On The Verge

Rating:
Summary: Self-centered, self-importance
Review: Like other readers here, I found Eve to be overly vapid, boring, able to snap her fingers and men come flying...yet she seeks pity from the reader for poor poor Eve who up until the beginning of the book has lived rent free with her parents who cooked and cleaned for her. She's self-centered, self-imporant and feels that the world somehow owes her something. The plot of the book trods along hoping that something happens to jar Eve out of her egostical cocoon and help her grow up! But what is it that comes along? Well, she meets the owner of her company, tells him off and he hands her a check for $10K. Sure. On daytime television that may happen. But not in real life. Not in this day and age of layoffs and corporate fallouts. Eve -- at 24 -- feels she deserves a good job just because she wants one, yet she makes no effort to take on more responsibilities at work and show them there's more to her than someone who stares at her computer screen all day. How am I supposed to be sympathetic to her plight? It's all concrete evidence of this me, me, me generation out there in the work force unwilling to pay their dues or work their way up the ladder. Skip this book and go for something a lot more entertaining and sympathetic like L.A. Woman. At least it's different...not just another wanna be writer slumming away for the man in a publishing house until someone recognizes how spectacular she is. Sorry, but life's not that way. Also...too many typos and grammatical errors in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Holy tripe, Batman! It's chick-lit!
Review: Only it's the worst chick-lit ever and if it has to be given a star at all, then that star should be located in a galaxy several light-years away. This book is terrible! I could not get past the first 50 pages because it is just so boring.

Why isn't Red Dress Ink interested in publishing more novels with heart, like Melissa Senate's "See Jane Date"? It instead churns out awful boring formulaic tomes about immature girls in NYC who don't understand why, at age 23, they are still paying their dues in whatever job they have in journalism (and they almost never have a job in anything else.)

Eve works for a magazine called "Bicycle Boy" and lives with her parents in New Jersey. She has a glamorous friend named Tabitha (don't they all have some supposedly glamorous friend?) Tabitha has a massive superiority complex -- perhaps because she is named after the kid in "Bewitched" and not named Kate like all the other books.

Tabitha is not interesting, nor is Roseanne, Eve's college friend and roommate after she moves to NYC from Hartford, CT. Nor is Eve, who is whiny, ... and awful. This does not make for a charming protagonist, despite what all of these cookie-cutter authors seem to believe. These hopelessly boring girls do not have jobs, dates or wild nights (which are actually very tame) worth reading.

This is just plain bad, especially for a debut. Stop her before she writes again.

Rating:
Summary: Chick-lit with an edge...
Review: Out of the seven Red Dress Ink books I've read, On the Verge is probably the most different. But is that a good or bad thing -- I guess it all depends on what you prefer. To me, this book was still chick-lit, but less chick-lit than most. Here's why:

On the Verge tells the story of 23-year-old Eve Vitali and her life after college. She is employed as a glorified secretary at a huge magazine conglomerate, although the magazine who employs her is none other than "Bicycle Boy," which is bad in two ways: 1) She does no sort of physical exercise, and 2) She is not a boy. Eve's friend, Tabitha, works in the same building but for the more glamorous magaine, "NY By Night," therefore assuring their admittance into all sorts of celebrity-infused parties and charity functions.

The story doesn't really go anywhere as far as plot - it's more of a slice-of-life character study of a typical New York City girl looking forward to the future and the greatness that lies in waiting. This is all pretty much standard in your average chick-lit story. But what I think sets this book apart is the tone that Ariella Papa chose to use. The character of Eve has attitude, and her humor is not in-your-face, but more funny about 30 seconds afterwards. It took some getting used to, but around 70 or 80 pages in, it grew on me. I also think this book was less about finding a husband and more about finding career success.

I enjoyed the book, although it took some time to get into the story. Sometimes I felt like I'd been reading for ages only to glance up and notice just 10 pages had gone by. Although this book has a different feel to it, it is not my favorite Red Dress Ink book (Dating Without Novocaine holds that honor). But I would definitely be interested in reading another book by Ariella Papa, an author I feel is truly "on the verge."

Rating:
Summary: Fun Summer Read!
Review: The story of Eve Vitali was just what i was looking for after a long year of grad school and work. This book is fun to read (i actually laughed out loud a few times)and utilizes witty humor. From rendevous with men to bar room girl talk, i was instantly hooked. A refreshing novel for us twenty-somethings.

Rating:
Summary: Unlikeable characters
Review: This author tries very very hard to create a cross between Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, but it doesn't work. The main character is spoiled and shallow, and not even in a charming way. Having the narrator drink a lot and have one-night stands and whine about her not-bad job is supposed to make her interesting and sympathetic, but it doesn't. Her friends are boring or annoying or crude, and the men are cardboard cutouts.

This book was in severe need of an editor, not only for structure but length. This piece of fluff should not have been allowed to go on for 300 pages. I suspect it wasn't edited at all--it just went from author's manuscript to press. The author does have some good lines and I think she might be capable of writing a better book someday.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This book is great I couldnt put it down I think I read it in like two days. I am 20 yr old woman and I am not really a reader but I read this book and I cant wait to read up and out!

Rating:
Summary: Easy, fun read
Review: This book is so easy to relate to if you are in your 20's, single, and working at an unchallenging job... and most of your time is spent going out with friends and on dates or at least thinking about those things. It is set in New York, and she is very descriptive about the city - I felt like I was right there.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: This book was lent to me by my best friend... and I'm so glad it was! I started the book on Sunday afternoon and finished it Monday night. I could not put this book down. I laughed out loud and said "Oh no she didn't" I don't know how many times! The answer to the "Underwear" mystery is great!!!

If you are a young woman working in an office you NEED to read this book! It will make you look at things in a whole new light!!!


Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs up--a MUST read!!!
Review: This book was so good. I bought it just because it sounded interested, and I felt that I would relate to the main character, Eve Vitali, a recent college grad and single. The book was so fun to read, and I didn't want to put it down. I love that it was over 300 pages long becuase it is definitely worth the money. I would recommend this book to anyone in their twenties who just graduated from college, and is trying to get their life on the right track. You can totally relate!

Rating:
Summary: Great for all ages!
Review: This is a great book for all ages whether you are early 20's or late 50's it will remind you have how you were or how you are. A wonderful outlook on the young adult life of a female!!! Must read!