UPGRADING

A wage slave turned gigolo seeks love and money in English freelance journalist Brooke's silly, mildly amusing second novel, his first published here. What begins as a stint at a London escort agency for disenchanted 24-year-old media sales flunky Andrew Collins turns freelance once Marion, an oft-divorced American client in her 50s, proposes they see each other exclusively. Relying on the advice of Mark, an older and somewhat more seasoned gentleman of the trade, Andrew attempts to make the financial most of his situation. But as Marion's demands become incrementally more outrageous (and here's where Brooke's at his comic finest), Andrew is forced to decide between the enticements of his moneyed client and those of the more beguiling but less financially established Jane, a shop girl who sees straight through Andrew's pretensions and doesn't care one bit for them. Brooke's prose is peppered with designer names and tony hotspots, enough to bridge the male/female gap and inch his book that much closer to the Midas stuff of chick lit. But its tale of a gorgeous male 20-something struggling with greed and an inability to commit may also alienate a few female readers. Agents, Kerith Biggs and Elizabeth Wright. (Aug.)

FYI: Just when you thought lad lit was dead, Downtown promises plenty of upcoming "hip fiction by male authors," courtesy of their Boys of Summer.