Twin sisters Lizzie and Penny couldn’t be more different, nor more intrinsically the same. While Lizzie is an introverted homebody, content to snack, work and spend time with her Mum, Penny is always chasing that next “new thing” and attempting to move ‘up and out’ of their borderline lower middle-class neighborhood to do something “more”. In defense of the language used in the story here – and even the stereotypes: we are getting the interior voices and feelings, mostly from Lizzie, that she’s heard her entire life. While not particularly politically correct or without their difficulties for readers: these are voices that are honest and real, and that doesn’t always come with the constraints or caution that one uses when speaking to others.

That being said – Penny is outrageous and more than a bit flighty – catching that “right” guy to whisk her off her feet and allow her to live a life of luxury somewhere else is coming one step closer when the girls’ grandmother offers them her flat in Chelsea, on King’s Road, to live: rent free, while she’s in a care home. Not really remembering their father’s mother, or their father for that matter, the girls leave everything from home and head to Chelsea for their new adventure. While gorgeous, the flat is cluttered with years of stuff: and they aren’t allowed to move or throw out anything. Finding a job and checking out the local scene are priorities – although Penny is far more interested in the local talent.

Throughout the story – the girls must navigate their new postcode and the expectations that come with it, even without the accent, and as Lizzie starts to find her niche and a purpose, Penny is still struggling to make real friends, find a man to support her and decide just what is her next step. A bit quirky with plenty of self-revelations, growth and struggles for both twins, the story brings itself full circle as the two learn the importance of self-esteem, being comfortable in their own skin, enjoying the moments and finding that piece of the puzzle that just fits.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review to appear Jan 5 at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aQb /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

A really great book about twin sisters who live in a tiny house in England with their mum working dead-end jobs. When their paternal grandmother invites them to “house sit” her Chelsea apartment, it gives both girls a chance to start over. Lizzie was definitely my favorite character - she’s so down to earth and fiercely loyal and protective of her sister, while Penny seems a spoilt wanna be rich girl who truly has a good heart. The book is heart warming and shows how twins can be so incredibly different, and how their lives can go in completely different directions. The storyline was interesting and I especially loved the ending. This book is a re-release and some of the references are a bit dated. I feel like something was missing though - although I did enjoy the story.

Another great story from Ms. Colgan. I loved the oppositeness of the twins and the characters especially George’s. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of West End Girls by Jenny Colgan.
West End Girls is a chick-lit style story of non-identical twins who after a lifetime in government housing in Essex get the opportunity to move a chic London neighborhood in Chelsea. Both girls are unemployed and single and this is the perfect opportunity to start their lives over.
Lizzie is the responsible twin and finds herself helping out in a charming cafe run by bigger than life Portuguese chef, Georges. And Penny is the gorgeous and irresponsible sister that stumbles into a new career in any gallery and a relationship with artist Will. Both girls learn a lot about life, love and what it takes to be one of those classy west end girls.
I enjoyed this fun little slice of life in London. I thought both sisters were funny and although they weren’t perfect (especially Penny) I rooted for them and wanted them to have a crack at their dreams. I will say there are a few pop-culture references that make this clear that this may not be a newer release. As other reviewers pointed out there are some negative “fat” references, constant mentions of breast size and enhancements and the casual use of the derogatory term for intellectual delays that some readers may find offensive and jarring.
Despite all that I recommend West End Girls for women’s fiction fans that want a fun fish out of water story that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

London - Present Day

It's just another day in Essex for Lizzie and her twin sister, Penny. Lizzie gets laid off from her job at a stamp importing business, and Penny has quit working at the American themed diner after a phone call from their mother. It seems the twins' grandmother, their errant father's mother, is in a recovery center and wants the girls to flat-sit for her in Chelsea. It couldn't come at a more opportune time, for their mother is retiring from feeding school children and has decided to become an actress! The flat is, however, a hoarder's paradise, and the girls are under strict orders not to remove or tidy up anything. Their grandmother wants everything to remain exactly as she left it.

