thebooktrollop's review
5.0
The only word that comes to the forefront of my mind when thinking back to this book is HOT MESS... OOk maybe that is two words but you get what I mean.
When the author first emailed me about this book, I was thinking, "ok what kind of cover is that??" (yes I admit, I am a total judgmental cover whore) so I read the synopsis, which I usually never do because I like to be surprised with what I am about to read. And again, I was like hmmm interesting but this does not seem like the type of book I would normally read. So I do what any sane person would do and stalked the author (What do you mean thats not SANE???). Well, lets just say after stalking him for a little bit and seeing his posts... I totally fell head over heels in love with him. He is funny, charming, and I thought to myself "of course he swings for the other team, all the amazing ones do!!" So I email him back and tell him that I would review his book for him AND that I thought we should become BFFs because he just seemed like he was great BFF material!
Plus, he is perverted like me and that is always a winner in my book!!
So fast forward a few (ok a lot) of weeks and I finally get around to reading this book and as I am reading, I am totally confused on where this book is going. I forgot what it was about from reading the synopsis but I am still stalking this author and I know how funny and amazing he is, so I know this book was going to blow me away too.
So I continue on.
I get more and more into this book and I just keep thinking "God this woman is one hot ass mess, she needs to get her shit together already." She frustrated me so much with her back and forth that I wanted to strangle her myself!!
It was like, if something good was coming her way, she felt she didn't deserve it so she would fuck it up somehow to ruin the good thing.
I would like to say there was a certain turning point in the story where shit seemed to finally level out but there were a lot of those. It would straighten out and then the MC would turn around and fuck it up...again.
But even with the frustration with the MC, I was still invested and loving this book. I didn't know what the fuck to do with this character and whether or not I wanted to like her or smack her but I was still loving the overall message. The sense of empowerment for woman, the sisterhood of sticking together and knowing your worth, and even when society deems you unacceptable, you can be acceptable within yourself and love yourself. Friendships are also important in any shape or form you get them in. Whether it is in the shape of a teenager with a broken home life or a woman trapped in a man's body... They are important...
So I get to the end and I still have no clue what I just read but I felt like I wanted to start a sisterhood group of my own. Empower people, start a movement, show people they are loved no matter what shape, size, or sexual orientation they come in!
It was like a lightbulb going off in my head. "Oh that's the message!!! That was what the author was trying to get across"...
Such a sly fellow, that one!
He delivered a powerful message in the most unconventional way possible but it was there within the confines of that book and I loved it. I loved how obvious but yet not obvious this message was delivered and I totally "got it". Of course it took me a second but I still "got it".
So if you want to read an empowering, enlightening book with an overall unconventional way of telling a powerful message then I would give this book a chance and I promise by the end you will feel like a better person.
No seriously, take a chance and read Desperation Lingers, uncover the sense of empowerment through the words and then come back here and lets discuss!!
Overall, I give this book a 4.5/5 and I hope to read and stalk more of Anthony in the future :)..
When the author first emailed me about this book, I was thinking, "ok what kind of cover is that??" (yes I admit, I am a total judgmental cover whore) so I read the synopsis, which I usually never do because I like to be surprised with what I am about to read. And again, I was like hmmm interesting but this does not seem like the type of book I would normally read. So I do what any sane person would do and stalked the author (What do you mean thats not SANE???). Well, lets just say after stalking him for a little bit and seeing his posts... I totally fell head over heels in love with him. He is funny, charming, and I thought to myself "of course he swings for the other team, all the amazing ones do!!" So I email him back and tell him that I would review his book for him AND that I thought we should become BFFs because he just seemed like he was great BFF material!
Plus, he is perverted like me and that is always a winner in my book!!
So fast forward a few (ok a lot) of weeks and I finally get around to reading this book and as I am reading, I am totally confused on where this book is going. I forgot what it was about from reading the synopsis but I am still stalking this author and I know how funny and amazing he is, so I know this book was going to blow me away too.
So I continue on.
I get more and more into this book and I just keep thinking "God this woman is one hot ass mess, she needs to get her shit together already." She frustrated me so much with her back and forth that I wanted to strangle her myself!!
It was like, if something good was coming her way, she felt she didn't deserve it so she would fuck it up somehow to ruin the good thing.
I would like to say there was a certain turning point in the story where shit seemed to finally level out but there were a lot of those. It would straighten out and then the MC would turn around and fuck it up...again.
But even with the frustration with the MC, I was still invested and loving this book. I didn't know what the fuck to do with this character and whether or not I wanted to like her or smack her but I was still loving the overall message. The sense of empowerment for woman, the sisterhood of sticking together and knowing your worth, and even when society deems you unacceptable, you can be acceptable within yourself and love yourself. Friendships are also important in any shape or form you get them in. Whether it is in the shape of a teenager with a broken home life or a woman trapped in a man's body... They are important...
