Weiner, Jennifer: In Her Shoes

ISBN: 0743418204

From the Publisher

Meet Rose Feller, a thirty-year-old high-powered attorney with a secret passion for romance novels. She has an exercise regime she's going to start next week, and she dreams of a man who will slide off her glasses, gaze into her eyes, and tell her she's beautiful. She also dreams of getting her fantastically screwed-up, semi-employed little sister to straighten up and fly right.

Meet Rose's sister, Maggie. Twenty-eight years old and drop-dead gorgeous. Although her big-screen stardom hasn't progressed past her left hip's appearance in a Will Smith video, Maggie dreams of fame and fortune -- and of getting her big sister on a skin-care regimen.

These two women, who claim to have nothing in common but a childhood tragedy, DNA, and the same size feet, are about to learn that they're more alike than they'd ever imagined. Along the way, they'll encounter a diverse cast of characters -- from a stepmother who's into recreational Botox to a disdainful pug with no name. They'll borrow shoes and clothes and boyfriends, and eventually make peace with their most intimate enemies -- each other.

Hmm... nothing like a publishers blurb to give away a lot of the book. ::sigh:: Anyway.

I picked this one up from the library mainly because it was written by Jennifer Weiner. I'm not sure that I would have, otherwise. Sadly, I didn't connect with this one as well as her other works. Maybe I didn't like the characters, or that she didn't give as strong of a voice to her characters, I don't know. It certainly wasn't bad to read, it just wasn't as good.

Truthfully, I liked Simon, and I liked one of Ella's friends. I couldn't get my head around Cameron Diaz playing Maggie in the movie (I haven't seen it, but it just didn't seem to jive with me), and I kept bringing up her face. I mean, I'm sure she did a great job of the part, but in my head... ::shrugs:: I don't know.

This is a great book to borrow from the library, if you're looking for a book about sisters. I'm not sure that I would buy it, though.

St. John, Kelley: Good Girls Don't

ISBN: 0446617202

From Publishers Weekly

As frothy as a milkshake but not nearly as satisfying, St. John's debut romance, set in contemporary Atlanta, pairs three beautiful women with three gorgeous, sensitive and well-endowed men. The book gets off to a promising start, depicting an amusing conversation between Colette Campbell and her sister, sex-toy designer Amy, about (what else?) sex toys. But with so many relationships, there's room for little more than character sketches: the good guy who still loves his high school squeeze and vows to be a little bad to win her heart; the wild girl turned businesswoman who rediscovers her naughty side with said good guy; the woman who just needs the right man to make her rethink her sex-toys-are-a-girl's-only-friend motto. Everyone is earnest and looking for love, and none has too much emotional baggage to impede their perfect unions. It's no wonder that St. John's attempts at penning racy, gossipy exchanges à la Sex and the City so often fall flat. While her book contains steamy sex scenes aplenty, it lacks the multidimensional characters and conflicts that made the HBO series so popular.

From Booklist

Colette Campbell is a professional liar. Her company, My Alibi, is used by everyone from cheating spouses to AWOL employees. Now Colette has reached a low point: Jeff, her perfectly physiqued--albeit lousy lover--boyfriend, has gotten engaged to another woman. Then Amy, Colette's sex-toy-creator sister, offers Colette's alibi services to Erika, who is going away for the weekend with a biker. Unfortunately, Erika's uncle and guardian is Bill Brannon, Colette's best and virtually only friend in high school. Colette feels terrible about lying to Bill, especially since they've begun to explore a more romantic relationship. If she tells him about Erika's deception, Colette will damage her relationship with her sister. If Bill finds out that Colette has been hiding this secret from him, their chance at finding true love is gone. St. John does a good job of getting inside Colette's head and sharing her dilemma, and the novel's fast-paced, sexy, and witty conversations will please fans of Sex and the City.

I have to say, I really enjoy Kelley St. John's writing, even in this cookie-cutter book. She may have a formula (girl meets guy, they fall in love, they are separated by some misunderstanding, they end up together in the end), but it is readable - great and fantastic mind-fluff that one just needs every now and then.

There isn't much that I can say about the book other than what I've said, or what the others above have said. I did like it, and it's an excellent borrow-from-the-library-and-read-on-the-beach type book. Definitely worth the time investment, although probably not worth the monetary value.

Weiner, Jennifer: Good in Bed

ISBN: 0743418174

From the Publisher:

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She''s even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.

I have to say that while I love Ms. Weiner's writing, this book impressed me a lot. It is well written, well formulated, well plotted, and well rounded book. There was nothing that this book lacked.

I seem to recall that Good In Bed was recommended to me by a good friend, and after I had time to look at the book and digest it, I found there were some interestingly striking personality similarities between Cannie and my friend. It was interesting to read it and think that the words coming out of Cannie's mouth could totally be coming out of my friend's mouth instead.

I won't go into the premise of the book - you can get that by looking at the first section of this review. I will say that it was fantastic. That it is a great read, and that you won't be disappointed.

Rowen, Michelle: Bitten & Smitten

ISBN: 0446617008

From the Publisher:

In Rowen's death-defyingly funny debut--a cross between "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Sex in the City"--Sarah Dearly goes on a blind date . . . with a vampire. Original.

Eh. This book was mediocre at best. It had some amusing and funny parts, some pretty good action sequences (fight scenes, that is), and some decent characters, but it didn't leave me with a "wow that was great" feeling.

The basic premise is this: Sarah goes on a blind date that her friend Amy sets her up with. Her date ends up being a vampire and sires her without her permission, then manages to get killed by vampire hunters, leaving her to defend herself. She does so, with the assistance of an old vamp named Thierry (how ever you say that!). He adopts her, and tries to help her adjust to her new life. She has lots of bumps and hiccups during the next week, but manages to get through it, culminating in one large fight scene at the end of the book.

I thought that there were a lot of things that the author could have made more amusing. Sarah's cousin's wedding could have been funnier (and longer), she could have written more about the vamp club that Thierry ran, and possibly, less about her silly clothing. I understand that lots of women who read these books enjoy that, but... pick one. I mean, she went on about designer shoes, and designer dresses, and other things. I guess I prefer my protagonists to have one thing that they love - be it makeup, shoes, jeans, etc. rather then them running the whole gambit. The only person that I can think of who spends more time in her books talking about clothes is Laurell K. Hamilton, and that comparison is in no way a compliment.

I guess I just wasn't all that impressed. If I find her other books at the library I may or may not take them out. I'm also not sure that I would really recommend this book to anyone - just not that interesting.