Rating: 
Summary: Looked promising at first, but I'm giving up!
Review: My reader's radar failed me on this one! I really thought I'd bought a book that would be enjoyable and well-written, and for the first few pages it didn't disappoint, but then it became increasingly boring and confusing. I can't understand why someone with Ms. Block's level of education couldn't have done a better job with the chronology of this story. By the time I got to page 93, I was annoyed and frustrated with trying to figure out, from page to page, whether Justine was agonizing over Barry or Vince...and *when*! If she was thinking about Vince, were we backed up to her aborted romance/encounter with him and the resulting angst, or is she back in the present, fretting over this former lover(?) having entered her life again, as Barry's roommate? I am doing something I almost never do: I am quitting this book. Oddly enough, I have seen books much worse than this through to the end. But this one is especially frustrating and annoying because it is obvious that the author does have ability. I addition to the time-frame problem, most of the characters could have used a few more human qualities. Bombarding the reader with the characters' meanest and most disgusting thoughts does not automatically make for honest, realistic writing. The only person I like at all is Barry, because he seems to be the only one with a speck of warmth. Bottom line for this reader: too much work with too few rewards!
Rating: 
Summary: nasty unloving people with horrible jobs
Review: I feel a little silly for having bought the paperback at full price...I enjoyed the first few pages as I read it in the bookstore, but these characters are not ones who you want to live with over three hundred and fifty pages. Neither of them is a prize - Justine is an uptight workaholic with an intermittent sex drive, Barry an obnoxious marketer, both with unrealistically high estimates of their appeal to other people.
Is it a love story? can't be, because it's hard to imagine what they see in each other. A book to make you realize how repulsive it could be to live in NYC on 180k/year.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, just didn't get it
Review: Set in Manhattan, where driven lawyer Justine and marketing exec. Barry are thrown together in a near-death airplane experience where they share a barf-bag, I found this book reeking with characters that I wouldn't give the time of day. It was supposed to be a romantic comedy. I laughed at a few parts but mostly found myself continuing just to kill time while I waited for another book to become available at my library. I actually despised the main character Justine more than the others. And couldn't care less if the two got married or killed each other off. Although I put in the time, I didn't even finish the last 80 pages.NOTE-Although I genuinely did not enjoy this book, truth be told that I've just come off of Janet Evanovich's first 8 books in her Stephanie Plum series. I found them so funny, Evanovich may have ruined me for all other authors attempting humor.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, didn't get it
Review: Set in Manhattan, where driven lawyer Valerie and marketing exec. Barry are thrown together in a near-death airplane experience where they share a barf-bag, I found this book reeking with characters that I wouldn't give the time of day. It was supposed to be a romantic comedy. I laughted at a few parts but mostly found myself continuing just to kill time while I waited for another book to become available at my library. I actually despised the main character Justine, more than the others. And couldn't care less if the two got married or killed each other off. Although I put in the time, I didn't even finish the last 80-pages. NOTE-Although I genuinely did not enjoy this book, truth be told that I've just come off of Janet Evanovich's first 8 books in her Stephanie Plum series. I found Evanovich so funny, she may have ruined me for all other authors attempting humor.
Rating:
Summary: Was it just me....?
Review: Was it just me, or did other people really hate the character of Justine? I found her to be cold and calous and overall somewhat shallow. I could really sympathize with Barry and the angst he was feeling of being in his mid-thirties and unattached. I think Ms. Block's book was well written, however, I could not fully understand what Barry saw in Justine. I wish she had spent more time fleshing out some of the other characters. I think she did a good job of depicting the crisis that many professional 30 something year olds face today, finding themselves unattached with little time outside of their careers of meeting people.
Rating: 
Summary: Unlikable characters = Lackluster novel
Review: Though the writer tried to make the characters realistic and portray an honest snapshot of the beginning phases of a relationship, she portrayed both of the characters as so painfully unlikable that they became repulsive. That being said, why would anyone care if they actually find love together? It's about as appealing as a wet dog. As one reviewer said, please, do not waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Fast, easy reading
Review: Overall I liked the book but whoa! WAY too many characters were introduced! Didn't know who to keep track of at first, who was important to know. Justine and Barry went back and forth a little too much for me. One moment it was right, the next it was wrong. It was frustrating! Also, I was disappointed with the lack of conclusion to the Vince character, he just disappeared. It was a decent read overall but I'm sure there are better books out there. The author definitely has potential.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun with Uncertainty!
Review: I had a great time with this book. Justine and Barry, I know them both, and I understand them both. Vince, could have done without his point of view, but the rest of the characters, I could relate to all their feelings and inspirations and depressions. The author has captured the hearts and minds of those in 'confused' love. Confused love is the usual state of things and so it should be. No one can be certain and this novel captured the certainty of uncertainty. More!
Rating: 
Summary: Block has a perfect ear
Review: This is an amazingly funny book. The author has perfectly captured the way 90's anti-heroes and heroines speak and think. That they're often selfish and off-putting is part of the humor and adds to the enjoyment. If a social historian wants to know about this period l00 years from now, he/she should turn to this novel. It's much better written than Bridget Jones' Diary and hilarious from start to finish. I can't imagine any young urban person being unable to relate to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Ugh!
Review: I can't believe I allowed myself to read this book. Valerie Brock has proven that unlikeable fictional characters don't make a pleasant read. Please, don't waste your money on this. There are so many other novels that are well written and enjoyable.
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