Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
5/5 stars
Dutton, 2011
323 pages
Adult Fiction

Source: Library

After loving Eleanor and Park, I was intrigued to discover that Rowell had previously written an adult novel that was at least partially in epistolary and featured a romance. Although I doubted it could be as good as Eleanor and Park, I decided to check it out.

Shows what I know: this book was fabulous! While reading it at work, I was laughing and then crying and then bitter that I had to work instead of getting to finish this delightful book. Then I went home and finished it. As in Eleanor and Park, I didn't want the story to end and when it did, I again hugged the book to me. Rowell just seems to write in a style that is exactly what I like to read.

The plot is a bit odd: the year is 1999 and a newspaper is begrudgingly installing computers, internet, and email. Lincoln has been hired to monitor the email exchanges of the employees and he finds himself drawn to the conversation of two women in particular whose email keeps getting flagged. Jennifer is anxious about maybe starting a family with her husband while Beth craves a marriage proposal from her musician boyfriend. Through these emails Lincoln starts to fall for Beth while also following his own journey of growing up and separating from his mother.

I really liked the format of this book. It opens with an email exchange between Beth and Jennifer and then jumps into following Lincoln's life. Every couple of chapters, we get another exchange to punctuate Lincoln's story. I love epistolary novels and female narration so of course I ate up the emails especially because there were many very funny exchanges (literally laughed out loud at a couple of points.) But Lincoln's story is good too as this shy guy really blossoms just by making a few small decisions and following them through. I guess I read this book at the perfect time and I highly recommend it to fans of Rowell's writing!

Wedding Night

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella
3.5/5 stars
The Dial Press, 2013
446 pages
Adult "Chick-Lit"

Source: Received a copy from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

Although I don't much like the Shopaholic series, I have loved most of Kinsella's standalones so I was excited to pick this one up. Further adding to that was the knowledge that it featured sisters. Unfortunately my sister put a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm when she said she was not impressed with this book but I think she was being too hard on it as I had a lot of fun with it.

I think a big part of your enjoyment will stem from whether or not you can tolerate someone meddling in the affairs of someone else. This often irks me but when I read about a sister thinking she knows what is best for her five years younger sister, I'm pretty sympathetic (guess how much younger my sister is than me?) And in this case, Fliss has some good reasons for being concerned for Lottie. After every breakup, Lottie has flung herself into some horrendous decisions but this latest is probably her worst: deciding to marry her gap year boyfriend who she hasn't seen in 15 years. Fliss interferes by attempting to prevent them from consummating their marriage so that they can get an annulment when they inevitably realize they are wrong for each other thereby avoiding the trauma of divorce which Fliss is presently undergoing. Needless to say some ludicrously hilarious things occur.

My personal favorite moment is when Lottie and her new husband are on their honeymoon, attempting to cram for a Couples Quiz and he is incapable of answering such simple questions as "What is her favorite alcoholic drink?" However he can answer as if they were Dirk and Sally, the lead characters on their favorite TV show. When they decide to play as Dirk and Sally, the tide changes and they can answer any question perfectly. I have a soft spot for the Newlywed Game and this version of it made me so happy to imagine.

A close second is how Lottie's ex-boyfriend Richard (the one who sends her spiraling into the arms of the old boyfriend) reappears in the story. He realizes he was wrong to have let Lottie go and is planning to fight for her. It's quite romantic although I'm not going to spoil any of the details (does he win Lottie back? No spoilers here!)

Overall: Although this is not my favorite Kinsella book, I think fans will find plenty to love here. Suspension of disbelief has often been necessary for these kinds of books and this one is no exception. It's perfect for a light summery weekend beach read!

ARC Review: A Perfect Proposal

A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde
4/5 stars
St. Martin's Press, 2013
Originally published in the UK by Century, 2010
384 pages
Adult

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've seen Fforde's name a ton since she was always shelved next to my beloved Jasper Fforde but for some reason I never picked up one of her books (no, I don't know why...it's a mystery never fully explained). However it did mean that this was the perfect opportunity to pick up her book and I was utterly charmed. I didn't really know what to expect but I was absolutely swept away.

My one quibble about this book was the significant age difference between the love interests, which is mentioned several times as a negative or at least not the best situation but is not really something they discuss. I think that Sophie is certainly on the more mature side for her youthful age (something I empathized with as I have had several people recently tell me that I'm very mature-I don't really know what to do with that as I think I am exactly as I should be but always with room for improvement) and I fully believe in the HEA but I think that could have been hashed out more.

The rest of the book was great though. The genre would probably be "chicklit" as it focuses on a young woman, struggling to figure out her career, love, and life in general while also dealing with familial pressures and friendship travails. In this instance, Sophie is the youngest in a family of intellectuals and has forgone acquiring a degree, pursuing something more practical like design so that she could go into business for herself. Although her family is happy to enjoy her skills, they also constantly deride them to her face. Thus Sophie leaps at the chance to travel to America where she meets an elderly woman and sparks with that woman's grandson.

Sophie is rather passive at the start, allowing her family to run roughshod over her but she grows more of a spine through her experiences. There are many funny moments as well as sweet and sexy times. This was a great introduction to Fforde's writing and I am eager to read more of her fairly extensive backlist.

Recommended for when you need a light, humorous romantic read, perhaps in between some darker denser material :)

DNF: Getting Over Mr. Right

Getting Over Mr. Right by Chrissie Manby
DNF
Bantam Books, 2012
I read 97 out of 288 pages
Fiction "Chick-Lit"

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a quick review since I only read about 1/3 of the book (plus the last few pages to see if it got better-it didn't.) I was excited to read a book which seemed to promise a woman getting dumped and then getting mad, presumably taking revenge on the jerky ex-boyfriend. And at first events seemed to be happening apace with the dumping happening and the struggling to understand. The writing was snappy enough and was reminding me somewhat of Sophie Kinsella (both being British after all).

But Ashleigh could not let go. She went to his place of business trying to win him back, she yelled at him, she stalked him and his new girlfriend, she seemed determined to keep them together despite his obvious disinterest,  the good advice of other people in her life and the fact that she was taking time off, thereby threatening her ability to earn a living. I eventually gave up when she spent hundreds of pounds on a psychic hotline trying to find out if she'd get back together with her ex. Her desperation was appalling and what at first seemed to be funny grew depressing-her cartoonish antics revolted me.

BUT all my hope was not lost! I read the last few pages to see if it ended with her having finally banished her loser ex from her life. If it had, I would have persevered to the end. Alas it was not to be. She spends the entire book after this guy and doesn't seem to have learned anything. This might be a good read if you're angry after going through a break-up but it was not an enjoyable read for me at all.