Sleeping Arrangements

Chloe is dying for a holiday with her family so she can bond with her husband Philip. She is also tired of making wedding dresses therefore she needs a break from work. Philip on the other hand is just worrying about his job status, his bank have merged with another company and rumours of restructuring is going to happen where some bank branches will be closed down. Lucky for her, Chloe's wealthy friend Gerard offered to loan her his luxury villa in Spain, it was going to be perfect.

Hugh is not as happy as he think he is, with such a good career he still felt something is missing. His wife Amanda on the other hand is more concerned about the kitchen that is undergoing renovation, whether the colour tiles are correct or not. With Hugh's working hours he barely sees his two daughter, when it's the weekend the children's schedule are filled with activities. They needed a vacation to leave the house that is under renovation and lucky for them, Gerard has lent them his luxury villa in Spain.

Hugh and his family drove to the villa and was worrying during the journey as the roads are narrow and had a lot of dirt at the same time. They will going uphill and worried that they will miss a turning. After driving for more than an hour they have reached their destination and was amazed by the size of the villa. The villa was truly beautiful with nice exterior design and filled with high class furniture. There are four bedrooms, a dining place, big kitchen, a swimming pool and a whole lot of land.

Philip had been driving for 2 and half hours and occasionally stopped for Nat because he got car sick. When they got out of the airport they drove and went in the wrong direction and headed down the coastal road.  So now they are driving up hill into the mountains and still hoping they will reach soon. After passing a town called San Luis according to Gerard's instructions, they felt more calm and soon they arrived at the villa.

Hugh and his family was already in their swim wear and enjoying the pool. His wife was sunbathing and saw that a car arrived in front of the gate. Hugh went to check out what the matter was and soon found out that Chloe's family was loaned to the place at the same weekend. Chloe acted as if she never knew him but in fact they were acquainted in the past, about 15 years ago. They both met at a college party and hooked up after that but Chloe didn't sleep over even after their many nights together. She usually get dress and rushed home quickly. One fine day, Chloe had something to share and she brought Hugh to her home and he was shocked as there was a baby happily playing in the living room and it was Chloe's child. They were only 20 then and now he could see the boy Sam who is sixteen now standing near his mom.

It was a disaster as they weren't enough bedrooms since Amanda hired a nanny along named Jenna and there was a room allocated for her. In the end Jenna had no choice but to move out and sleep on the couch. Everyone was unhappy because they thought they could enjoy time with their family and suddenly strangers arrived. How will things end and will Chloe and Hugh's secret be found out?

Sleeping Arrangements by Sophie Kinsella writing as Madeleine Wickham. This book was fairly thin as the font size were kinda big with only 304 pages. This book was okay for me as the only thing I look forward to is finding out why it's so bad for Chloe and Hugh to meet. Other than that, the story did climax but it's not the type where you'll be surprised because as you read on you could take a guess and get it right. That's how it was for me, the character developments were okay since it's just a thin book, where by midway you know what type of person they are. It's not like other Sophie Kinsella books that it's really funny. I think most people who read her Madeleine Wickham books are just like me, fans of her Shopaholic works. These stories is a bit too common not like her current writing which is more funny, cheeky and exciting. I won't pick up this book to read it again for sure.