planetarypan's review
5.0
(Disclaimer: I am friends with the author.) Now that's out of the way -- I really liked this book. I thought the concept was fresh and captivating. I mostly liked the characters (Kat irritates me to no end). I didn't grasp the twist until just before the main character did. There were a few grammar/editing issues here and there, but they are small and mostly nitpick-y. Overall, this novel was a wonderful beach read -- fast, funny, and even a little sexy. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!
(Random side note: My parents live near Thunderbird in Scottsdale, so I was tickled to think that Elegance, Inc. was so close. LOL)
(Random side note: My parents live near Thunderbird in Scottsdale, so I was tickled to think that Elegance, Inc. was so close. LOL)
thebooktrollop's review
I give this book between a 4-4.5
So this book was definitely NOT one of my "normal" reads and I was hesitant at first to read it because I didn't think I could like it since it was not my normal genre. With that being said, I just had one of those feelings like I need to read this book, you know those feelings you sometimes get when you see a book and you just say ok I should read this, there is something about this book that is intriguing me???
Well, I got that feeling and dove straight in.. I don't think I came up for air until I reached the end and even then I was panting for more..
This book is like Charlie Angels on CRACK!! Three bad ass chicks (well it starts off with just Frankie and her cousins kind of get recruited) being assassins, kicking ass and taking care of the bad guys. AKA shanking, shooting, or slicing their necks.. It was gruesome but it was done in a funny way. Frankie's sense of sarcasm, wit, and humor made the whole book better. The situations were not so heavy and gross, it was comical and gross ;).
While reading, I couldn't figure out if I was crazy for loving it, if I needed to be institutionalized for laughing or if I was sociopath along with Frankie? I mean who finds humor in killing someone? But thats what this book did, it kept me intrigued and wanting to read more, taking me out of my comfort zone and placing me somewhere unknown but leaving me satisfied in what the book was doing and where it was heading.
"You have the spirit I always tried to obtain," she told me. I have more than that. I have spirit, sharp wit, unrelenting cynicism, and to top it all off I was just issued a suitcase of weapons"
Frankie the main character as previously stated was funny, witty, sarcastic, a little bitchy and all out crazy. But she had boundaries and she was the way she was because her home life was less than stellar.
The psychology student in me was cheering for the psychological concepts and craziness that was happening, the human side was cringing at what she had to live through.
I probably would have found joy in killing other people too if I was her (GAAASSSPPP, I know but when you read it you will see what I mean).
"Osiris just seems like a place for lost children," I suddenly felt sad, though I wasn't quite sure why. "No one wanted me around, so I had to leave home and join a company of killers to feel wanted."
This book is not just about killing people and hired chick assassins, it was also about three women finding their own way, away from the scrutiny of the family, while still keeping up a facade to the outside world. They had to learn to trust in not only themselves but in each other. Trust was a hard thing to come by in that family.
It was full of action, humor, sarcasm, and a crazy family with no moral compass. The ending is a dozy and you suspect but do not know the full weight of secrets the family is hiding.
You won't guess so it is better to not even try.
I was reading this book while riding in a car, on the way to visit family and I kept laughing and cringing and smacking my husband saying listen, listen, listen.. She just slept with her enemy and they compared her to a black widow *giggles ensue* and he just gives me a blank stare and asks if he has to be worried about me shanking him in the middle of the night...
Silly husband....
If you want to read an action packed book full of badass females who can shoot ya and smile afterwards, then sleep like a baby at night, this book is for you. If you have a minor obsession with Charlie Angels on crack then I suggest getting this book.
I promise it is not like any book you have read, if you are like me and read mostly NA, YA, and paranormal you might be hesitant but I advise you to just give it a try. It will take you out of your comfort zone and you will find yourself questioning your moral compass and asking yourself..
"Is it ok to kill someone who really deserve it??"
"Would I actually kill my worst enemy because they deserve bad things to happen to them??"
But it is a good read and a serious mind-fuck ;)
So this book was definitely NOT one of my "normal" reads and I was hesitant at first to read it because I didn't think I could like it since it was not my normal genre. With that being said, I just had one of those feelings like I need to read this book, you know those feelings you sometimes get when you see a book and you just say ok I should read this, there is something about this book that is intriguing me???
Well, I got that feeling and dove straight in.. I don't think I came up for air until I reached the end and even then I was panting for more..
