Rating: 
Summary: A very pleasant surprise...
Review: I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. In fact, when I saw it on my bookshelf I couldn't even remember why I bought it. Imagine my surprise to find a witty, honest account of a woman's experience with engagement, relationships and life.The story is told in the first person by a woman in her late thirties who has given her boyfriend an ultimatum, which he accepts. As she moves toward marriage, she encounters many ups and downs and emotional obstacles, all of which are related in a straight forward manner, easy to believe and relate to. This is not a book about a woman who simply has to get married; she really cares about her intended, even panics at the thought of life without him. Yet she still experiences doubts and jitters, a clear illustration of the effect that marriage can have of even the strongest relationships. I highly recommend Otherwise Engaged to anyone, married, single, engaged or not. There's a lot in it that everybody can relate to, whether her fear of commitment or of being found out, proven to be the 'phony' she feels she is. And all of this is presented in a funny, smart and engaging (no pun intended) way. It's certainly good for a laugh, but I was very pleasantly suprised to find out how much more there is to it. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Thank God!!!!
Review: I am going to be married in four months. Assuming I'm not hit by a bus tomorrow or eat warm mayonnaise by accident. And I am going crazy. As a gift, my friend, Ann, gave me a copy of Otherwise Engaged, by Suzanne Finnamore. I was like, "you want me to READ???" She said, "Just read it." So I did.I would like my review to be a gigantic bullhorn to EVERY woman who is either engaged, about to be engaged, wanting to be engaged or wishing to be so. SOMEBODY FINALLY GETS IT.That's what I would shout. This book is absolutely important and wonderful. For the first time, SOMEBODY has come forward and talked about the anxiety that we feel when we are in a relationship. I mean the real stuff, the stuff we think but don't say and sometimes don't even admit we think. This is a very brave novel, and I am so personally grateful to the writer (Suzanne Finnamore) for writing it. Aside from being paralyzingly funny, it's all TRUE. She gets it. I have been going out of my mind thinking I am the only person who is feeling what I feel and then all of a sudden, SMACK. I read this book.I also saw New York Magazine recently because my husband-to-be is from NY and we subscribe, and there she was...except I didn't like one thing: they compared Otherwise Engaged to the Bridget Jones book and I read that (loved it) but this is really different...I almost want to say that BJ is about being single and Finnamore is about getting married, but that's not it. The difference is, to me, BJ is a really fun read. But Otherwise Engaged is astounding. Every word is perfect and you just read it and think, "I want to KNOW her..." There are so many good lines that I would wake up my boyfriend and say, "listen to this..." and he would say "what time is it?" and then I would say, "Just listen..." Because the thing is, it looks like a girl book, but it's really not. My guy was like, "This is really funny, who is this girl, this is great...that's so you..." This book gives me permission to feel what I feel. Validation, I guess is the term a shrink might use.Anyway, the only problem with the book is this: it goes from very funny to very deep and you have no idea when it comes. My copy of the book has ice cream stains on it because I laughed out loud and, well -splatt. So be forewarned. It IS this funny. Also, I hate the fact that the author had the nerve to end it. I NEED MORE!!! Don't borrow it, GET it...I know it's a little hard to get because everyone keeps selling out, but it's WORTH it. My advice is Amazon...only because all the bookstores in my area keep saying, "two more days" and they seem to be able to get books faster...Just don't combine it with food.
Rating: 
Summary: Four and 1/2 actually for this!
Review: I hesitate to call this chick lit because I believe it is a bit more serious than that. Which is a good thing! :) The book has a very serious vein in it, near the last third of the book. Which was very surpising to me, but the author made it work. Eve is an intelligent, together thirty something who has run the gauntlet of bad men and has still come out of it with not only a good man, but a good job and best friends. Yet she can still hear the biological clock ticking and, after over a year with Michael, belives engagement and marriage are not only the ONLY options, but the most logical ones. Bring on the bridal magazines, gorgeous rings, and wedding bells!
