This is a short review for a short book.

Philly Gresham is not a happy girl. Her parents are on vacation and they’ve rented out the house, so she’s been forced to move to London and try out a new job. Not what the girl with no ambition wants. What’s worse is that she’ll be away from her boyfriend Don, quite literally the boy next door. Philly frets about their separation and not being cut out for live in the big city, and she’s ticked at her parents for forcing her out of her home for half a year. She shares a taxi with a man on her first day in London who, coincidentally, lives in the same building where she’ll be staying. After a calamity-filled first meeting (and second), Philly and her handsome stranger, Callum McBride, get to know each other.

The first few chapters of this book made me feel like I was reading a young adult novel. As Philly whined about being away from her boyfriend and not being allowed to stay in her own house while her parents were away, I thought she just might be sixteen. Imagine my surprise when I learned she’s 22 and still living with her parents. However, Philly did start to sound more her age as she settled into London. She’s cute and fun, and thinks she has things all planned out, but as she gets to know Callum, she becomes more confused about her life.

Callum was a dashing hero. He rescues Philly at the train station and continues to help her out. He’s clearly attracted to her. Callum’s a filmmaker who travels to exotic places, opposite the stay-at-home Philly, who happens to be afraid of flying.

Philly finds herself confused about her attraction to Callum because she’s always known that she will marry Don, even though he seems to be more interested in working on his cars than in being with Philly. A misunderstanding about Callum’s sexual orientation (based on a comment from Philly’s new roommates) confuses Philly even more. Callum knows that she thinks he’s gay, and doesn’t correct her even as he kisses her and inflames her attraction even more. They eventually get things sorted out, of course. They make a nice pair, perfectly complementary to each other.

City Girl in Training ended up being a cute, light read. It does seem geared to a younger audience, and it wraps up a little too neatly into the perfect ending. I enjoyed it eventually, but the whiny beginning and the misunderstanding about Callum’s orientation made it less than satisfying.