West End Girls is the PERFECT Chick Lit book! It has love, laughs, loss, cocktails, clubs, fashion and family. Jenny Colgan writes so beautifully I felt I was in the West End with Lizzie and Penny! Don’t miss this one! It is a great escape!

Although Colgan’s books are often escapist fun, there were some disturbing stereotypes that impacted my rating. I could have enjoyed the story of Penny and Lizzie more if not for the way the twins were described. Penny is the thin, beautiful twin, looking for a wealthy man, while Lizzie, the fat not so pretty one until she loses weight, is the sensitive caring soul. There are many funny scenes, but these and other stereotypes were hard to accept. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This entertaining novel features a set of non-identical twins whose father has long been absent from their lives. Living in Brandford, a dingy, working-class suburb of London with their school lunch-lady mother, the twins couldn’t be more different in looks or personality. Penny is slim and glamourous, a real good-time girl; Lizzie is plump and plain, a real introvert. Penny is hoping to catch the eye of a rich sugar daddy, while Lizzie works a dead-end job in the office of a stamp-importing business. Just as she thinks her life can’t get much worse, Lizzie is told that her job, along with the stamp importing concern, is ending. Then a letter arrives notifying both the girls that their father’s mother, whom they haven’t set eyes on since their early childhood, is in a nursing home and wants them to move into her luxury flat in Chelsea and take care of the property. Things seem to be looking up, until their ne’er-do-well father reappears to claim the flat and evict them.
The novel is written in a light vein, whimsical and wittily comical, like a Nora Ephron screenplay. The twins, along with their respective love interests (a Greek restaurant owner and a starving artist) are appealing characters who navigate their changing circumstances and relationships with panache, if not always with success. Readers will find themselves rooting for both the twins, even as they wince at some of the girls’ choices along the way. This is a thoroughly fun and delightful read. It’s froth, but well-written and engaging froth that draws you in and makes you laugh.
I haven’t yet read a novel by this author that I didn’t like, but this one is especially charming. I recommend that you look out for it when it comes out in January of 2021.

After reading an entire book about these two young women, I feel that I know nothing about them but the basics. Unless they’re supposed to be simpletons, character development was lacking. There was 1 character that was great, he was just a side character though.

Raised by a poor single mom, these fraternal twins hadn’t gotten very far in life and were still living with their mother on the “West End”. Their estranged grandmother goes into a retirement home and allows them to move into her grand place in Chelsea for free. This affords them a new outlook and new opportunities to find fulfillment. Not recommended unless you’re bored, in which case, it is much better than nothing.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny Colgan has been an author I’ve always wanted to read so I was so excited to get approved for this book, but sadly I could not get into it and had to add it to my DNF list. I felt I couldn’t connect with the characters or get into the story. It won’t stop me from trying out any of Jenny’s other books though, sometimes you just hit a miss.

Twins Penny and Lizzie couldn't be more different. Penny is the pretty and outgoing one, Lizzie is plump and an introvert. The Essex girls get an opportunity to live in their eccentric grandmother's flat in Chelsea. It's a dream come true for Penny, whose goal in life is to marry someone rich. Will they become West End Girls and live out their dreams?
Jenny Colgan is a very prolific writer. I remember reading her early works - when this genre exploded in the 90s with Bridget Jones. This is a re-release of her 2006 novel, West End Girls. It hasn't been updated and it isn't an anniversary or anything so it's a bit of a mystery why this is being re-issued.
I was disappointed. Neither sister is likeable in any way. It was a big miss for me, but it was a very quick read.

This was a cute story about fraternal twins who fit several stereotypes, but learn to rise above those limits after they go live in London.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

West End Girls is a fun book by Jenny Colgan.
It is the story of fraternal twins who live together and move to London together.
Various escapades ensue, and all comes right in the end.
I enjoyed it immensely, as it's nice to have something light-hearted to read sometimes.
I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a re-release of West End Girls by Jenny Colgan. It originally came out in 2006 and it reads like it.
I love Jenny's newer books, but I struggle a little with some of her older ones as I've gone back to read all of her books.

