Rating: 
Summary: Liked it? . . Sorta, but not really.
Review: Rapier wit and memorable one-liners all served quick and steaming from the politically correct kitchen of Susanne Finnamore. I've never read a book that made me want to both laugh and barf from paragraph to paragraph. The marital anxiety, coupled with the jealousy of Micheal's past girlfriends, is funny stuff. But the "fillers" i.e. the subplots, are simply rehashed leftist blather, an over-obvious attempt to be hip, "so San Franciso." Her religious relative is, of course, a drunk; the gay friend is, of course, dying of AIDS; and the discerning reader will, of course, smell the agenda. I give it 5 stars for wit, but a no-star for parading all that political correctness across the fictional stage. It wasn't needed. Hope this helps. ps: Susanne, there really is something else up there besides a xxxxing chariot..
Rating: 
Summary: A song to the soul of the 30 year old modern woman
Review: A refreshingly honest sharing of the feelings used in dating past everyone else's idea of your "prime". Read - experience - identify - enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Just keep reading- It's worth it!
Review: When I started reading this book, I thought, "This girl is whiny. I don't even like her". But I just kept reading. I am so glad I did! After a while Eve becomes someone you can relate to. I read this just before I became engaged. I was in the "OH MY GAWD, WHAT AM I THINKING" phase, the phase where you aren't sure you're willing to be unselfish in a relationship. You're not certain you are ready to commit, not because you don't love him, but because this is the biggest thing you have ever done, and you're not sure you're ready for it. Anyway.. I really loved it once I got past the first few chapters... I recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC
Review: This was a book pick at my neighborhood bookstore in Boston and so I brought it home and was thrilled to discover a new voice that makes me laugh and think. Every chapter was a treat -- very intelligently rendered and its style adroit. HIGHLY recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't even finish it....
Review: I have never NOT finished a book - it took everything I had just to get to the middle, in hopes that it would get better. It didn't. Eve annoyed me and so did Michael. I would hate to know either of them! If I ever had a relationship like that I never would have gotten married!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and so very, very funny
Review: This book is one of those you pass around to girlfriends and they call you to quote passages. It is so much more than a book about engagement -- it has real depth and the kind of dry humor an intelligent reader appreciates. Its spare style never uses ten words when five will do. A very quick read - I challenge anyone to stop reading it once you've started. Everyone I know read it in less than three sittings -- very compelling and absolutely hilarious. None of ths sugar coated fairy tales for this writer, thank you! Finnamore tells it like it is, and some people may not be able to handle that -- so they should stick to softer material. This book is for the grown up and the honest women you know you don;t mind laughing at themselves and the crazy institution called marriage. It's also a very touching love story and inclludes some fantastic characters that you will immediate be able to picture in your mind. A genuine talent. Can't wait for her next book.....
Rating:
Summary: For Shirley
Review: My friend Shirley gave me the hard back and cassette tape of Otherwise Engaged as a Christmas Gift. What a treat! The book was so "right on" and funny as well as well written; and the cassette tape as read by Linda Hamilton was hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet and Maddeningly Real
Review: I sped through this book in just a few hours, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Otherwise Engaged is the story of Eve, the narrator, teetering on the brink of lunacy as the months of her year-long engagement fly by and her wedding looms closer and closer. Though I couldn't really relate to the Valium-popping, therapist-going stress-bomb that Eve becomes, I still thoroughly enjoyed Suzanne Finnamore's writing. It's very stream of consciousness, very funny, very real. Here's an example: "This morning, the traffic manager blindsides me in the elevator. She is feral. If I squint just a little, she is a starved wolverine. She snarls and frets and talks about how we need final three-quarter-inch tape by the first. I am afraid and want to kill her with a stick." When I read this passage in bed, I laughed so loud that I woke up my boyfriend. Many of the subplots of the novel are quite interesting, such as Eve's difficulties at work and the illness of a close friend. A recommended read for anyone, whether you're married, thinking about it, or not even close.
Rating: 
Summary: Stop now before it's too late!
Review: I had such high hopes for this book, perhaps that was part of the problem, or perhaps because I'd just finished reading a few by Marian Keyes for whom humor comes so effortlessly. Whatever the problem the book was terribly disappointing. The one character one theme got old very quickly and towards the end I just wanted to beg the main character to get married or hurry up and die, incidentally if the main character had died I wouldn't have cared, never a good sign. The book certainly could have been enjoyable but so much of the humor seemed to forced and none of the characters were likeable enough and I really, really wanted to like them. Skip this one and get anything by Marian Keyes instead.
Rating:
Summary: Wity and Memorable
Review: This is a low-key but surprisingly witty account of the months leading up to the main character's wedding. Riding the roller coaster of one woman's doubts, fears, and hopes as her wedding approaches was enjoyable. The writing style is intelligent and sometimes understated, which only adds irony and humor to some of the hysterical moments in which the main character finds herself. Quotes like, "They say swans mate for life. I wish they could talk. I have questions.", or "Suddenly, it's not just a sock on the floor, it's a sock on the floor for the rest of my life!" are priceless, delivered in the narrator's quirky but likeable voice. I had thought that the subject of this book would be a bit tiresome, but in reality, I found that there was much more to this story than planning a wedding; It's a story about taking great leaps in life. I laughed, I cried, I wished my boyfriend could understand.
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