Yet, while she loves Michael, after engagement Eve fears losing herself. His sock on the floor is no longer a sock on the floor she says, its a sock on the floor for the rest of my life! She'll never get get to take home another man, never again be carefree and a "girl" in the sense that she is single. And then there are the pressures of the wedding, a nit picking mother-in-law, and a history of failed family relationships. Will she jump ship and swim for shore? After silly fights with Michael over chicken broth and garlic, long talks with her therapist Reuben, delving into her past, and comforting a dying best friend, Eve realizes what is really important: the man of your dreams, friends, and family. And that making a lifetime committment doesn't neccessarily mean selling your soul.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! A definate read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book...I purchased the book when it first came out. I have been engaged for over a year and my wedding is in September. It was so refreshing to read something that was so funny and true! It was like, someone out there REALLY gets it! I have gone through similar experiences with the wedding getting closer and its a very stressful time. I can totally relate to Eve and my fiance could relate to Michael, especially the part about eating chicken! I even read parts of it to my fiance and we were both on the floor with laughter! I loved this book and I have given each of my newly-engaged friends a copy of their own. I recommend this to anyone getting married, it will take the edge off all the insanity and stress during this time and one day you both can laugh about it! Suzanne - I look forward to reading your next one! Keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: She did it her way
Review: Finally, a real human being - Eve is a successful career woman who is facing her toughest "account" - marriage - how she negotiates her way through the many perils of pre-marital stresses is only a part of this story. Eve has to deal with previous marriages; children; AIDS, violent death of a much loved father and friend and all this as she is planning for the most important moment of her life - her wedding. Eve is not a powder puff of a woman, rather she is someone is on the "firing line" in a demanding and competitive job - not to mention a biological clock ticking louder every moment. How she manages to finally "bring it all together" in such a funny, compassionate and real account makes Otherwise Engaged a total delight and education in what it feels like to be a woman who lives her life without apologies. She may not always do it as others might, but she does it her way and this makes this book a totally honest and intriguing read.
Rating:
Summary: Smiled throughout the whole book
Review: I am amazed at the reviewers who panned this book. Can only wonder if they are unclear on the concept or simply take themselves too seriously.
For me, this was laugh-out-loud fun. Brilliant, wry and full of clever lines, even this old longtime married woman got plenty out of it.
But more than that, this is a tender-hearted, observant commentary on relationships and the whole merry-go-round of insecurities and joy therein.
I admire the author immensely for her ability to present fully-fleshed characters with such crisp, almost staccato phrasing. Anyone who has ever tried to write a novel should appreciate how difficult this is and what an accomplishment it is for a first-timer.
As an added bonus, being a San Francisco Bay Area resident for most of my life, I found the specifics of life in The City to be wonderfully engaging (pardon the pun), too.
Easy to read, hard to put down. Loved it. Want more.
Rating:
Summary: FUNNY AND TOUCHING
Review: I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. It had me laughing with admiration for the whip-smart heroine, Eve, and nodding in understanding at her thoughts and fears as the wedding approaches.
You don't need to be a young, newly engaged woman to enjoy this book, in fact I am going to give copies to my friends of all ages.
My only complaint is that the author has only written one other book!
We need lots more from this talented writer!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Boooorrrrring
Review: This book was simply dreadful. I read it while I was on my honeymoon and promptly forgot I read it. Nothing about the book is memorable - plot development is slow, and character development is weak. I would love to give a more detailed review, but this novel just doesn't stay in your mind, and I can't remember any details from it. It was pessimistic, bitter, and disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: something different and refreshing
Review: "Otherwise Engaged" was a smash hit! I loved Eve's take on the trials and tribulations of deciding whether to take the plunge or not....it's almost like a diary of sorts...she relives her whole engagement up until the day of the wedding.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic.
Review: This is the one to buy and to read and to give to your girlfriends so you can laugh together and realize that it's only marriage, after all. But the author does a marvelous job of telling Eve's story as she details,month by month, her year-long engagement to the man of her dreams. Those "dreams of the perfect man and marriage" become a little intense and downright scary at times, when Eve considers her own parents' divorce and the statistics in general! Yet the honesty of her fear is well put and funny as well, and you know she is not going to bail. Or do you? Hilarious and intelligently written, Otherwise Engaged makes a superb summer read, an original and worthwhile wedding shower gift or bridesmaid favor - And what luck that even the bookjacket is nicely done. Bravo!
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