It actually longer for me to finish reading this book because of all the distractions from playing console games and finishing marathons of series on my laptop. But after all those had past, I was finally able to complete reading this book.
Synopsis
Travel writer Claire Spencer doesn't believe in fate, much less any part of that fairy tale, happy ending, love at first sight stuff. Especially not for Amazon-sized women like her. So when Jack, the sexy man who sits next to her on a flight from New York to London, asks her out, Claire figures there has to be a catch. Is he blind? Sleazy? On the rebound? But she decides to accept, and finds herself smitten and a little frightened at how happy she is with how fast things are moving.
While in London (on assignment for Sassy Seniors! magazine), Claire is also looking forward to seeing her best friend, Maddy, one of those impossibly gorgeous, if-I-didn't-love-her-I'd-hate-her women who's got everything in the world going for her--except that, for the first time in her trouble-free life, Maddy has just been dumped...by Jack. Claire's finally met what seems to be the perfect guy, and now the only way she can have him is by betraying her best friend. It's almost enough to make Claire believe in Fate, but if Fate does exist, it seems intent on screwing her over.
Verdict
Honestly, this book is a good read. But nothing noteworthy enough for me. It's a good romance movie, totally based on real-life resemblance. I say this because when Claire, finally fell in love with Jack is also the ex-boyfriend of her best friend, Maddy, it turned ugly. Just like any friendship would get to a stage of that wobbly/rocky moments, Maddy and Claire faced their worst moment when Maddy found out about their relationship.
What would a normal real-life person feel finding out that their best friend is now dating their ex? Of course Maddy flew into a rage, like any normal person would. So, I say the realism in this story is quite good. Claire is definitely not the archetype heroines in any romantic novels out there. She's definitely not the strong type but also not the damsel in the distress type too. I would say, she's just plain normal.
Although there are mightier and finer points in the story, which some of the other reviews out there would point out, I however believed that this story lacks the excitement, or romance for that matter. Surrealism isn't all that bad, but as reader, I feel that this story struggles to keep me glued to the pages each time I read it. This was one of the reasons why I never got around to finish it quickly. I tried, but the mundane and useless details elaborated in the books just doze off on me.
Again, I would like to point out that this book portrays a lot of the actual shit that happened to any of us in terms of relationship/friendship but as a romance novel, it kinda blew off on the sweep-me-of-my-feet factor. I don't swoon, I don't melt, and I definitely don't have a longing to live inside the book. A good story is able to bring the reader into their world.
Literary-wise, it is a well written book. The structure of the story is well-built, as well as the plot, albeit draggy. The characters are well-developed, and you will either adore them, or despises them, based on the characteristics, which says how good the writer is in proving her characters to life. In all, it's not a bad piece of a chick-lit.
