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Rating: 
Summary: Hilariously Funny
Review: I read this book over the summer and I think it's one of the best and definately funniest books I have ever read. I would recomend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Misses the mark
Review: I won't spend too much time recapping the plot, because others have done it, and really, it's a thin plot to begin with. It's just basically the story of the life of Katya. She is the ultimate narcissist, who treats everyone around her like crap. I thought the premise was amusing, as it seemed like it would be a good satire on the whole "Bridget Jones" thing. I did find the book engrossing when I started it; there is no doubt that the author has some writing skills. The pace is good, some of the jokes are funny, and the intelligence of the author (and the lead character, really - Katya's intelligence is about her only redeeming quality) do shine through. Some of the subplots - i.e. the foster child, Katya as birth coach, and a few other things, as gags. The book could be a good outlet for the reader's dark side. It just doesn't work in the end.What's wrong with it? Katya is just someone I couldn't relate to at all. She's completely one dimensional. All the characters, in fact, are paper thin. Lang makes the mistake of thinking that satirical and stereotypical are synonymous. They aren't. In fact, the satire would've been even more pointed had the book been more well rounded. It also doesn't help that the situations in the book are just that - situations. There is really very little in the way of an ongoing story. Even the bits that worked, mentioned above, don't mesh together well enough to form a real story. The diary format also doesn't work here. What Lang is striving for - a good satire of the whole 'Bridget' genre - is more effectively accomplished in Slave to Fashion. I'd suggest you just read that instead.
Rating:
Summary: Unrelenting and Unrepenting!
Review: Maybe it was easier for me to love this book because I never read Bridget Jones, and everyone seems to compare the two. Katya Livingston is over the top! Mean, lazy, spiteful, and mercenary. She never lets up. I laughed out loud--a lot! The book chronicles Katya's journey from overpaid copywriter to overpaid gossip columnist to overpaid tell-all book author to unemployed homeless person, and back to overpaid TV writer and ultimately, star of a Hollywood B movie. Behind her is a path of destruction, and no one is safe: not her friends, not her family, not even small furry animals. Realistic? Nah. Not meant to be. Though I have to admit some chastity-belt nonsense went too far, this is *meant* to be outlandish. It does take a while to fall into the rhythm of the book, to realize that Katya won't be redeeming herself anytime soon, and the laughs will be continuous. I kept trying to think of the word that describes this kind of humor. There's sarcasm and irony in it, but neither is quite right. Dry? Droll? Absurd? I'm still not sure, but it's *not* goofy or obvious humor. Maybe I should just say it's hilarious! The reader, Josephine Bailey, nailed this audiobook performance. Her deadpan delivery was perfect for this preposterous tale. I don't think I would've enjoyed reading this book on the page as much as I did hearing it in her wonderful English accent. If you're ready for something different, get this audiobook, sit back, and enjoy the wicked, wild ride!
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