Retro Review - Kiss Him Goodbye by Victoria Routledge

I love re-reading books and find it comforting revisiting characters and stories I already know. A bit like watching You've Got Mail 10,000 times (or is that just me?)

For the past few weeks I have been re-reading books from my bookcase and first up was Kiss Him Goodbye by Victoria Routledge:



Kate Craig has many pet hates but top of the list is London. She's managed to steer clear for twenty-one years until her boyfriend, Giles, convinces her to visit his palatial Chelsea home. Kate's week of indulgence is idyllic until Giles drops his bombshell: he's off to Chicago on a four-month training course. Kate is challenged - either she retreats back North or she stays and takes on London.

Feeling dazed and confused, Kate discovers herself cleaning the cupboards in the first flat she sees. Filthy cupboards Kate can cope with but in this case, there are flatmates that come with them.


Kate Craig has never had the desire to visit London but ends up living there to prove a point when her boyfriend leaves for Chicago. She ends up sharing a grotty flat with Dant, a troubled young man who doesn't appear to care about anything or anyone and his sweet best friend, Harry. She somehow wrangles herself a job at publishing house Eclipse, counting down the days until Giles returns to London and sweeps her away to start their new life together.

Kate's plan is to sit out the sixteen weeks, keeping to herself until she can escape but she finds herself integrating with Harry and Dant and their friends and socialising with Dant's sister, Cress. She gets to know her small part of London and slots into her new role at Eclipse. Will she be the same Kate that Giles left behind? And will they be able to pick up where they left off?

I bought Kiss Him Goodbye when I was 17 - it was one of the first chick lit books I read - and I find myself picking it up again every few years. I love sinking back into the life of Kate and her watching her grow again and it doesn't matter that I know how it's all going to end. I love the quirkiness of Eclipse and the squalor of her flat and its residents.

Kiss Him Goodbye is probably my most re-read book on my shelf and I think it will continue to be read again and again over the years.