cogsofencouragement's review against another edition
reflective
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? Yes
2.5
emp1234's review against another edition
1.0
Ditto Meg's review. The writing was poor. I found myself skimming over large sections of incredibly repetitve prose and skipping to the dialogue. Not sure why since the main character's banter was more like a self-centered high school girl than a 30 year old woman.
ajones623's review against another edition
3.0
It was a quick read but wasn't really that great. I'm pretty sure I wrote this same book in the 4th grade; only my version was with Nick Carter. Also, there were more pop culture references then there should be in any novel. It won't be hard to tell when this book came out 20 years from now.
kateleos's review against another edition
Quit mid-sentence after about thirty pages. Beyond irritating and trying-way-too-hard dialogue - I just do not have the patience.
jessek103's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the idea of this book, but didnt like the story at all.
pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition
2.0
Initial Impressions 8/21/12: Didn't care for this book much at all. It definitely was not how I thought it would be.
Firstly, I knew that Hazel was meeting her rock star crush, but I did NOT know that she'd be dumping her almost-fiance to go traipse around with him. I guess that's what I get for not looking into books before I read them!
Anyway, besides that fact, it was super crass! I'm no saint or anything and I've never cared about swearing in books before, but this was almost overkill with the language for me - All of it. Swearing, sexual innuendos, pop culture references, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Just not for me at all. I'm glad it was a short book because otherwise I wouldn't have finished it.
Review as originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: Okay, so... Here's where my problem lies: Poor research on my part; before reading books, I've stopped reading the entire summary because I like to be thrown into the story and not have anything at all spoiled by reading the synopsis of the book. I saw the giveaway on BookTrib and thought it looked like a cute little chick lit story. Girl meets her crush and they start to hit it off. Sounded great! What I didn't realize -- and far too late -- was that it wasn't as innocent as it seemed.
Hazel has a boyfriend. An awesome one. An awesome one who proposed to her and she pretended she didn't see it. Right off the bat, I'm not a fan of Hazel. To make things worse (for me, better for Hazel), she meets Finn and they hit it off. They started to really hit it off and then Hazel's questioning breaking it off with her boyfriend to kick it with a rock star and her all-time biggest crush. To me, I was like, "No! How disloyal!" and I threw a fit (in my head) about where this story was going. I was saddened by how much it was not like I thought it was! But like I said, kind of my fault for not looking into that!
Anyway, so the rest of the book.... Ahh ummm, still didn't care for it. Okay, so I'm no saint or anything, and I've never been hesitant about a book before because of its language, but this book was just way too crass for me. Okay, anecdote time:
I actually began reading this book because I took it on the plane with me on vacation a few weeks ago. I thought, "Cute book about being on an airplane while I'm on an airplane!" I'm cheesy, I know. So I started reading, and my boyfriend was sitting next to me and he glanced at the book and was like, "What are you reading!?!" because this book is not censored in any way, shape, or form. Cursing, followed by sexual innuendos, followed by more curses, followed by more sexual references and cursing and sex. It was just overwhelming! I've never been bothered by swears or sex in a book before, but this was just a little too much for me and lots of things taken too far. Thrown in an onslaught of pop culture references that I didn't care for and I was ready to put the book down and back away slowly.
Lesson learned: Although YA lit may not always appear age-appropriate, it will still be much more appropriate to read in public places!
I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes it's not a bad thing to look further into books before reading them! I try not to ruin things with mysteries, but this was clearly an open book and I should have checked it out better before jumping in!
Firstly, I knew that Hazel was meeting her rock star crush, but I did NOT know that she'd be dumping her almost-fiance to go traipse around with him. I guess that's what I get for not looking into books before I read them!
Anyway, besides that fact, it was super crass! I'm no saint or anything and I've never cared about swearing in books before, but this was almost overkill with the language for me - All of it. Swearing, sexual innuendos, pop culture references, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Just not for me at all. I'm glad it was a short book because otherwise I wouldn't have finished it.
Review as originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: Okay, so... Here's where my problem lies: Poor research on my part; before reading books, I've stopped reading the entire summary because I like to be thrown into the story and not have anything at all spoiled by reading the synopsis of the book. I saw the giveaway on BookTrib and thought it looked like a cute little chick lit story. Girl meets her crush and they start to hit it off. Sounded great! What I didn't realize -- and far too late -- was that it wasn't as innocent as it seemed.
Hazel has a boyfriend. An awesome one. An awesome one who proposed to her and she pretended she didn't see it. Right off the bat, I'm not a fan of Hazel. To make things worse (for me, better for Hazel), she meets Finn and they hit it off. They started to really hit it off and then Hazel's questioning breaking it off with her boyfriend to kick it with a rock star and her all-time biggest crush. To me, I was like, "No! How disloyal!" and I threw a fit (in my head) about where this story was going. I was saddened by how much it was not like I thought it was! But like I said, kind of my fault for not looking into that!
