Secret Life Of Prince Charming, The (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
2.5 stars? Maybe? (I really hate rating books numerically) I'm so torn about this book. I really love the premise of it, but it just took so darn long to get into it! It isn't until over halfway through that they actually start on their road trip to return the items, and up until that point I was pretty bored, to be honest. Around 100 pages in I considered giving up, but since it came highly recommended by another contemporary author I love (Huntley Fitzpatrick) I decided to keep going. And for the most part I was glad I did, because I definitely enjoyed the second half. I just wish the bulk of the novel had been about the road trip. (This may be partly because I am a sucker for road trip stories and could easily read several hundred pages just of people traveling.) The other thing I wasn't crazy about was all the negativity about men and love. Which probably I should have been more prepared for when I started it, given the blurb, but going in I was in a very romance-y mood and I wasn't quite feeling some of the diary-style sections from all the wronged women. Not that they weren't legitimate and accurate, I just wasn't in the right place to be reading it. All that said, I really liked Deb Caletti's writing style. This is the first book of hers I've read but I want to look into more of them. And I loved the development of the sisters' relationship throughout the book, I'd like to read a sequel just to revisit them again. And Jake, of course. :) So I'm definitely glad I finished it, and I'm looking forward to reading more from Deb. I think timing-wise things just weren't right for me to fully appreciate this one right now. I wanted road trips and romance, and although this book does have both, they're not really the focus. Ignore the title and cover. The titular Prince Charming is actually the narrator's crappy father and while there is a moderate amount of romance, it's largely about female family relationships and what makes for a toxic romantic relationship. But more fun than that makes it sound! Aside from the accurate depictions and descriptions of the aforementioned relationships, the dialogue is excellent. Many YA books tend to present sanitized versions of what characters would actually say, but this book's dialogue is authentically vulgar and often hilarious.
What do You think about Secret Life Of Prince Charming, The (2009)?
it started slowly, but then it started getting better
—Jenn
This book is much better than I thought it would be.
—Rosey
Almost ashamed at how quickly I read this.
—chris2k5
