It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book this bad. And when I say bad I mean stinky bad- filled with clunky writing, unrealistic characters, stupid plot. So I’m lying a bit when I count it as a book I’ve actually read- mostly I skimmed.Amy works for Vogue in London. She’s beautiful and smart and funny and quirky and perfect and fashionable and and and. Orlando Rock is a movie star. He’s gorgeous and perfect and kind and hot and not even remotely stuck on himself.Amy and Orlando meet on a beach (shortly after Amy has her first sexual encounter of the lesbian kind with someone who happens to be a dear friend of Orlando’s). He’s smitten. So is she.What followes is a completely ridiculous courtship followed by even more ridiculous plot machinations aka tabloids which drive a temporary wedge between our lovers. Every once and a while the author speaks about the characters as if she’s some sort of benevolent angel watching over their love affair.“…we have to make allowances for love and hope that the lesson they learn won’t be too painful.” (170)Yeah okay- what about the pain you’re causing your readers, Ms. Naylor?
I'm only giving it 2 stars b/c i finished it. I had to b/c I'm reading an a-z list and this my 3rd N author book. I couldn't finish the other two books. This one gets two stars by default. The characters were shallow, the plot was shallow, and I got lost in the writers point of view. Sometimes it seemed like it was written in 2nd point of view and sometimes 3rd point of view. I often had to re-read something b/c I got lost or actually lost interest and couldn't follow along. I thought this would be a quick British chic-lit read and it took way too long. I hope the author reads the reviews and learns from them.
I really didn't like this book very much. The story is written with a lot of British references that were hard to follow. The characters were okay but nothing great. The story was written in the third person which is usually very enlightening, but not in this case. It seemed as if there was someone trying to narrate the story that wanted to be funny, but failed. I skipped so many long written sections that did nothing to add to the story that I probably only read half the book, and still missed nothing.
—Lourdes
Save yourself the trouble. I borrowed this chick-lit book for some Thanksgiving cheer and although it started off with a bang--Vogue editor meets gorgeous movie star "Orlando" and falls in love--it then delved into such ridiculous fantasyland that I was disgusted with myself for picking up the book at all. Of course though, I had to finish it. The self-absorbed character is cute for about 50 pages and then you start wondering do people like this really exist? Unbelievable. Shame really because the writer is clearly talented and sparkles the book up with literary references (Thomas Hardy etc.). You'd think she could write something with a little more substance. Also, the book has too many words in it. In need of a serious edit.
—Elizabeth
