A review by jacki_f
The Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus

1.0

The Nanny Returns picks up around 10 years after The Nanny Diaries ended. Nan is now married to the Harvard Hottie (Ryan) and after some time living overseas, has moved to Brooklyn. One day her former charge Grayer (now aged 16) turns up on her doorstep and she gets sucked back into the lives of the X family, which now also includes a 7 year old son called Stilton. The X's marriage is still unhappy and when Mr X hooks up with a Hollywood star, Nan gets caught up in the middle trying to protect the children.

I really enjoyed The Nanny Diaries but I'm sorry to say this book is nowhere near as good. It's a convoluted mess with a massive number of sub-plots, all of which are confusing and none of which are interesting. While there are some amusing snippets about how the Manhattan elite live, they are few and far between, and the froth is tempered this time around with drunken binges and drug overdoses which feel out of place. The writing also gets bogged down with elaborate descriptions, to the point where I wondered if the authors were paid by the adjective. Nan is also such a passive and indecisive character, which seemed appropriate in the first book but far less so in this one, now that she's married and ten years older.

The book starts slowly and you wonder where it's going. While it does pick up, it was a struggle to stay the distance. I don't recommend it.