Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment, the writing leaves much to be desired.
Review: A huge fan of the British "chick lit" scene, I ordered this book for a lark. Unfortunately, I've become accustomed to sharp wit and believable characters and I found this book to be a disappointment. The protagonist, Alice, is flat and boring, with very little growth throughout the book despite suddenly realizing she can fit into her roommate's clothing (what is it about "fat" girls in these books suddenly finding they're skinny overnight?).
The author may be successful with her other books, but "Catching Alice" read like a first-rate hack -- her descriptions of Los Angeles and San Diego were both uninspired and unresearched. They ranged from describing the drive south from LA as the clogged streets of the city giving way to a meandering coastal drive (trust one who does it often -- this is not the case), to naming one of the Santa Monica hangouts "Omlette Parlor" (Americans don't use the extra "te" -- ever.) to the completely ridiculous assertion that the news was predicting an earthquake!!!!
What's more, the writing style can only be described as spastic, as Naylor jumps point of view from character to character without warning and, more often than not, without cause. Suddenly in the middle of a paragraph the reader is inside the head of someone else, seeing Alice through their eyes, when a simple first-person or third-person account through Alice's eyes would have been quite enough. To top it off, the dialog is uninspired (and Americans' speech is clogged with "Brit-isms"), the plot is slow, and the transitions leave much to be desired. Wit is used sparingly and possibly hilarious situations are all but ignored.
If you care about craft, plot, character, or accuracy at all, pass this one by in favor of Bridget Jones or the Shopaholic.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliantly funny modern fairytale with a twist.
Review: Alice begins as many young British ladies in this currently popular genre of books do - she is broke, her job is at a dead-end, her love life is swirling down the drain .. well, you get the picture. But where "Catching Alice" takes a different path is that this heroine takes the opportunity to move to Los Angeles under the wing of her old American schoolfriend who has a good heart but is one of life's shallower creatures. Alice lands herself a pretty good job in PR (the Californians can't resist the British accent) and so begins her new life in la-la-land. This books contains lots of characters and plot lines and is really quite a lot of fun. Its a quick, light-hearted read, doesn't pretend to be anything greater and takes an amusing look at what happens when people are transplanted to a new culture and environment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tale of Cross-Cultural Exploits
Review: Alice begins as many young British ladies in this currently popular genre of books do - she is broke, her job is at a dead-end, her love life is swirling down the drain .. well, you get the picture. But where "Catching Alice" takes a different path is that this heroine takes the opportunity to move to Los Angeles under the wing of her old American schoolfriend who has a good heart but is one of life's shallower creatures. Alice lands herself a pretty good job in PR (the Californians can't resist the British accent) and so begins her new life in la-la-land. This books contains lots of characters and plot lines and is really quite a lot of fun. Its a quick, light-hearted read, doesn't pretend to be anything greater and takes an amusing look at what happens when people are transplanted to a new culture and environment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: There's Something About Alice!
Review: Alice is having a horrible week! That is, until her American friend, Tash, invites her to L.A. Tash is beautiful, bold, and sophisticated. Of course, she's also tan and blonde. Alice is a pale, frumpy, shy British chick having a hard time adjusting to Tash's Californian lifestyle. Soon, Tash has Alice enrolled in kickboxing classes, drinking nasty, "nutritious" herbal drinks, and attending cocktail parties with Hollywood's most glamourous. Even though Alice doesn't fit in with her new surroundings, there are quite a few guys noticing her. Alice manages to make a few jealous female enemies during her stay. Read this book to find out what's so great about Alice! I'll just say that she's a very likeable heroine, brilliantly invented by Clare Naylor. This book has everything--romance, comedy, female bonding, and even a dangerous little subplot involving Alice's cousin, Simon. This is a very entertaining, light read!
Rating:
Summary: Poor
Review: clare naylor has cheeky, very british sense of humour and so do all of her characters, even the americans. naylor appears to have some difficulty allowing the los angelenos to sound like los angelenos, rather than using british slang and terminology that they probably never heard before much less uttered. naylor also makes liberal use of foreshadowing, which isn't always bad, but is often confusing. the book itself was a quick, fun read, the kind of book that if you think about it too long afterward, you'll only be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Another cute Brit Chick Adventure...
Review: Clare Naylor's novel *Catching Alice* falls under the popular category of Brit Chick Lit. Alice Lewis, Naylor's heroine, loses her job, her boyfriend, and her self-respect in days, and only her childhood best friend, Tash, can save her. Add a twist when Tash invites Alice to take a much needed holiday in Los Angeles. Tash, a Hollywood transplant, finds Alice a job, a membership at the gym, and several possible boy toys. Despite her struggles to remain hopelessly in love with her ex and the dismissive nature of all of her L.A. acquaintances, she learns how to like herself again. All while a secret admirer, possible stalker, works his way into her heart. This was a quick read and very entertaining... I'm looking forward to reading more from Naylor.
Rating:
Summary: Another cute Brit Chick Adventure...
Review: Clare Naylor's novel *Catching Alice* falls under the popular category of Brit Chick Lit. Alice Lewis, Naylor's heroine, loses her job, her boyfriend, and her self-respect in days, and only her childhood best friend, Tash, can save her. Add a twist when Tash invites Alice to take a much needed holiday in Los Angeles. Tash, a Hollywood transplant, finds Alice a job, a membership at the gym, and several possible boy toys. Despite her struggles to remain hopelessly in love with her ex and the dismissive nature of all of her L.A. acquaintances, she learns how to like herself again. All while a secret admirer, possible stalker, works his way into her heart. This was a quick read and very entertaining... I'm looking forward to reading more from Naylor.
Rating:
Summary: A charming and funny romantic comedy
Review: Having read Love: A User's Guide, I couldn't wait for the release of Clare Naylor's second novel. Catching Alice, though not as good as Love, is a charming and hilarious British romantic comedy that would keep you turning the pages and hoping that the heroine would find happiness. Having lost her boyfriend, job, apartment and thin figure almost simultaneously, Alice feels as though a dark cloud is upon her life. Her life, however, takes a dramatic change when Tash, her American friend, lures her to Los Angeles with the promise of a glamorous job, trendy clothes and endless cocktail parties. No sooner she arrives to LA than her lifestyle changes. She even has her very own stalker. Who is this mysterious man? Will Alice settle in LA? And does the fact that this man shows every sign of being a stalker bother her? There are some hilarious turns in the story. Are you in the mood for a droll, modern Cinderella story? Read Catching Alice. You will love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: I started this book after reading another Naylor's book. Dog Handling is much more better than this one. I even could not finish this book.
Rating:
Summary: Been there done that
Review: I'd give this book one star if it weren't moderately mindnumbingly entertaining. It's a poor imitation of Bridget Jones Diary and other better written books of the genre born out of Helen Fielding's success. The author even borrows from well-known Seinfeld episodes by re-creating the "soup nazi" as the bagel nazi. If you're going to be unoriginal - at least copy something that's not as widely popular as Seinfeld schticks!
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