So I get to the end and I still have no clue what I just read but I felt like I wanted to start a sisterhood group of my own. Empower people, start a movement, show people they are loved no matter what shape, size, or sexual orientation they come in!
It was like a lightbulb going off in my head. "Oh that's the message!!! That was what the author was trying to get across"...
Such a sly fellow, that one!
He delivered a powerful message in the most unconventional way possible but it was there within the confines of that book and I loved it. I loved how obvious but yet not obvious this message was delivered and I totally "got it". Of course it took me a second but I still "got it".
So if you want to read an empowering, enlightening book with an overall unconventional way of telling a powerful message then I would give this book a chance and I promise by the end you will feel like a better person.
No seriously, take a chance and read Desperation Lingers, uncover the sense of empowerment through the words and then come back here and lets discuss!!
Overall, I give this book a 4.5/5 and I hope to read and stalk more of Anthony in the future :)..
tegsreadsbooks's review
4.0
I was surprised at how much I actually liked this book. I admit, it wasn't a book I would typically go for. If I saw it in the bookstore I wouldn't have picked it up, because while I know you shouldn't judge a book for it's cover, everyone does. And the cover did not appeal to me at all. I mean, that NOSE! It's just horrendous. And plus I just don't like pictures of people, real or art, on covers. But I'm glad I got this book for review because it forced me to give this book a chance and I'm glad I did. It was funny, I liked the characters and it was the perfect length. I actually thought this book was worth 4.5 stars, but I rated it down instead of up since half stars aren't possible.
It kept me guessing until the very end and I found my self, aloud, saying "OMG, WHAT?" One example is with Rose... the truth about her, I didn't suspect. The plot had me laughing, and that is pretty hard to do with a book for me. I get emotionally distraught with a lot of sad books but it's hard to get me laughing. There were only a few minor reasons I gave it a 4.5 and not a 5, which are insignificant enough to not rate it as low as a 4. For one, that nose is absolutely horrid, and that statement in the beginning in which she says she could be a model except for that nose is way too farfetched. With that nose it's impossible for her to be even a little bit attractive, which also makes it way too unrealistic that she had 4 husbands and another three men chasing after her (Hector, Brady, Wes). Men will want a woman who looks good, and when her nose is bigger and uglier than theirs, why would they want that? I could believe that she had two marriages, but four was pushing it too far. How could 7 men in such a short period of time find her that attractive? It's just impossible.
Another minor thing that irked me was the grammar. A lot of parts in the book I had to reread in order to understand because of either lack of punctuation or a repeat of words that was unnecessary. While this isn't a big deal, I'm an editor, so the fact that so many little semantics could be overlooked really upsets me. The editor should be fired, seriously. In one sentence, "an friend" was written. NO NO NO NO NO. Just no. AN should never be written before friend in any circumstance. It should always be "A FRIEND." Also, never was written twice, as "never never" in a different sentence when having the second "never" didn't make any sense, that second one should have been omitted. There were lots of small errors like that that just made me cringe.
But because the plot was good, and it kept my attention, I gave it a good score. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It kept me guessing until the very end and I found my self, aloud, saying "OMG, WHAT?" One example is with Rose... the truth about her, I didn't suspect. The plot had me laughing, and that is pretty hard to do with a book for me. I get emotionally distraught with a lot of sad books but it's hard to get me laughing. There were only a few minor reasons I gave it a 4.5 and not a 5, which are insignificant enough to not rate it as low as a 4. For one, that nose is absolutely horrid, and that statement in the beginning in which she says she could be a model except for that nose is way too farfetched. With that nose it's impossible for her to be even a little bit attractive, which also makes it way too unrealistic that she had 4 husbands and another three men chasing after her (Hector, Brady, Wes). Men will want a woman who looks good, and when her nose is bigger and uglier than theirs, why would they want that? I could believe that she had two marriages, but four was pushing it too far. How could 7 men in such a short period of time find her that attractive? It's just impossible.
Another minor thing that irked me was the grammar. A lot of parts in the book I had to reread in order to understand because of either lack of punctuation or a repeat of words that was unnecessary. While this isn't a big deal, I'm an editor, so the fact that so many little semantics could be overlooked really upsets me. The editor should be fired, seriously. In one sentence, "an friend" was written. NO NO NO NO NO. Just no. AN should never be written before friend in any circumstance. It should always be "A FRIEND." Also, never was written twice, as "never never" in a different sentence when having the second "never" didn't make any sense, that second one should have been omitted. There were lots of small errors like that that just made me cringe.
