Anna I hated her character. I think Wendy Holden depicted her as lacking in confidence, spineless, stupid and lost. There is not an itch of reality in the character. If WH was attempting to create a character who is likeably clumsy - then she failed. 1. How did she get with Seb? Why does she allow him to kiss other women in the first chapter? Why does she continue to stay with him after she hears he has been calling her bad in bed? Why is she happy to be a live in maid?2. In what universe does a self respecting woman accept a proposal from a man after 2 dates? Why does she stay for so long in Scotland when she realises that she is being used?3. Why does she allow Geri to dedicate her EVERY move? 3. Why does she allow Geri and Jamie to simply get together? Is that NOT her best friend and NOT the man she moved to Scotland for?4. Why does she decide to move in with an author she has just meet?5. Is renting a property in London so difficult that it is easier to just move from relationship to relationship?6. Why does Anna have no back story? Her mother and father are mentioned as part of a conversation during a date with Jamie - but that is it. Where are her friends and family who should be questioning her stupid decisions?Cassandra Now, this is a character I liked. She was diva, fiery and funny. I liked her alcoholic tendencies and her unrelenting defence of her spawn of a child Zac. JettSleazy and pervy. Probably spot on thenSeb/Jamie/Robbie Boring. One dimensional. PointlessThis book was disappointing. There was potential. Maybe Anna moving in with Cassandra and sorting her out? Ghost writing for her and then being discovered as the star. I didn't like Anna's hopeless attempts at love - and even half hearted attempts at writing. Such a frustrating book. The second I have read from WH - but it wont be the last.
I picked this up because I desperately needed something fluffy to keep from thinking for a couple of days. This met that requirement, anyway: it's definitely the kind of nonsense that leads to dropping a few IQ points.Don't get me wrong: there's nothing wrong with fluff and some can be quite fun to read. This just wasn't one of those: I found the main character to be an insipid, mousy doormat with no "sparkle" and the secondary characters all rather hateful in a cartoonish way (too-skinny drunken social-climbing harridan; evil spoiled child from hell; philandering rock star husband of drunken harridan; philandering handsome (ex)boyfriend of insipid doormat main character; random, rather vacant Scottish laird; adventurous, lucky bestie).The plot doesn't really matter - it was too stupid to get into here and just reminded me of why I don't really read these books anymore. It did serve the "no-thinking" purpose, but went a bit too far: I'm going to have to read my whole issue of this week's The Economist instead of just the politics half to regain those lost brain cells.
2.75 starsFunny and quite well written. This is the story when everyone got their happy ending. Yes,that include the bad character :D However there's part that i don't like: (view spoiler)[- Anna is supposed to be an aspiring amateur writer. But the story somehow go the wrong way, when her main purpose completely change to finding a man. She forgotten her writing career, just like that. Instantly.She even go through accept the proposal from someone who she barely knew and regret it later.- Seb treat her like dirt and she never argue with him. It's frustrating.- Cassandra finally have a happy ending, that is find a ghost writer. I mean, wth? But considering she have many many low moments, i guess okay. Not mention the ghost writer will have a fare payment. so everybody happy.- And the biggest of all: Anna happy ending is having a rich boyfriend, that's it. What about her writing career?? I mean where's the struggling writer i had read in the beginning of the book?I have hope that the story will be like this: she get her writing career with her own effort, and get her man. No, forget the career, she doesn't need to do any step to change her life, not even trying. It just throw it to her. :( (hide spoiler)]
—Monica M
This book had a lot of potential, but I felt like it wasn't going anywhere. I liked Anna at first but it felt like she never stood up for herself. Other characters felt very dull and one-dimensional. And I absolutely hated Cassandra and her whole family. The book could have been so much better without her. I didn't get caught up or confused with the British slang (thank you Mother for making me watch Masterpiece). Honestly I did not finish this book, I got frustrated and bored with everyone in it.
—Margaret
I enjoyed both Farm Fatale and Beautiful People much more than this novel of Holden's. There was a reliance on drippy and supposedly witty satirical language and dialogue that felt forced and unnatural. It wasn't funny enough to read it in every line. The characters were awful, and never really saw their comeuppance (which I like seeing in my books), and the "heroine" never really seemed to be the focus. She was a writer that we barely saw write. The story dragged so long that it took me weeks to read because I couldn't get into the story. She wrapped things up in the last two chapters, and it seemed like we read too much to get rushed through a soft ending. Not my favorite.
—Megan Jordan
