Can you keep a secret?

      I was on a Classics streak, with my reading, ending with The Picture of Dorian Gray. That's when I decided, that was it for classics. The Picture of Dorian Gray was dark enough to bring me to that decision. I went back to contemporary, and started reading Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy which sounded interesting from the description. Well, it wasn't bad, but not what I was expecting, that's apart from the fact that it wasn't any less dark than The picture of Dorian Gray, so I decided to stop. I needed something light-hearted and refreshing, and instantly Sophie Kinsella came to mind. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, my cousin bought me "Can you keep a secret?" as a birthday present, and I couldn't be more grateful. The book was over in a couple of days, and I haven't laughed that much since long.

      My experience with Sophie Kinsella was limited to the Shopaholic series, which is cool. However, Rebecca Bloomwood tends to get on my nerves with her naive and troublesome attitude. It is part of the fun but it's very exhausting. However, Can you keep a secret? Came to be a favorite of mine, beating the shopaholic series for that reason. Emma Corrigan wasn't as silly as Rebecca. She had her mistakes, but at least lying the most stupid lies and falling in trouble, wasn't one of them, or at least she didn't have the option. So what's the story about?

      Emma Corrigan, a marketing assistant for Panther cola, was on her way back from the US to the UK after her first business meeting, which went wrong. Emma is afraid of flying, and as to how lucky she is, the plane run into turbulence, and she assumes that she is going to die. That's when she goes on a roll, spilling all her secrets to the passenger, next to her, on the plane; all kinds of secrets. Finally, Emma arrives at the UK safely. Embarrassed she is, indeed, about the incident, but she forgets about it. She's not going to see the guy again, after all. What does it matter if a complete stranger knows your secrets? But that's where she was wrong. Once back to work, Emma finds herself encountering the stranger who knows all her secrets again. That's not all of it, the stranger turns out to be the owner of Panther-Cola, which makes him, actually, her boss. So, how does that influence Emma's personal life and career from that point? 

      "Can you keep a secret?" was definitely the funniest Chick-lit novel I've read so far. I laughed out loud at so many parts, that my parent started to think something was wrong with my head. Emma's narration is absolutely hilarious, beside the loads of comical moments. I won't deny that I felt many similarities between the Shopaholic books and "Can you keep a secret?". They had similar atmosphere, naturally since it's the same author. There were some similar character even if the roles were different. Jack and Luke felt alike, though Luke is still my favorite and Emma had a bit of Rebecca's goofiness; but all of that didn't really matter. It didn't make the book any less fun; and honestly, when it comes to this genre, I don't seek originality. As long as I am enjoying reading it, it's fine.

        To sum up , "Can you keep a secret?" was a good book for a light fast read, a break between heavy exhausting books..