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rmarcin's review
4.0
This is a coming of age book, set in the late 1980s, about Eve Rosen, an aspiring writer, who gives up her job in NYC to be an assistant to Henry Grey. Henry is an established writer, having published in The New Yorker. His wife, Tillie, is also a writer. Henry and Tillie live on Cape Cod, where Eve's parents also have a home. So, Eve travels to Cape Cod for the summer to be Henry's assistant. One reason she left NYC is because she had a one-night stand with Henry's son, Franny. Another reason is that she knew she wasn't going anywhere with her job in the publishing house.
Jeremy is another writer, about Eve's age, that has just written a wonderful novel about a leper, and the novel is about to be published.
Once Eve gets to Cape Cod, she easily falls into step with Henry's needs, and things become involved between them. Eve is also watching Henry's relationship with Tillie, and noticing that it seems strained. Eve is also stung by Franny's lack of interest.
As the summer winds down, Eve is planning for her costume to attend The Book Party at Henry and Tillie's at the end of the summer. The book party is where everything comes to a head, including the relationship between Henry and Tillie, Henry and Eve, Tillie and Lane, Jeremy and Eve, Franny and Eve, and Franny and Lil. There are lots of things that are said and broken apart at the party.
Eve learns a lot in those summer months, recognizing that what she thought of the world of writing and publishing is not what she expected.
This book had a real feel of "summering on Cape Cod" to it. The author captured the essence of life there.
#TheLastBookParty #KarenDukess
Jeremy is another writer, about Eve's age, that has just written a wonderful novel about a leper, and the novel is about to be published.
Once Eve gets to Cape Cod, she easily falls into step with Henry's needs, and things become involved between them. Eve is also watching Henry's relationship with Tillie, and noticing that it seems strained. Eve is also stung by Franny's lack of interest.
As the summer winds down, Eve is planning for her costume to attend The Book Party at Henry and Tillie's at the end of the summer. The book party is where everything comes to a head, including the relationship between Henry and Tillie, Henry and Eve, Tillie and Lane, Jeremy and Eve, Franny and Eve, and Franny and Lil. There are lots of things that are said and broken apart at the party.
Eve learns a lot in those summer months, recognizing that what she thought of the world of writing and publishing is not what she expected.
This book had a real feel of "summering on Cape Cod" to it. The author captured the essence of life there.
#TheLastBookParty #KarenDukess
cemills's review
2.0
2.5, I'm surprised by how much I liked the last 100 pages because the first 130 were torturous
bookswritingandmore's review against another edition
3.0
Let me start off by saying that the writing of this book was so beautiful. I was captivated by the description that the author gave throughout the whole book. However, something was lacking for me.
This is a story of a mid twentys girl who spends her summer working as an assistant for an older New Yorker writer. She romantazises the lives of all the array people around her and basically becomes obsessed with being in their lives. So much so that she does very childish things to stay there.
The story drags for over half the book and only really becomes interesting in a few parts. I just wasn't feeling all the lies, bad behavior and narcissist personalities.
All in all, it was so so for me.
This is a story of a mid twentys girl who spends her summer working as an assistant for an older New Yorker writer. She romantazises the lives of all the array people around her and basically becomes obsessed with being in their lives. So much so that she does very childish things to stay there.
The story drags for over half the book and only really becomes interesting in a few parts. I just wasn't feeling all the lies, bad behavior and narcissist personalities.
All in all, it was so so for me.
margo_lopez297's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very light and easy read for me and so nice to enjoy a book like this between so many thrillers and heavy dramas. Twenty five year old Eve Rosen wants to be a writer but lacks confidence, inspiration, and the hard work that can be necessary to write a book. She does work in a publishing house as an assistant, hoping everything about writing will rub off on her but actually is getting nowhere with her writing. When she misses out on a promotion that should have gone to her, she quits her job and takes a summer job as an assistant to famed New Yorker writer Henry Grey.
Eve has already been more than just attracted to Henry's son Franny and then once she starts working for Henry, she becomes very attached to him, too. There is also Jeremy, a very promising author being published by her old publishing company and someone who her mom seems to think has real talent, as opposed to thinking of Eve's writing as her just dabbling in a hobby.
As the summer comes to a close, these three men and others from her summer town, come together for a big book party. Deceits are revealed and truths are exposed, changing how Eve sees those around her and how she feels about herself.
Published July 9th 2019. Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this ARC.
Eve has already been more than just attracted to Henry's son Franny and then once she starts working for Henry, she becomes very attached to him, too. There is also Jeremy, a very promising author being published by her old publishing company and someone who her mom seems to think has real talent, as opposed to thinking of Eve's writing as her just dabbling in a hobby.
As the summer comes to a close, these three men and others from her summer town, come together for a big book party. Deceits are revealed and truths are exposed, changing how Eve sees those around her and how she feels about herself.
Published July 9th 2019. Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this ARC.
emisallbooked's review
2.0
2.5 Stars?
2ish stars are hard for me to give. So like, this book wasn’t necessarily problematic and I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I liked it nor would I really recommend it for anyone.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, fresh college grad wants to be at the top of [insert career here], she thinks she’s found her lucky break getting to be assistant to a middle aged man in said career. He’s married, so surely those innuendos are just innocent, these shoulder brushes mean nothing, these working long hours alone are just because he values your young, fresh outlook right...? Anyways, you see where this is going. It just felt like a story I’ve seen many times over. And I just felt ambivalent about it the whole time. While I usually enjoy a good summer affair in Cape Cod novel, this one just didn’t do it for me.
2ish stars are hard for me to give. So like, this book wasn’t necessarily problematic and I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I liked it nor would I really recommend it for anyone.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, fresh college grad wants to be at the top of [insert career here], she thinks she’s found her lucky break getting to be assistant to a middle aged man in said career. He’s married, so surely those innuendos are just innocent, these shoulder brushes mean nothing, these working long hours alone are just because he values your young, fresh outlook right...? Anyways, you see where this is going. It just felt like a story I’ve seen many times over. And I just felt ambivalent about it the whole time. While I usually enjoy a good summer affair in Cape Cod novel, this one just didn’t do it for me.
pamjsa's review
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Readable, but nothing original going on here. Bookish girl finds herself disenchanted by a job in the publishing worlds--I've read that story a bunch of times. In many ways, the book felt more like a jumble of potentially interesting pieces flying around on the reader's radar screen, some of which ultimated amounted to nothing. By the time I'd finished, I wasn't sure why I should care about what happened to any of these people.
emilymorgan02's review
1.0
All of the characters seemed flat and cliche. The writing was mostly done in short choppy sentences. It was a book about people who write books but was written poorly with very little originality.
laurabetheason's review
4.0
This book really captured me from the beginning and it was an infatuation that I couldn't really explain. When reading, I felt like I was in a different world, one that was realistic, but also idealistic. The language, reference to 52 different books, and the character development through subtleties were romantic, yet seductive. The only strife I have is the ending. It sort of fell flat for me. I found myself saying "Is that it?" Overall, this coming of age story gave me Gatsby vibes mixed with The Awakening. A perfect beach read or for when you want to escape a relentless, dull winter.