I’m actually thinking, “Lucy Blue, Who Are You?” This is my major problem with the latest Chick Lit from Louise Harwood. I give the author an A for effort, but that’s really not what counts, is it?

Lucy Blue, after breaking up with her boyfriend just in time for the holidays, decides to spend New Year’s Eve in Scotland at an old acquaintance’s party. When things don’t go very well, she leaves early the next morning in the midst of a snow storm and finds her flight back to London cancelled. Lucy ends up agreeing to split traveling time and driving expenses with gorgeous Jude Middleton.

Along the way from Inverness to London, Jude and Lucy give in to the attraction they feel for one another, agreeing that once they separate in London, they won’t see each other again. They both have there reasons for not wanting to become attached and say their goodbyes and go on with their lives.

Besides a slight stalking incident where Lucy overhears a confusing conversation between Jude and his older brother Luke, they each try to forget the other…until Lucy goes to her local train station and sees signs posted all around saying “Lucy Blue, where are you?” Fascinated, Lucy calls the number on the sign and instead of Jude, it’s his brother Luke looking for Lucy. He wants to give Lucy and Jude another shot for reasons that will help his entire family and invites Lucy to a huge party to be held at his parents’ estate. Jude doesn’t know that Luke has contacted Lucy and it will be a huge, and hopefully, happy surprise for him when he sees her there.

So, that’s the bare bones of the plot. No bad, eh? Sound interesting? I thought so, but unfortunately, Lucy is a positively annoying character and I don’t know if the author ever really knew where she was going with her. With most of the word count describing what is going on in the present, I never really felt that I knew Lucy. There are only brief glimpses of her past. In fact I think I learned more about her best friend, Jane, who is but a minor secondary character, than I did about Lucy.

It seemed as though the author tried to give us the unexpected, yet the twists and turns instead came off as plot contrivances thrown in from left field. Yes, I didn’t quite know where the book was going, but that is not necessarily a good thing. When Lucy comes to realize she’s in love with – well, I can’t tell you that without spoiling – I asked myself, and Lucy, why? There didn’t seem to be anything to back up her feelings.

This is one of the few pieces of chick lit not written in first person. I found that refreshing until I noticed that every passage except the first is from Lucy’s perspective, so it might as well have been in first person. And I think first person might have been to the author’s benefit here by giving us a little more insight into Lucy’s actions. Maybe if I knew her better I might have been able to enjoy the story. As it was, I found the experience tiring.

I liked where Ms. Harwood was going with Lucy Blue, Where Are You? but the end result just didn’t work. While the plot did keep me reading just to see where it was going, ultimately, I am disappointed in how the novel panned out. I can’t say I will be looking up Louise Harwood’s backlist or recommending this one.