storieswithsoul's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting, funny, and very entertaining; I quite enjoyed this book.
aqtbenz's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Alcoholism
burstnwithbooks's review
4.0
This book was great. It was a little ludicrous and a lot hilarious, and it was exactly what I needed. I had a great time with it and the reflection of Julia James to Ally Carter’s writing history is kind of fabulous. I’ll probably pick up the sequel because I’m a completionist and I’ve read all of her other books 😂
xterminal's review
4.0
Ally Carter, Cheating at Solitaire (Berkley, 2005)
Here's something I never expected to see: a chick lit novel that remembers the “lit” half of the equation. Young adult novelist Ally Carter, best known for the Gallagher Girls series of novels, actually started her career with an adult novel, Cheating at Solitaire. And while I'm willing to admit my reading in chick lit has not been nearly as extensive as it has been in other genres, I've certainly read my share of the stuff, and this is the best chick lit novel I have read to date.
Plot: Julia James is a wildly successful self-help author who's made her living saying that society's perceptions that women must be married in order to be happy are silly, and counseling single women on how to lead a fulfilling single life. (At no point does she say that she's against marriage, though, which becomes a big point later in the book.) Lance Collins is a chronically out-of-work actor who tries something outrageous in order to talk to his agent, Richard Stone. Thanks to a torrential downpour, Julia and Lance end up sharing a cab, and Stone, seeing the two of them together, gets dollar signs in his eyes; how much would Collins' stock go up if he were on the cover of every tabloid in America with the Queen of Single Women? The two of them end up being tabbed an item, and Julia is worried her stock with her readers will plummet. When sales of her books double the next day, she realizes things are getting way, way out of hand, but how to go about rectifying all this? And what's she going to do with Lance?
Sure, it's your basic chick lit premise, but Carter wears it well, straying from the formula (as so few books of this type do) to offer commentary about everything from interior design reality shows to alcoholism, and even more, this is a book that's actually, honestly, genuinely funny, rather than sticking to the sarcasm and deadpan that marks so many of the books in the genre I've read. The final couple of chapters were something of a letdown; I'm assuming they were suggested by either Carter's agent or her publisher, and not faulting her for them. Other than that, I'll say it again: the best chick lit novel I've ever read. *** ½
Here's something I never expected to see: a chick lit novel that remembers the “lit” half of the equation. Young adult novelist Ally Carter, best known for the Gallagher Girls series of novels, actually started her career with an adult novel, Cheating at Solitaire. And while I'm willing to admit my reading in chick lit has not been nearly as extensive as it has been in other genres, I've certainly read my share of the stuff, and this is the best chick lit novel I have read to date.
Plot: Julia James is a wildly successful self-help author who's made her living saying that society's perceptions that women must be married in order to be happy are silly, and counseling single women on how to lead a fulfilling single life. (At no point does she say that she's against marriage, though, which becomes a big point later in the book.) Lance Collins is a chronically out-of-work actor who tries something outrageous in order to talk to his agent, Richard Stone. Thanks to a torrential downpour, Julia and Lance end up sharing a cab, and Stone, seeing the two of them together, gets dollar signs in his eyes; how much would Collins' stock go up if he were on the cover of every tabloid in America with the Queen of Single Women? The two of them end up being tabbed an item, and Julia is worried her stock with her readers will plummet. When sales of her books double the next day, she realizes things are getting way, way out of hand, but how to go about rectifying all this? And what's she going to do with Lance?
Sure, it's your basic chick lit premise, but Carter wears it well, straying from the formula (as so few books of this type do) to offer commentary about everything from interior design reality shows to alcoholism, and even more, this is a book that's actually, honestly, genuinely funny, rather than sticking to the sarcasm and deadpan that marks so many of the books in the genre I've read. The final couple of chapters were something of a letdown; I'm assuming they were suggested by either Carter's agent or her publisher, and not faulting her for them. Other than that, I'll say it again: the best chick lit novel I've ever read. *** ½
aimee70807's review
5.0
I feel like I really should just give this book four stars, but I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the fluffiness. It doesn't have the same world-building you see in her young adult books, but the story hung together extremely well and followed one of my new favorite themes --- independent, modern woman trying to decide if love fits into her life. The book hooks you right from the beginning --- famous author writing about enjoying singledom meets a guy; will she keep her fame, or give it up for said guy? I thought I could guess the entire plot from that opening, but I was wrong, and the actual plot was better.
readeradventure's review
5.0
I originally bought this book because Ally Carter is coming to the Austin Teen Book Festival and it sounded really good, I am so glad I did.
This is an adult book, but I think older teen fans of Ally's work would really like it as well. I certainly did!
Julia is awesome, she is what I want to be like if I stay single for that long. She is strong and independent and when she is with Lance their chemistry flies off the page. Yes this is a "chick-lit: novel and it is awesome. I was feeling down the day that I picked it up and it made me happy inside.
I felt really invested in what was happening to Julia's career, I found myself caring as if she was my friend, this just solidifies what a great writer Ally is.
I definitely recommend you pick up this book especially if you need something light but good!
This is an adult book, but I think older teen fans of Ally's work would really like it as well. I certainly did!
Julia is awesome, she is what I want to be like if I stay single for that long. She is strong and independent and when she is with Lance their chemistry flies off the page. Yes this is a "chick-lit: novel and it is awesome. I was feeling down the day that I picked it up and it made me happy inside.
I felt really invested in what was happening to Julia's career, I found myself caring as if she was my friend, this just solidifies what a great writer Ally is.
I definitely recommend you pick up this book especially if you need something light but good!
sass's review
3.0
Not revolutionary, but funny and cute. Suffers from the common problem of 'debut author with over-romanticised view of the life of successful authors' but if you're willing to suspend your disbelief, it's a good read.
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