monicamjw's review against another edition
1.0
I will confess to choosing this book solely because it had my name in the title. I found all the characters difficult to like and the plot less than compelling. The very end of the story was the most entertaining part. To my surprise, this book contains a reading group guide and discussion questions ... frankly, this isn't book club material for a serious reader.
offbalance80's review against another edition
4.0
I genuinely enjoyed this book, with it's sharp premise (which Bushnell SWORE didn't come from her own life AT ALL, you guys), although I kind of wish she'd followed through on some of the darker threads from earlier in the book (only one pays off, and it's a delight), and I could have lived without the Lucy-and-Ethel ending. That aside, Bushnell still remains a top-shelf talent as a wordsmith, and one that deserves a career outside of Carrie Bradshaw's shadow.
indymomsbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
julibug86's review against another edition
1.0
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
SPOILER ALERT
Up until the last chapter or so of this book, I was on board with it. The idea intrigued me - how to kill Monica, the creation that made the main character into a celebrated author. The entire time I was wondering if Ms. Bushnell would want to kill Carrie Bradshaw if she could. Is it understandable or biting the hand that feeds? The supporting characters were cute and I enjoyed that it was set up into the present and two separate flashbacks (the history and demise of her best friendship and the history and demise of her marriage). I was completely ready to write a three star review and suggest it be read with a glass of champagne, but then...
...Ms. Bushnell insulted the entire transgender community by allowing the "missing" sister to end up being Henry, the very present manager-agent. Pandy/PJ kept hinting at her sister's disappearance, allowing me to think that the sister died or cut off communication or never even existed! In reality, her sister identifies as a male and goes by the name Henry. Henry and Pandy have a great relationship except for the fact that Pandy seems to act like her sister is dead! If Ms. Bushnell wants to utilize a transgender character, that is fine, but she should've done her homework and either a) had Henry living openly and maybe even described any backlash Henry felt from living as a male or b) had Henry not telling others that he was assigned female at birth, but describing how this made Henry and/or Pandy feel. It is not appropriate to make Henry's gender orientation a "big secret" from the readers - the "reveal" was not appreciated.
SPOILER ALERT
Up until the last chapter or so of this book, I was on board with it. The idea intrigued me - how to kill Monica, the creation that made the main character into a celebrated author. The entire time I was wondering if Ms. Bushnell would want to kill Carrie Bradshaw if she could. Is it understandable or biting the hand that feeds? The supporting characters were cute and I enjoyed that it was set up into the present and two separate flashbacks (the history and demise of her best friendship and the history and demise of her marriage). I was completely ready to write a three star review and suggest it be read with a glass of champagne, but then...
...Ms. Bushnell insulted the entire transgender community by allowing the "missing" sister to end up being Henry, the very present manager-agent. Pandy/PJ kept hinting at her sister's disappearance, allowing me to think that the sister died or cut off communication or never even existed! In reality, her sister identifies as a male and goes by the name Henry. Henry and Pandy have a great relationship except for the fact that Pandy seems to act like her sister is dead! If Ms. Bushnell wants to utilize a transgender character, that is fine, but she should've done her homework and either a) had Henry living openly and maybe even described any backlash Henry felt from living as a male or b) had Henry not telling others that he was assigned female at birth, but describing how this made Henry and/or Pandy feel. It is not appropriate to make Henry's gender orientation a "big secret" from the readers - the "reveal" was not appreciated.
kaceyjoy's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So the entire book isn't deserving of a 2, but the ending is. I know this came out in 2015, but the way the single trans character is treated is just not it. There are parts of this book beautifully written, but the bulk of it was annoying. Between that and the dead naming and the big huge secret, it is gross. Do not recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Outing and Suicide
marciamarciamarcia's review against another edition
2.0
wow. the preview on iTunes seemed interesting but I'd pay $8.99 for the time I spent reading this back.
eecorreia's review against another edition
1.0
This book was on sale for $2.99 and now I understand why. The characters were all very surface level and extremely unlikeable. It felt like the poor retelling of a story by a drunk friend with some twists thrown in just to keep the book trendy. It was a quick read and wouldn’t have been horrible if I was stuck in the airport with a delayed flight and this was all I had to read, but in any other situation it wasn’t worthwhile.
liljen719's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes from this book because I've enjoyed a few of her others, but this one was a complete disappointment. The characters were hard to relate to and the plot just seemed forced, which made it very difficult to slog through. I wish I'd bothered to read some of the reviews before I started it, because if I had, I might have passed on it altogether.
tonyajackson's review against another edition
3.0
Cliched, predictable, drivel but if you need to get out of your head for a day this book is certainly the way to do it.