Anyway, so the rest of the book.... Ahh ummm, still didn't care for it. Okay, so I'm no saint or anything, and I've never been hesitant about a book before because of its language, but this book was just way too crass for me. Okay, anecdote time:
I actually began reading this book because I took it on the plane with me on vacation a few weeks ago. I thought, "Cute book about being on an airplane while I'm on an airplane!" I'm cheesy, I know. So I started reading, and my boyfriend was sitting next to me and he glanced at the book and was like, "What are you reading!?!" because this book is not censored in any way, shape, or form. Cursing, followed by sexual innuendos, followed by more curses, followed by more sexual references and cursing and sex. It was just overwhelming! I've never been bothered by swears or sex in a book before, but this was just a little too much for me and lots of things taken too far. Thrown in an onslaught of pop culture references that I didn't care for and I was ready to put the book down and back away slowly.
Lesson learned: Although YA lit may not always appear age-appropriate, it will still be much more appropriate to read in public places!
I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes it's not a bad thing to look further into books before reading them! I try not to ruin things with mysteries, but this was clearly an open book and I should have checked it out better before jumping in!
robinsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun breezy read for anyone who likes a good "watch what you wish for" story with a fairly predictable ending. However, even though I'll read just about anything for any audience, I felt that this was a little too "young" for me. At first I thought the language and pace were funny but it grew a little tiresome after about 50 pages (author was very good at very creative cursing strings). But all in all it was a quick and easy book for anyone who has dreamed of meeting their celebrity idol of choice and jetting away with him (or her).
jessicareads85's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
cadence59's review against another edition
2.0
A quick read about what happens when you meet the celebrity you dream about. Light and breezy, but I'm glad it was a library book.
drey72's review against another edition
2.0
Hazel Lavery has just turned thirty. Her boyfriend’s awesome, and her job’s fabulous. I loved the first few chapters of The Rock Star in Seat 3A, when we meet Hazel and Wyatt. Then she meets her idol and has an existential crisis.
Who’s your musician/actor/sports idol? What would you do if Johnny Depp sat down next to you and started chatting it up and sparks are flying?
I loved Hazel’s reactions, they’re so what I’d imagine I’d say. The “OMFG!” part, that is. Not sure about the flirting back part. Or the barfing part. Oh, who am I kidding – I’d probably do both, and the latter without any help from turbulence!
But some parts of this read bothered me. The first part was the “free pass” thing. It’s nice to say you have a free pass if that opportunity ever came up, but really? To assume it’s for real without talking about it? That doesn’t sit right with me.
Also, the title says “Seat 3A”, that’s a window seat, which is fine. But then Hazel was upgraded to 3B, and anyone who’s been on a plane knows that there’s no 3B in First Class (or even Business Class), it’s A and C. So yes, I’m nit-picky. But it bothered me. And in reading about Finn’s boarding the plane and getting into his seat (and out of it), I got confused, because it seemed like he just did it, and even in First Class (I’d assume) you don’t just get up and step into the aisle. Because this is a plane after all.
The dialog was amusing, as was the overall story. Watching Hazel live her dream was fun. And watching her realize that this dream may not be the dream, brings realism to the story. Other than my nit-pickiness, this is a light beach read for the days when you don’t really want to think too hard – and just be entertained.
drey’s rating: Ok
Who’s your musician/actor/sports idol? What would you do if Johnny Depp sat down next to you and started chatting it up and sparks are flying?
I loved Hazel’s reactions, they’re so what I’d imagine I’d say. The “OMFG!” part, that is. Not sure about the flirting back part. Or the barfing part. Oh, who am I kidding – I’d probably do both, and the latter without any help from turbulence!
But some parts of this read bothered me. The first part was the “free pass” thing. It’s nice to say you have a free pass if that opportunity ever came up, but really? To assume it’s for real without talking about it? That doesn’t sit right with me.
Also, the title says “Seat 3A”, that’s a window seat, which is fine. But then Hazel was upgraded to 3B, and anyone who’s been on a plane knows that there’s no 3B in First Class (or even Business Class), it’s A and C. So yes, I’m nit-picky. But it bothered me. And in reading about Finn’s boarding the plane and getting into his seat (and out of it), I got confused, because it seemed like he just did it, and even in First Class (I’d assume) you don’t just get up and step into the aisle. Because this is a plane after all.
The dialog was amusing, as was the overall story. Watching Hazel live her dream was fun. And watching her realize that this dream may not be the dream, brings realism to the story. Other than my nit-pickiness, this is a light beach read for the days when you don’t really want to think too hard – and just be entertained.
drey’s rating: Ok