I Like It Like That

Georgia Abrams, the heroine of Claire Calman's third novel I Like it Like That, leads a black-and-white kind of life, her clothes come in shades of monochrome, her flat is tiny, tidy and neat and her boyfriend is 'Stephen with a p-h'. Her family can be rambunctious and unruly, but everything else seems pretty much under control, including her wildly curly hair, which she carefully straightens every morning. From chapter one it's obvious that this "sensible and well-behaved" character is about to experience a bit of dramatic disruption. And, as this is romantic fiction, the agent of chaos is a man. Photographer Leo crashes into her door and her life. He's funny and flirty and has a knack of questioning Georgia's carefully edited world view. The chemistry between them sparks and crackles, verbally and emotionally, but Claire Calman keeps the sexual tension (and there's plenty) unresolved with some well-paced family drama.

Snippets of Georgia's childhood explain why she always feels the need to always behave like "a grown up". Family lunches, brunches and parties illuminate her character, she isn't a boring control freak, she can be "mean-spirited, judgmental, unjust, unkind". But she's also warm, loving 'passionate and deeply silly'. I Like It Like That is a love story, but it's also the tale of how Georgia learns to live an untamed, curly-haired life, complete with a red velvet wedding dress, and groom who's name isn't spelt with 'p-h'.--Eithne Farry


Genre: General Fiction