious girlfriend. Although blunt dialogue about oral sex adds a titillating edge, the book is sweet to the core.