Rating:  Summary: A waste of money and time Review: I purchased this book in an airport bookstore over the weekend. I wasted my money. Yes, it was an easy read, but as others have mentioned, the editing was horrible and the main character not very interesting. Actually, none of the characters seem to have any personality at all unlike Bridget Jones, who was brimming with the stuff. To even put this book in the same catagory as the above mentioned novel or "The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing" is an insult to their authors. Red Dress Ink has a great concept, but there is more to being a 20-something single girl than great boots and dating. I'd like characters with a bit more substance next time around.
Rating:  Summary: All Aboard the Milkrun!! Review: If you are in the mood for a quick, light, refreshing read, then Milkrun is for you. I recently finished a very lengthy, heavy book, so reading Milkrun was like a breath of fresh air for me. A simple tale about a girl getting dumped and her determination to get over it quick -- something a lot of us can relate to.Twenty-four-year-old Jackie Norris just got the boot in the tackiest way -- via e-mail. Her boyfriend, Jeremy, has been off "finding himself" in Thailand -- in the arms of someone else. Jackie is devastated but will not let it get her down as she swears to get back in the dating game. Meanwhile, Jackie's roommate, Samantha, is fed-up with Marc, her no-commitment boyfriend of five years. So she issues the ultimatum -- and the response wasn't quite what she was expecting. Told with a funny, wise-cracking sense of humor, Milkrun is definitely a winner. Not a deep-meaning dating drama by any means, but there are many situations in the story that are highly relateable, and readers will most likely recognize a part of Jackie in themselves. I urge all readers who want an easy, no-frills read to pick this book up and enjoy. The perfect in-between-books book or for a lazy day on the porch swing.
Rating:  Summary: Quick and entertaining Review: In the vein of the Bridget Jones phenonmenon, Mlynowski has written a novel of 20-something dating angst. This is not a deep book, nor does it reveal new discoveries of the mind of the 20-something female dater. What this book does have is tons of funny one-liners and very good writing that truly captures and convey the characters. Especially humorous are the scenes of Jackie dating. While critics may see the selection of guys as cliche, I felt this book worked because they are a pretty accurate representation of a lot of guys that are out there. Also, Jackie doesn't do anything unique to meet guys, so you expect that she is going to find run-of-the-mill guys. If she started hanging out in art galleries, maybe she'd meet an interesting, moody artist. But she doesn't, so she doesn't. The characterizations of Jackie, her friends and the guys she date rang especially true for me because they reminded me of so many people I know. Jackie and her friends are straightforward characterizations that one expects to find in a novel like this. While this is not the most unique novel, it really is a quick and entertaining diversion. The story of Milkrun succeeds because of Mlynowski's witty and clever writing.
Rating:  Summary: Fast Reading and Disgustingly Cute Terminology Review: For a first-time author, Mlynowski certainly knows how to put it together. Her continuously tormented, but brutally truthful character "Jackie" is someone who all women can relate to in the forum of relationships:) There is not a single romantic situation or insecure thought left out. And the dialogue between the women in this book provides readers with non-stop laughs. I took this attractive looking novel with me to my vacation in Cancun - and I read it all in one lovely afternoon on the sand with the water at my feet -- it was altogether divine:)
Rating:  Summary: When will I learn to avoid tripe? Review: I enjoyed Bridget Jones as much as the next girl, but the trend has gone too far at this point. The plot of these knock-offs has become entirely predictable (something like girl is alone, girl dates all the wrong guys, girl finds true love right under her nose with a man she had previously ruled out and relegated to friend status) and this book is no exception. I knew the ending after the first few chapters. I suppose it made me laugh a few times, but not enough to make Mylnowski's predictable prose and cardboard characters worth reading about. If you are looking for a ... copy of Bridget Jones, this certainly fits the bill and may be okay as a spring break book, but otherwise I would not recommend this book to anyone who values plot or creativity.