Lizzie, the twin who worries, the one who stays in the background, the chubby one, wonders how she will find work in swanky Chelsea. Wandering the streets, stopping to ask various businesses for work, Lizzie realizes that her stamp import history wasn't much to recommend to antique stores or art galleries. Entering a small cafe, she politely asks for a menu from the man at the counter. His reply sounds rude to her, so her response is anything but nice. That's when the man tells her to stay, places a plate full of delicious food in front of her, and seems contrite. But when a hoard of lunch time clients rush in, Lizzie realizes that the man, who is obviously the owner, needs help. She jumps into the fray and after the crowd disperses, including a bus load of tourists, Georges, the owner hires Lizzie.

Meanwhile, Penny, the twin who is tall, slim, and, well, a tad slutty, swaggers through the Chelsea area, assured that the perfect job, one that requires little work, and the opportunity to meet rich men, is awaiting her. When she comes upon a couple arguing on the sidewalk about someone pinching someone's rear end, Penny waits, taking it all in. After the tall, blonde girl stalks off, Penny steps up and asks what kind of job is available since it's obvious the blonde is not returning. Sloan, owner of an art gallery, explains that the work, if you can call it that, is basically having a pretty girl sit in the gallery, answer the phone, and occasionally sell art. Penny lands the job, hands down.

Lizzie's boss, Georges, is a large, very chubby, kind man with a heavy accent who immediately starts teaching Lizzie how to cook, what supplies to buy, and how to run his cafe. Soon Lizzie is eating better, working hard, and starting to think better of herself. Penny, on the other hand, has met one of the artists who has his work displayed in Sloan's gallery. Knowing that he must be a rich man since his pieces sell well, she has plans for "their" future.

WEST END GIRLS is a different Jenny Colgan for me! While all of her books are humorous, this one is downright hysterically funny. But it's also poignant as both twins come to grips with how life has treated them. With their mother struggling to raise them after their father disappears, Lizzie and Penny have always had to make-do with everything, from food, to clothing, to just living. Now, their futures seem brighter. Or do they?

I really enjoyed Colgan`s latest novel. Her books are always delightful. The story of these two sisters finding themselves, each other and love is heart-warming. Recommended.

I'm a big fan of Jenny Colgan and she is my feel good author that I always turn to. I've also recommended her to colleagues and patrons who are looking for a book that has humor, heart and fun. This one is no different and I enjoyed watching Lizzie and Penny grow up and find their ways in the West End of London. A very fast read but a fun one!

Thank you NetGalley, Jenny Colgan and William Morrow and Custom House for the ARC of West End Girls. This is my personal review.
I have read many of Jenny Colgan’s books and was looking forward to reading this one. The idea of the story about twin sisters moving to Chelsea to stay in their Grandmothers flat.
As I read the book, I felt myself wanting more. To get into the twin sister’s lives and feel what they were thinking and how being together with your twin in new surroundings would affect their lives.
It was an OK book to read but not one of my favorites from the author.

Twins Lizzie and Penny Berry have been raised by their single mum in a depressing council house in a depressing town. When she informs them that their paternal grandmother has moved to a care home and wants them to live in her flat in trendy Chelsea, they are overjoyed.

Despite some initial hiccups--even Penny, who with her beauty and exuberance can insert herself into any social situation, feels awkward--the twins both find jobs. Penny works in a gallery, where her main duty is to sit around looking ornamental while the owner takes long liquid lunches. Lizzie stumbles upon a cafe job with a friendly, humorous, but distractingly hirsute, owner. Much to their own surprise, they also both undergo transformations.

When their ne'er-do-well father shows up, they fear they may lose all their accomplishments, but of course, there's a happily ever after.

This book was originally published in 2006. As other reviewers point out, some changes should have been made (i.e., removing an offensive term that I don't believe was acceptable in 2006 either). Overall, this is a fun, distracting read and Lizzie and Penny (despite her initial antics) are both likable characters. #WestEndGirls #NetGalley

I've enjoyed lots of Jenny Colgan's novels, and I have to say she missed the mark on this one. Not in overall plotting or resolving a storyline. But by making choices about stereotypical and sometimes insulting descriptions. It could be the timing, too. Right now, I don't want to have to think about issues while I'm immersing in a good book to escape the stress of life. So when stereotypes and toxic family dynamics, a character calling another a 'retard' and lots of other cringe moments happen, this isn't as easy an escape as I wanted. I'm sure the next will be more satisfying. Colgan seems to have just tried something here.

