In
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, Poppy Wyatt has done the unthinkable; while attending a champagne tea function with friends at a hotel, she's lost the heirloom emerald wedding ring which had been in her fiancee, Magnus Tavish's family for three generations. The ring had been safely on her finger for the past three months, but today as Poppy and her friends were swigging down champagne and stuffing their faces with cupcakes, she had basked in their admiration, and let them pass the ring around the table so they could try it on. Unfortunately, during this bit of either momentary insanity or irresponsibility there's a fire drill, and now the ring is nowhere to be found. Of course she's lost the darn thing on the eve of Magnus' parents (both genius professors who constantly make her feel inferior) return from sabbatical in the States. Things go from bad to worse when while standing on the front steps of the hotel trying to get a signal, her phone is literally plucked from her hands and stolen. Her phone is like a vital organ; it's her people, friends and family, her work, and horribly it's her sole connection and source of hope for finding her ring. Poppy's given her number to the hotel staff, to friends, to anyone and everyone she could think of who might find the ring. Freaked out and feeling as if her world is unraveling, Poppy is pacing the hotel lobby when she spots a cell phone dumped in a garbage bin. Eureka! Finders keepers, except that the phone rings, and the man on the other end of the line, Sam Roxton, the phone's owner, has other plans and wants his phone back. After careful negotiations and shameless pleading, a bargain is struck and with it hilarity ensues as Poppy wrecks havoc on Sam's life, and in the process Sam helps Poppy face some surprising truths.
I loved this book! It was funny, and sweet, and romantic. I expected no less from the brilliant Sophie Kinsella. You can always count on Kinsella to deliver a lighthearted romp that delivers both laughs and a few happy tears. As with most Kinsella heroines, Poppy is your typical girl next door, if your girl next door happens to be sweet, funny, smart, and resourceful; her fears and vulnerabilities only make you love her all the more. While at times aspects of the plot are more than a little implausible, the connection between the two main characters, two completely disparate human beings -- one cold and business-like the other unerringly idealistic, feels so real and captivating that you overlook the little details and enjoy the bigger picture. Laughter and love, what could be better?
