Mr.Maybe - Jane Green

 

Synopsis:

Libby Mason, 27, enjoys her fashionable career in PR, but is determined to marry a rich, "gorgeous" man who will support her in sumptuous style and allow her to join the class of ladies who lunch. Her previous relationships have proven unsatisfactory on all fronts, but then she meets Nick, who happens to be "gorgeous," smart, funny, sensitive and unparalleled in the sack, but unfortunately also a struggling writer who lives in a "grotty" (but clean) bedsit. Libby decides to have fun in bed with Nick and not fall in love, because he's not rich and she doesn't like his left-wing, blue-collar friends. They do have lots of great sex, until Nick breaks up with Libby because he is too attracted to her and isn't ready for a relationship. Libby turns for comfort to her best friend, Jules, who is happily married to the "gorgeous" Jamie. On a girl's night on the town, Libby meets well-known financier Ed McMahon, who is very rich and very eligible, but not "gorgeous" he is older, pompous, boring and the worst lay she has ever had, but when he proposes Libby accepts, as she sees her dream of becoming the idle rich at last coming true. Despite an annoying overuse of the word "gorgeous," Libby Mason manages to garner reader sympathy and even a cheer or two.

My Thoughts:

This was a typical "British Chick-Lit" - A women pushing 30 who is dating all the wrong men, in the hopes of meeting Mr. Right and getting married, and a completely horrible mother who is also pushing the main character to get married. Sometimes, the story was a little repetitive, but overall, I really enjoyed the story. It was really touching and funny, and you realize that sometimes what you think you want in a perfect man is not right for you at all.

Rating: B

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Men I've Dated - Shane Bolks

 

Originally Reviewed 6/21/09

Description:
Rory Egglehoff has always been a geek. She has built her life around her Star Wars addiction, relating all of life's triumphs and travails to what she's learned from watching the movies. She's clumsy, smart, and a hopeless romantic. When her childhood crush walks into her office, Rory decides that she's had enough with dating Wookies and sets out to snag a Jedi Knight of her own. With the help of her best friend, she undertakes a plan to get Hunter Chase to notice her and invite her to their high school reunion. The plan works, but Rory still believes herself to be the geeky outsider and is still so in awe of Hunter that she loses a bit of herself as she wrongs her current boyfriend, neglects her family, and denies her very essence. Rory's so scared of rejection that she can't bring herself to tell Hunter that she already has a boyfriend, that she's a vegetarian and has a hippie mother, or that she's obsessed with Star Wars. Once he realizes that she hasn't been entirely truthful, he breaks off their relationship, and it looks as if Rory will once again be alone. In the end, though, she learns an important lesson about being true to oneself.

My Thoughts:
At first I was worried that all the Star Wars references were going to get on my nerves, but they actually became one of my favorite things about this book. They were quirky, and made really great sense when relating Star Wars to dating. However, I did find myself wanting to throw the book across the room with how insecure the main character was. I am the first to admit that I have insecurities, and I know how they can affect your love life, but I felt the author really took it to the extreme, especially for a character that's in her 30's. She doesn't even want to tell her crush that she's a vegetarian for fear that he will think she's a freak and never speak to her again. Overall, this was a cute story, but the main character tended to get on my nerves.

Rating C

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne

Orinially reviewed June 11th, 2003:

I had heard this book was very funny, and it looked like it would be a fun book to read. My first opinion after I started reading this book was that Ms. Browne was obviously not in with the popular crowd in her school days. Throughout the book she goes on about how her and the "Tammys" are superior and the "Wannabes" have to wait on them hand and foot and will never be an actual "Queen"....PUH-LEASE!!! Get over yourself! I should have stopped, but no...i pressed on and finished the book.
Sure there were some humorous parts and some good recipes, but for the most part it was repetitive and sad rather than funny. I do give the Sweet Potato Queens credit for having lots of fun, (even though our definitions of fun are two totally different things)because having fun in life is so important! However, my lasting impression of the Sweet Potato Queens is that they are 30 and 40-somethings that are really 20-something wannabes, and act like trailer trash in the process.
If you want a real fun book (although dark at times) about true friendship, read "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells. The Ya-Ya's have fun too, but, unlike the Queens, they have class!

May 5th, 2009:

Needless to say that I have not re-read this book or read any others by this author as of yet.

Rating: D