Cute book. Easy read. Characters were likeable and relatable. It is easy to sit down for a couple hours to relax and read the book. Good romantic comedy read for a cold Saturday afternoon. Some parts were predictable, but I didn't want because I was entertained with the story line and the way that the plot played out.

I recently discovered Jenny Colgan’s books and, for lack of a better term, have been binge reading them pretty much one after another. That said, I found West End Girls to be a bit of a disappointment. How difficult it must be for an author not to live up to her own high standards. That’s not to say it’s a bad book, just not up to the standard of the ones that I’ve been reading lately. As I read deeper and deeper into the book, I found some of the cultural references odd: one character hoping to marry the now long-married Prince William for one. I researched and discovered that this book was originally published in January, 2006, which explained quite a bit. 
I had a difficult time getting into this book about twins about as diverse as twins can be. Lizzie the “likable” twin just wasn’t as endearing as she needed to be and Penny was so unbelievably unlikable for most of the book that even a redeeming ending wasn’t enough. I give this book three stars.
I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions stated are solely my own.

I was not a big fan of this book, though I would recommend it to readers looking for stories about family ties, or twins.
For me, the story lagged. Too much filler, not enough meat. Twins, Penny and Lizzie, the main characters are downers and complainers and I found it hard to relate to them at all.

An enjoyable feel-good contemporary story about sisters moving to the big city and launching new versions of their lives. West End Girls is a fun, light read, but misses some of the depth and emotion of the author's more recent books.

I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into and enjoying this book. Lizzie and Penny are twins, but complete opposites, living with their mom in a poor neighborhood. When their paternal grandmother gets sick, they have an opportunity to live in her place in a posh, west end neighborhood. Thinking their dreams were finally coming true they go. But the adventures they thought they wanted, didn't always turn out as a happy ever after. And the sisters are left rethinking their dreams.
I didn't completely dislike this book, but was not a favorite.
I received an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morris for the ARC to read and review.

Well I love Jenny Colgan, but apparently this is an earlier novel of hers and it just doesn't resonate with me. Two very dissimilar twins living in poor East London get the chance to move to the West End and start over.

Full of very dissatisfying characters who are all self serving babies. Not very flattering scenes of drinking and partying and the after effects. These girls are a mess. At least from skipping ahead we see some happy ever after.

I like this author a lot, and have read a lot of her back list, but his one just did not do it for me... this story of two sisters, Lizzie & Penny in London living in their Grandma'd flat, but the adventures was quite problematic for me personally. The use of the term "retarded" was offensive, for example... There was a bit of a "misogynistic vibe" through-out, which I do not think readers of the chick-lit genre would really appreciate... Also, most importantly, this is NOT a "new book" - it is actually a re-release of a 2006 book, and I really do NOT appreciate that sort of "marketing ploy" at all! I now understand "why" the characters are the way they are, and the language - it is just "behind our times"! If the author & the publisher wish to re-release an older book, I would humbly suggest they "re-visit" it for updating PRIOR to re-release for language, technology and social customs before doing so. My thanks to NetGalley, publisher & author for the ARC and my opinions are strictly my own

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of West End Girls. West End Girls is the story of twin sisters, Penny and Lizzie, who are not alike much at all. Their father's mom is ill so the twins are asked to live in her flat in Chelsea. They have not seen their father or grandmother in many years. The flat is ghastly and it appears that the grandmother is a hoarder. But they were told not to throw anything away. Although I read the book fairly quickly, there were pages where the story dragged on and the the story is rather predictable. It is a nice story if you do not prefer anything too intense at the moment.

West End Girls is a story about how we often dream of a life we think we want but when faced with reality, find that our dream life is something else indeed. Penny and Lizzie are twins that are different but, so similar. Love pops up in unexpected places and the journey to love is never smooth. West End Girls is a glimpse into the life of Chelsea girls and the battles to find happiness.

I am a big fan of Jenny Colgan, but I did not realize this was a reprint of an earlier work. Once I started reading West End Girls, I knew it had to be a reprint, because Colgan’s writing has come such a long way from this book. The story was fine, but I could have done without all of the gross stereotypes of thin and heavy women, Mediterranean men being hairy, and large breasted women being sluts. I’ll stick to Colgan’s new releases.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.