This book is like Charlie Angels on CRACK!! Three bad ass chicks (well it starts off with just Frankie and her cousins kind of get recruited) being assassins, kicking ass and taking care of the bad guys. AKA shanking, shooting, or slicing their necks.. It was gruesome but it was done in a funny way. Frankie's sense of sarcasm, wit, and humor made the whole book better. The situations were not so heavy and gross, it was comical and gross ;).
While reading, I couldn't figure out if I was crazy for loving it, if I needed to be institutionalized for laughing or if I was sociopath along with Frankie? I mean who finds humor in killing someone? But thats what this book did, it kept me intrigued and wanting to read more, taking me out of my comfort zone and placing me somewhere unknown but leaving me satisfied in what the book was doing and where it was heading.
"You have the spirit I always tried to obtain," she told me. I have more than that. I have spirit, sharp wit, unrelenting cynicism, and to top it all off I was just issued a suitcase of weapons"
Frankie the main character as previously stated was funny, witty, sarcastic, a little bitchy and all out crazy. But she had boundaries and she was the way she was because her home life was less than stellar.
The psychology student in me was cheering for the psychological concepts and craziness that was happening, the human side was cringing at what she had to live through.
I probably would have found joy in killing other people too if I was her (GAAASSSPPP, I know but when you read it you will see what I mean).
"Osiris just seems like a place for lost children," I suddenly felt sad, though I wasn't quite sure why. "No one wanted me around, so I had to leave home and join a company of killers to feel wanted."
This book is not just about killing people and hired chick assassins, it was also about three women finding their own way, away from the scrutiny of the family, while still keeping up a facade to the outside world. They had to learn to trust in not only themselves but in each other. Trust was a hard thing to come by in that family.
It was full of action, humor, sarcasm, and a crazy family with no moral compass. The ending is a dozy and you suspect but do not know the full weight of secrets the family is hiding.
You won't guess so it is better to not even try.
I was reading this book while riding in a car, on the way to visit family and I kept laughing and cringing and smacking my husband saying listen, listen, listen.. She just slept with her enemy and they compared her to a black widow *giggles ensue* and he just gives me a blank stare and asks if he has to be worried about me shanking him in the middle of the night...
Silly husband....
If you want to read an action packed book full of badass females who can shoot ya and smile afterwards, then sleep like a baby at night, this book is for you. If you have a minor obsession with Charlie Angels on crack then I suggest getting this book.
I promise it is not like any book you have read, if you are like me and read mostly NA, YA, and paranormal you might be hesitant but I advise you to just give it a try. It will take you out of your comfort zone and you will find yourself questioning your moral compass and asking yourself..
"Is it ok to kill someone who really deserve it??"
"Would I actually kill my worst enemy because they deserve bad things to happen to them??"
But it is a good read and a serious mind-fuck ;)
paulineerika's review
4.0
My main complaint is that it had been a little longer and we'd seen more of the Fairholm/Siriso adventures.
missriki's review
5.0
I loved this book! I love that it is fresh, original, fast-paced, quirky and so much fun. Frankie Fairholm is the perfect main character with a sassy attitude and a foul mouth to boot. She may be an outcast in her own family, but she finds her place working for the enigmatic Osiris Corporation and damn, is she good at it. She is all cynicism and deft sarcasm and is thoroughly likable. I loved the relationship between Frankie and her two cousins Katherine and Addison. It’s a love-hate family dynamic that anyone can relate to and although they could not be more different from one another, their love comes through. They really shine coming from a family where appearances are everything and nobody really likes one another.
I especially enjoyed all of the pop culture references in the book. I found them to make the book very modern and edgy. Since I am a born and bred Arizona girl I also appreciated the true-to-life descriptions of life in the Valley of the Sun. Since nothing exciting really happens in my hometown in reality it was fun to take a fictional trip where everything is exciting and nothing is what it seems.
The plot is fast-paced and always exciting and the dialogue is witty and smart. The bickering that goes on between the girls is realistic and funny. When I say funny, I mean laugh-out-loud hysterical. Vescio has a great conversational writing style and her wit shines through in every scene. As a reader I am invested in these characters and cannot wait for the next book to come out. This is a family that I want to follow and can only imagine that their escapades get bigger and better in the future.
