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Rating: 
Summary: Does It Get Any Worse? It Never Improves!
Review: From the start, this book was absolutely annoying. The only reason I kept reading it was to see how much worse it could get. The character (Lily) has but two brain-cells, both arguing with one another! On one hand, she hasn't a clue how to respond to a somewhat awkwardly given compliment, then claims to know all the "socially appropriate responses that she had been force-fed since infancy", then again is unable to write a simple thank-you note. I was on page 185 and STILL didn't know what her problem was. Aside from a ridiculous story line (I don't want to get married but I'll pretend I do, then get a divorce) and paper-doll characters, why oh why does the author feel the need to quote, and match bits of history and world events on every third page? In "describing" a hotel: "an American cousin of the Paris landmark in which Ernest Hemingway spend the first days after the liberation and Marcel Proust ate chilled melon at midnight with Leon-Paul Frague."
Other examples littered throughout: Jim Burden in My Antonia; General Giap and Vietnam; North American Free Trade Agreement; Sioux outnumbering the Seventh Calvary at Little Big Horn; Janet Cooke and the Washington Post.. etc. etc. etc. These references somehow relate to Ohio life and wedding planning? Is Lily (or could it be the author herself?) just so so so much more intelligent, self-important, and superior, she can compare her (mother's choice of) candied almonds to the Donner Party's fate? I don't find any romance or comedy in this book. Though I've not read much Jane Austen, I certainly couldn't stomach it after suffering through the never-ending quotes and references. Give it a rest!!! As for the Martha Stewart parady- hasn't that been done a few hundred times? It was junior high-school quality. This "one month before her wedding" was the longest and most tiresome "month" I've ever spent. In fact, to borrow a phrase from the author, it reading this book reminded me of "Gary Kasparov contemplating an unsettling variation on the Sicilian defense."
Rating: 
Summary: If you want Jane Austen, read Jane Austen
Review: I picked up this book because of the references to Jane Austen-I thought it would be filled with the subtleties and complex characters of the great one herself. Boy, was I disappointed. Other than Lily, the characters are stock. (Although her parents did remind me somewhat of Mr. & Mrs. Bennett). I found the writing frightfully poor at points. I also found the constant idolatry of NY a bit grating. I have been to NY, and I didn't find the people at all superior to those of Cleveland, or any other city for that matter. Overall? A pleasant afternoon read, but if you're looking for true romance, strong characters, and an all around entertaining read, read Jane Austen instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A humorous book that made me think
Review: I really enjoyed this book and in fact was on this Amazon page hoping to see if there are more books by this author. The book is not Jane Austen and is not meant to be. However it is an witty look at contemporary mores involving courtship, love, romance, and marriage. It made me think about my own choices and my expectations of others. And it made me laugh! And also vow never to visit Ohio....
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