Rating:  Summary: Skip this one Review: Jackie is 24 year old single woman who recently moved to Boston to be near her boyfriend Jeremy. Of course, before he moves, Jeremy decides he needs some time alone touring Thailand to 'find himself.' Before he leaves, he suggests that they see other people, and she says nothing. Of course, during the course of his trip, he finds someone, and sends Jackie an e-mail telling her that he's seeing someone. Jackie decides to make him regret his decision, and starts going to a local bar, Orgasm, with her friend, to try to meet a new man...and of course Jeremy eventually comes back into her life...and well, I won't ruin the end. One of the biggest things that annoyed me about this book was the extremely poor editing. There were misspelled words everywhere, which is rather ironic considering Jackie is a copy editor! One would think that they would take the time to at least check for misspelled words. I found Jackie and the other female characters to be extremely shallow and weak. It seemed that their lives revolved around finding a boyfriend, as if they couldn't survive without a man. Jackie oscillates from liking Jeremy, to her high-school crush Jon, to Tim, to Andrew, to Jeremy, to Andrew....it seemed like a different man every chapter. She started to like any man who paid attention to her. Andrew touches her shoulder at one point, and she 'realizes' that she likes him. Please. One would think she would take a step back and try to figure out what she really wanted....but she felt like nothing without a man. I'm extremely disappointed in this novel. I enjoy books in this genre, and this is by far the lowest-caliber one I've read. Skip this one.
Rating:  Summary: You can't judge a book by its cover Review: The cover of this book is brilliant - the content is far from... I don't know which is more absurd: a) that an editor at red dress ink would agree to publish this book or b) that the author believes a bar called 'Orgasm' would actually exist in Boston. Sarah Mlynowski set out to write a work of fun, light, chick-lit. I get it. This has certainly been a successful genre where readers keep going back for more. I am one such reader. Bridget Jones and The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing are two of my all-time favorite books. However, Mlynowski fails where the competition succeeds. "Milkrun" lacks the wit and intelligence of the others in its category. I found myself cringing at the author's one-liners. It was like listening to a bad comedian. Rather than relate to the heroine, I was annoyed with her. She is a self-obsessed bore. More annoying than the lead character, was the author's apparent lack of knowledge on Boston. Initially it was exciting to have the setting based, here, in Boston - in the end, however, I wish she'd just based it in someplace where she was more familiar. It is apparent that the author opened up a Boston guide book and tossed in a few sights for flavor. There are blatant errors that even our copyeditor heroine missed (i.e not capatalizing the North End). I suppose our 20 something was too busy sliding on her 'slut boots' and trying to woo all those 'Brahmins.' Save yourself from this one.
Rating:  Summary: Entertaining, but Jackie's a little too much of a princess Review: While I'm always up for a good romp, especially one that features black boots and boys in striped sweaters, I found the style of "Milkrun" a little too self-conscious, reminding me that this was a book written by Sarah about Jackie, not Jackie herself regaling me with her woes. And yes, a little too much blabbering. 2 ways of saying something is okay, but I'm pretty much over it by the third. However, just because I didn't like Jackie very much didn't stop me from being interested in what happened to her. I shouldn't say didn't like--I just didn't connect to her as I did with the heroine in Melissa Senate's "See Jane Date". Perhaps because she was a little too flippant, and there's no way I would want her as a roomie (clean your own bathroom, and throw out the sour milk, please!), but that's ok, it's fiction and I wanted to see what would happen. In fact, I'd rather this than heroines who are too sweet to live. Like others, I found the ending too abrupt, and the copyediting woes are interesting, considering Sarah herself works for the Red Dress Ink publisher. Still, I'd give the author another shot. I'm interested to see what she'll come up with next.
Rating:  Summary: A fast, fun read. Review: For sharp writing and laughs, Milkrun is not quite on the level of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic epics, or Dorothy Samuels' hilarious skewering of America's celebrity obsession in her recent novel, Filthy Rich. But author Sarah Mlynowski has come up with a highly amusing tale of a young woman who suddenly finds herself navigating the decidedly challenging singles scene after she gets unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend. Readers looking for a breezy romp of the Bridget Jones variety won't regret giving Milkrun a try.
Rating:  Summary: A laugh-out-loud account of single life Review: I couldn't put "Milkrun" down! I found myself laughing out loud in the middle of class. It tells the story of twenty-four year old Jackie, a suddenly-single girl new to Boston. After she is dumped by her boyfriend Jeremy, (who's 'finding himself' in Thailand) she decides to prove that she is a guy-magnet and that he'll regret ever breaking up with her. I enjoyed reading about her various trials with jerks, perverts, and plain weirdos that she dated, and the descriptions of her situations are hilarious. The only reasons I didn't give 5 stars was because the book went by too quickly, for one, and Jackie seemed really immature and superficial. But don't let that ruin it! "Milkrun" is a great read gauranteed to put a smile on your face!
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