1990. Please write and tell me why you should live here.

Toby Dobbs received a big Victorian house with too many bedrooms to count as a wedding present from his father, but his marriage is over within a month. Very alone, and very lonely, Toby posts an advertisement seeking the "Unexpectedly Alone" to become his roommates. Fifteen years later the wayward souls he takes in are still living with him, with no intention of leaving.

2004. Please tell me how I can convince you to move out.

Toby Dobbs has met Leah Pilgrim from across the road, and they're falling in love. But before they can begin a new life together, Toby and Leah must help Toby's house of sweet slackers and lovelorn misfits grow up, solve their problems, and set themselves free. But can their new relationship survive the test?

The main character, Toby, undergoes a slow transformation throughout the novel on his journey to start living, a transformation that is at times a bit sad -- I felt like I wanted to give him a big hug! :) The other characters in this book, Toby's lodgers, are well-written too - I found myself caring about all of them, and even got a bit misty-eyed when Joanne's backstory was finally revealed.

This is not your standard Brit chick-lit novel. It is so much more! With a satisfying, but not tidy, ending. I highly recommend this book!