But because the plot was good, and it kept my attention, I gave it a good score. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
beckyjohnson123's review
1.0
I got the book through the Goodreads free give away. To begin with it was difficult to get through the first chapter but after perceiving it turned out to be very good. It turned out to be very funny and the plot line was good and keeps you drawn in until the end.
abetterbradley's review
5.0
Every once in a great while a book will come along that changes your life. For me, Desperation Lingers is one of those rare books. Let me tell you upfront. This book isn't going to be for everyone. You'll have to have an open mind and a dash of black humor to enjoy it.
Desperation Lingers. Yes, that's the poor name she's been saddled with is a high school guidance counselor in California. None of the students like her. She's recently come to her sense and ended the torrid affair she's been having with her boss, the principal.
She's on the ledge. Literally. The book opens with Desi on the ledge. But the journey that Desi takes to keep herself off the ledge and to rebuild her life was truly inspiring to me.
Desperation Lingers. Yes, that's the poor name she's been saddled with is a high school guidance counselor in California. None of the students like her. She's recently come to her sense and ended the torrid affair she's been having with her boss, the principal.
She's on the ledge. Literally. The book opens with Desi on the ledge. But the journey that Desi takes to keep herself off the ledge and to rebuild her life was truly inspiring to me.
teg_unn's review
4.0
I was surprised at how much I actually liked this book. I admit, it wasn't a book I would typically go for. If I saw it in the bookstore I wouldn't have picked it up, because while I know you shouldn't judge a book for it's cover, everyone does. And the cover did not appeal to me at all. I mean, that NOSE! It's just horrendous. And plus I just don't like pictures of people, real or art, on covers. But I'm glad I got this book for review because it forced me to give this book a chance and I'm glad I did. It was funny, I liked the characters and it was the perfect length. I actually thought this book was worth 4.5 stars, but I rated it down instead of up since half stars aren't possible.
It kept me guessing until the very end and I found my self, aloud, saying "OMG, WHAT?" One example is with Rose... the truth about her, I didn't suspect. The plot had me laughing, and that is pretty hard to do with a book for me. I get emotionally distraught with a lot of sad books but it's hard to get me laughing. There were only a few minor reasons I gave it a 4.5 and not a 5, which are insignificant enough to not rate it as low as a 4. For one, that nose is absolutely horrid, and that statement in the beginning in which she says she could be a model except for that nose is way too farfetched. With that nose it's impossible for her to be even a little bit attractive, which also makes it way too unrealistic that she had 4 husbands and another three men chasing after her (Hector, Brady, Wes). Men will want a woman who looks good, and when her nose is bigger and uglier than theirs, why would they want that? I could believe that she had two marriages, but four was pushing it too far. How could 7 men in such a short period of time find her that attractive? It's just impossible.
Another minor thing that irked me was the grammar. A lot of parts in the book I had to reread in order to understand because of either lack of punctuation or a repeat of words that was unnecessary. While this isn't a big deal, I'm an editor, so the fact that so many little semantics could be overlooked really upsets me. The editor should be fired, seriously. In one sentence, "an friend" was written. NO NO NO NO NO. Just no. AN should never be written before friend in any circumstance. It should always be "A FRIEND." Also, never was written twice, as "never never" in a different sentence when having the second "never" didn't make any sense, that second one should have been omitted. There were lots of small errors like that that just made me cringe.
But because the plot was good, and it kept my attention, I gave it a good score. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It kept me guessing until the very end and I found my self, aloud, saying "OMG, WHAT?" One example is with Rose... the truth about her, I didn't suspect. The plot had me laughing, and that is pretty hard to do with a book for me. I get emotionally distraught with a lot of sad books but it's hard to get me laughing. There were only a few minor reasons I gave it a 4.5 and not a 5, which are insignificant enough to not rate it as low as a 4. For one, that nose is absolutely horrid, and that statement in the beginning in which she says she could be a model except for that nose is way too farfetched. With that nose it's impossible for her to be even a little bit attractive, which also makes it way too unrealistic that she had 4 husbands and another three men chasing after her (Hector, Brady, Wes). Men will want a woman who looks good, and when her nose is bigger and uglier than theirs, why would they want that? I could believe that she had two marriages, but four was pushing it too far. How could 7 men in such a short period of time find her that attractive? It's just impossible.
Another minor thing that irked me was the grammar. A lot of parts in the book I had to reread in order to understand because of either lack of punctuation or a repeat of words that was unnecessary. While this isn't a big deal, I'm an editor, so the fact that so many little semantics could be overlooked really upsets me. The editor should be fired, seriously. In one sentence, "an friend" was written. NO NO NO NO NO. Just no. AN should never be written before friend in any circumstance. It should always be "A FRIEND." Also, never was written twice, as "never never" in a different sentence when having the second "never" didn't make any sense, that second one should have been omitted. There were lots of small errors like that that just made me cringe.
But because the plot was good, and it kept my attention, I gave it a good score. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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