Rating: Summary: I'm usually easy to please Review: I was excited about reading this book, because I read quite a few articles of praise. However, I didn't see all of the great qualities that some of the critics saw.
This is not to say that the book was terrible. But, I am easy to please, and when I finished this book all I could say was, "what in the heck was that?"
There are a lot of characters, and I had a hard time keeping them straight. The main character was a nightmare. First of all, you aren't on her side because she is such a negative skeptic, and secondly she is a stick-in-the-mud.
The beginning was hard to get through, the middle a bit easier, and then BAM! You are hit with an ending that makes you want to sign the main character up for intense therapy.
I am glad I finished the book, but I have definitely read better chic-lit.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing! Review: I was really disappointed by this book. The main character Joy is a fairly sympathetic (albeit contrary) character, but you can't help but think that she's stupid to do what she does at the end. I don't want to give the ending away for those who haven't read it, though. Also, it seemed as though this book tried too hard to be clever and insightful. It fails, in my mind, because the author simply doesn't succeed in making me care very much about Joy's and Henry's views on marriage as an institution. If you like this type of genre, there are much better books out there. This one left me looking for the next chapter for a more satisfying ending - there wasn't one.
Rating: Summary: BORING!!!! Review: I was so excited to read this book, and I couldn't even make it past page 30!! It is SO LONG and SO BORING! Half the time you can't even keep up with the characters, let alone who is male and female. The author is way to wordy and jumps around too much. It was a good idea for a book, however, the author just doesn't know how to write. Stay away unless you need a lot of sleep!
Rating: Summary: Buy it for all your bridesmaids Review: If you're heading down the aisle this June, consider this as a gift for friends/bridesmaids. They'll know you have a sense of humor, and you'll seem like the calmest, sanest gal in town, measured against some of the pieces of work on this book. Loved it & laughed a lot.
Rating: Summary: Hilarious social satire. Review: Smart, arch, farcical, funny as heck. Clever and thoughtful, stylized and campy. Taking cues from Oscar Wilde & Noel Coward, Dawn Powell, Dorothy Parker. Antic, chatty, and absurd like old screwball comedies. A little pretentious, sure. But I'd rather that than more crappy cotton-candy chick lit. Not for everyone, obviously, but I think it's a genuinely amusing, well-written, fast-paced book - and I can't wait to see the movie.
Rating: Summary: Hilarious social satire. Review: Smart, arch, farcical, funny as heck. Clever and thoughtful, stylized and campy. Taking cues from Oscar Wilde & Noel Coward, Dawn Powell, Dorothy Parker. Antic, chatty, and absurd like old screwball comedies. A little pretentious, sure. But I'd rather that than more crappy cotton-candy chick lit. Not for everyone, obviously, but I think it's a genuinely amusing, well-written, fast-paced book - and I can't wait to see the movie.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful! Review: So rich! This book is filled with terrific insights and poignant moments. The protagonist, Joy, is real and honest--and so is what she goes through over the course of the book. Not only will this appeal to all those women who've wondered "Is he the One?", it'll also appeal to those who are just plain scared of committing. Enjoy.
Rating: Summary: 17 weddings and a funeral Review: So, there isn't technically a funeral in the novel. The funeral, in my opinion, should be held for the plot of this ho-hum novel. The protagonist, Joy Silverman, is not the marrying kind. Despite this fact, she has to endure seventeen weddings of her family and friends. Sounds like the makings for a great social comedy, right? Well, this one falls a bit short.
Joy's cynical personality gets annoying at times, and while some of her friends' characters have so much personality, they end up as ridiculous stereotypes for the most part.
While this book has a different take on the concept of modern marriage, its lackluster plot was ultimately a disappointment to this avid reader.
Rating: Summary: Very very satisfying read - Highly Recommended! Review: Spoiler Alert!! Don't read if you don't want the ending ruined for you! I just finished this last night, and I really truly loved it. The characterizations of Joy and her gaggle of friends were fantastic. It made me jealous, wishing that I still lived in NYC with my college friends and could get together for girls night out every month. I also adored Joy's family, her co-workers, and of course, Gabe, though he seemed a little too perfect, e.g. exactly how a woman would depict a perfect man (handsome, principled, artistic, loving, warm, not jealous or insecure but accepting of others' insecurities,etc., etc.). But my favorite part of the book was the ending. For once we have what could reasonably be considered a "chick book" (a la the "chick flick") that doesn't have a happy ending tied up in a neat little bow! As much as I hoped for Joy and Gabe to live happily ever after in holy matrimony, I can't say I was disappointed with the ending. The last chapter, which juxtaposed Henry and Delia's wedding with Joy's recovery from ending her engagement, was a work of art, and I cried while reading the poem at the end. As a married woman, I have to say I don't agree with Joy's arguments against marriage. I did, however, understand them and respect them, as well as her her need to live according to her beliefs, no matter how unhappy they may make her (hopefully just in the short term). So, not a necessarily happy ending, but a very satisfying one. I wish I hadn't sped through this book so quickly (but couldn't help myself) and I can't wait to read Ms. Cosper's next book!
Rating: Summary: Absolute MUST READ! Review: The book started out slow but once I got past about 40 pages, I couldn't put it down! Gabe reminds me of Colin Firth's character in Bridget Jones Diary - you want to marry a guy like THAT! Which is why I hated the ending although I totally understood Darcy's reason for it.Overall, it was hilarious, sad, funny as anything, frustrating, romantic, and REAL. Go read it.
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