Pure Romance

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

في هذه الكوميديا الرومانسية عن الكوميديا الرومانسية، وعلى غرار أعمال كيسي ويست وجين بينيت، تحاول مراهقة رومانسية يائسة أن تضمن لحظة «وعاشا في سعادة إلى الأبد» مع محبوبها الدائم، لكنها تجد نفسها منجذبة على مضض إلى الفتى المجاور. منذ وقت طويل، وهبت ليز بوكسباوم قلبها لمايكل. لكن محبوبها الدائم الرائع والمنعزل لم يلحظها حقًا قبل أن ينتقل بعيدًا. والآن بعد أن عاد إلى البلدة، ستفعل ليز كل ما يلزم لتلفت انتباهه — وربما تظفر به مرافقًا لها في حفلة التخرج — حتى لو اضطرها ذلك إلى مصادقة ويس بينيت. قد يبدو الجار الجذاب على نحو مزعج مرشحًا مثاليًا لخيالات الكوميديا الرومانسية، لكن ويس لم يكن سوى مصدر إزعاج لليز منذ أن كانا طفلين. فالمقالب التي تتضمن ضفادع وتماثيل أقزام حدائق مقطوعة الرأس لا تصنع حبيبًا محتملًا. ومع ذلك، ولسبب ما، ينسجم ويس ومايكل معًا، ما يعني أن ويس هو سبيل ليز إليه. لكن بينما تتآمر ليز وويس لجعل مايكل يلاحظ ليز كي تحظى بلحظتها السحرية في حفلة التخرج، تُصدم حين تكتشف أنها تحب قضاء الوقت مع ويس. ومع استمرار تقاربهما، عليها أن تعيد النظر في كل ما ظنت أنها تعرفه عن الحب، وأن تعيد التفكير في تصورها لما ينبغي أن تبدو عليه سعادة النهاية الأبدية.

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things. She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves. As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did. And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.” Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this. What Harriet doesn’t know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives. With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes. Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like. Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good?

My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek. Harriet Manners has high hopes for the new school year: she’s a Sixth Former now, and things are going to be different. But with Nat busy falling in love at college and Toby preoccupied with a Top Secret project, Harriet soon discovers that’s not necessarily a good thing…

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I will always be a geek.” The fifth book in the bestselling, award-winning GEEK GIRL series. Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is. She knows duck-billed platypuses don’t have stomachs. She knows that fourteen squirrels were once detained as spies. She knows only one flag in the world features a building. And for once, Harriet knows exactly how her life should go. She’s got it ALL planned out. So when love is in the air, Harriet is determined to Make Things Happen! If only everyone else would stick to the script… Has GEEK GIRL overstepped the mark, and is following the rules going to break hearts all over again?

My name is Harriet Manners and I’ll be a geek forever… Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is. Modelling isn’t a sure-fire route to popularity. Neither is making endless lists. The people you love don’t expect you to transform into someone else. Statistically, you are more likely to not meet your Australian ex-boyfriend in Australia than bump into him there. So on the trip of a lifetime Down Under Harriet’s to-do lists are gone and it’s Nat’s time to shine! Yet with nearly-not-quite-boyfriend Jasper back home, Harriet’s completely unprepared to see supermodel ex Nick. Is the fashion world about to turn ugly for GEEK GIRL? It’s time for Harriet to face the future. Time to work out where her heart lies. To learn how to let go…

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a forthcoming title from St. Martin's Press.