This book has been languishing on my TBR pile for quite a while and is written by a new to me author. I enjoyed the premise of this story taking place in a coffeehouse. What the book description failed to convey to me was that when the story begins, Francesca aka Frank and Amanda are already running the coffeehouse and have been a while. Unfortunately, the business is failing fast and they are facing foreclosure and becoming unemployed as well as homeless.Frank and Amanda are complete opposites. Frank is pessimistic and cynical. She’s been burned by love and is carrying huge quantities of guilt over the death of their parents. As the older sister, she feels she has to shoulder the responsibility of everything and she resents the way Amanda seems to stroll through life without a worry or care in the world. Amanda is more trusting and accepting of strangers. She practices I Ching divination, tossing pennies on the table to advise her on matters of importance. Amanda doesn’t appear to be burdened with the stress that plagues her sister. She appears friendlier and happier, though it appears, at times, she is unable to separate business from pleasure.As complex as they both are, I felt they complemented each other perfectly and I enjoyed seeing their relationship evolve and strengthen. This story had a lot of interesting supporting characters. Clarissa, the grad student who takes Frank and Amanda under her wing to help them save the business proved me right as someone who isn’t all they claim to be. Matt, the anti-social, anti-establishment outspoken employee surprised me. He comes across as a slacker but turns out to be that and so much more.This story is about so much more than sisters and sibling rivalry. There’s romance, murder, mysterious coffee beans, unpaid debts, revenge, dishonesty and slander. It seems like a lot to juggle and understand, but the story worked. Some of the dialogue is choppy, but was easy to overlook once I got focused on the story and wanting to know what would happen next. There are better chick-lit books out there, but this one turned out to be a surprise for me. I recommend it and will be anticipating reading more from this author.
I was surprised how bad this book was. I kept reading it because I kept thinking, "It has to get better, right?" The thought that maybe it would have some predictable plot points was the only thing I thought would save it. But it didn't-they weren't predictable and, in fact, the unpredictable plot points only made me scratch my head and resent reading the whole damn book. The story arc was made even worse by the two main characters, sisters, who I can't even bother to name. They are opposites, but by the end, other than the author pointing out what one had learned from the other, I don't think they evolved enough for me to care about them. I was actually upset by the time I got to the end of this book. I rather give the one star to me than to the book. I deserve that star just for reading the stupid thing all the way through.
What do You think about Smart Vs. Pretty (2001)?
I find this book kind of strange it's like Lifetime, the producers of Friends and HBO got together to do weird stuff. The first 50 pages are a snooze fest! The action starts when Chick dies and it ends like a sitcom. It's pretty good though, that chunk in the middle it's pretty good.
—Jennie Garcia