The characters seem a little one dimensional and stereotypical and this book was slower to read than I would have liked.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Twins, Lizzie and Penny, moved into a flat in Chelsea after the long, lost grandmother moved into a nursing home. Penny, the party animal, fit right in with the wrong crowd. Lizzie, the plumper of the two, was having a hard time fitting in. They both find jobs that suit them perfectly and try to find their own feet in the big city. I thought this book was ok. Jenny Colgan is one of my favs but this wasn't a gushing good novel. #westendgirls #jennycolgan #Jan2021

'West End Girls' takes to the stage to debut Jenny Colgan's new novel. Fraternal twins Lizzie and Penny Berry are offered the chance to house-sit in their grandmother's Chelsea home. Ready to start anew, despite their initial misgivings, they bravely leave their past behind to embrace a new life. '

While trying to get their affairs in order, London affords Lizzie a backbone and Penny, a chance to move beyond her shallow ways. When they start to feel on solid ground, the rug is pulled out beneath their feet. Will they have to discard their dreams or stand firm to fight for their future?

Thank you to #NetGally and the publisher for the early read of #WestEndGirls in exchange for an honest review. After living in London, the familiar spots painted fond memories. While I enjoyed the protagonists' growth, I had trouble connecting with the characters. I found Lizzie too timid and Penny, her polar opposite. That being said, as the story progressed, I began to care about the characters. During the pandemic, I appreciated the opportunity to armchair travel.

I was really excited to read Jenny Colgan's newest book, however, this seems to have fallen a bit flat and wasn't my exact cup of tea. Not that it was terrible, it just wasn't my favorite. Here, 27-year-old twins Lizzie and penny are complete opposites from Essex, yet are tasked with moving to London together to watch their paternal grandmother's flat in Chelsea who was just moved into a nursing home. It's confusing how the chapters abruptly change from the perspective of Lizzie, penny, or artist Will who likes penny. It took me a while to get into with all the perspective jumping, and because of that, it took longer for me to really dig these characters, which is a shame because typically Colgan does such a great job at characterization. Both girls want to find where they belong and their purpose, so this book follows their journey living in Chelsea, with jobs, love, family, and friends.

The characters in this book, Lizzie and Penny, 27-year-old non-identical twins, are just barely likable. Lizzie is a doormat to her sister, a self-absorbed, shallow loser looking for a man with money to take care of her. Penny stays thin to be more attractive to men, as she sees the situation, and Lizzie eats too much to compensate for being the less attractive one, as everyone lets her know.

When they are asked to move into a large flat in Chelsea both of them see this as an opportunity to escape their boring lives in a tiny council house in Brandford, and off they go. Both find jobs right away, meet shallow, pretentious friends, find possible boyfriends, and drink and party a lot.

Somehow, they both find success in totally unexpected ways.

Generally I like this author and her characters a lot more.

*I received this ebook as an ARC from Netgalley*

I unabashedly love this one! It's a fun, easy read that I burned through in one evening. I kept waiting for one of the characters to become annoying but they never did. I loved the relationship between the sisters, they bicker but aren't awful to each other. The ending is just as happy as you'd expect from this author, which makes it a nice bit of escapism right about now.

The only thing that gave me a big pause was a term in an insult that one character used, it was not something people say any more and felt really off-putting. I'm really hoping they edit it out in the final version.

I really need to start paying attention to the publication dates when I read a Jenny Colgan book. Never have I seen an author whose growth is so apparent. I love all of her later works But really struggle with some of her earlier ones. This is a re-release of an earlier work and it shows. I am so sorry Jenny, I love you, but your earlier characters are so selfish and I am not sure why. This is certainly better than some of her other early titles and I liked the focus on the twin sisters dynamic. It was cutesy but lacked the depth of her other works. Read if you want a light romance, with mild character growth. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley and Berkley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Charming and escapist as always. A perfect pandemic read. Recommended purchase for collections where British WF and contemporary romances are popular.

Another sweet, heartwarming story from Jenny Colgan - this one involving two very dissimilar sisters who get the opportunity to leave a dumpy home environment and live in a posh London neighborhood. Who will make the most of the opportunity?

. ""The little twins" so unlike each other no one really believes they are related, are, invited to stay in their grandmother's flat while she is hospitalized. so no one steals anything . Both girls are, in their own way, looking for happiness and through trial and error they do. An excellent book as always even though I prefer books not set in the city..