My only complaint a bout the book has nothing to do with the writing, but with the formatting. I read the e-book version and found the formatting to be distracting. The paragraphs are not set apart from one another, leading to a sort of run-on look to the story on the pages. Thankfully the story is so engaging that I was able to put the formatting woes behind me and just enjoy.
If you’re looking for a book that has mystery, intrigue, drama, and humor, get your hands on ELEGANTLY WASTED. I highly recommend it!
I especially enjoyed all of the pop culture references in the book. I found them to make the book very modern and edgy. Since I am a born and bred Arizona girl I also appreciated the true-to-life descriptions of life in the Valley of the Sun. Since nothing exciting really happens in my hometown in reality it was fun to take a fictional trip where everything is exciting and nothing is what it seems.
The plot is fast-paced and always exciting and the dialogue is witty and smart. The bickering that goes on between the girls is realistic and funny. When I say funny, I mean laugh-out-loud hysterical. Vescio has a great conversational writing style and her wit shines through in every scene. As a reader I am invested in these characters and cannot wait for the next book to come out. This is a family that I want to follow and can only imagine that their escapades get bigger and better in the future.
My only complaint a bout the book has nothing to do with the writing, but with the formatting. I read the e-book version and found the formatting to be distracting. The paragraphs are not set apart from one another, leading to a sort of run-on look to the story on the pages. Thankfully the story is so engaging that I was able to put the formatting woes behind me and just enjoy.
If you’re looking for a book that has mystery, intrigue, drama, and humor, get your hands on ELEGANTLY WASTED. I highly recommend it!
kjbbiddle's review against another edition
4.0
entertaining. humorous. interesting plot about a family of contract killers.
cejaypi's review
4.0
This book was fun - I really enjoyed it and the premise of it - would love to follow "the family" further :)
weweresotired's review
4.0
So it's no secret that I sometimes complain a lot about the New Adult genre. I think it holds a lot of promise and potential but I keep finding myself wanting more from the books I've read. Elegantly Wasted manages to fit itself into a category of NA books that I have relatively few complaints about. I feel like a lot of NA relies on the storyline of "girl loses boy, girl vows never to fall in love again, girl has crazy sexy times with bad boy who she totally like reforms and stuff". Maybe that's an unfair assessment, but at least, that's been my experience, so I was really glad to find out that this book didn't go anywhere near that nonsense.
Frankie is a sassy, compelling main character and her dysfunctional family provides a great set-up for Frankie's descent into the world of underground contract killings. Things start kind of slow at first as we are introduced to Frankie and her family, and see how Frankie joins up with Osiris, the group that trains her to be a killer. The story picks up once Kat and Addie get involved, as Frankie finds herself going from lone wolf to part of a team. She's not a girl who plays well with others, so watching the three of them try to learn to work together is awesome.
The beginning of the book did involve a lot of flashbacks and such, to catch the readers up with all of the family history and Frankie's past, so there is a lot of telling-not-showing and infodumps, but the pacing evens out once all of that is out of the way, and the book is a smooth ride from there out. Overall, I am a sucker for weird family dynamics, so this book definitely worked for me. I was also hooked really quickly as I wanted to know lots more about Osiris -- how did they find Frankie? who bankrolls them? how deep does this really go? We do get a ton of answers, and an awesome ride along the way, but things are left wide open for the second book in the series, too.
Frankie is a sassy, compelling main character and her dysfunctional family provides a great set-up for Frankie's descent into the world of underground contract killings. Things start kind of slow at first as we are introduced to Frankie and her family, and see how Frankie joins up with Osiris, the group that trains her to be a killer. The story picks up once Kat and Addie get involved, as Frankie finds herself going from lone wolf to part of a team. She's not a girl who plays well with others, so watching the three of them try to learn to work together is awesome.
The beginning of the book did involve a lot of flashbacks and such, to catch the readers up with all of the family history and Frankie's past, so there is a lot of telling-not-showing and infodumps, but the pacing evens out once all of that is out of the way, and the book is a smooth ride from there out. Overall, I am a sucker for weird family dynamics, so this book definitely worked for me. I was also hooked really quickly as I wanted to know lots more about Osiris -- how did they find Frankie? who bankrolls them? how deep does this really go? We do get a ton of answers, and an awesome ride along the way, but things are left wide open for the second book in the series, too.
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