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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I finished it in 3 nights. I liked it. Easy-reading but fun and not trite the way chick-lit can often be. I liked the author's format of following the 'book of elegance'.
Read for a book club. Probably wouldn't have picked it up or finished it otherwise.
I had read about 10 years ago and really enjoyed. My copy was lost in a series of moves and the book was relegated into the recesses of my mind. I found a lovely used copy and did a reread. I found this older version of me didn't enjoy it as much as the younger version did. It was still a pleasant read but it didn't give me the same *feels* I got as a young twenty something. Perhaps with age, we discover a different set of priorities?
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would, especially given some of the poor reviews I'd read here when I was only a few chapters in. In fact, when I picked it up again, I expected to do so only so I could confirm my intention to abandon it, but then I found myself enjoying it and reading the whole thing.
It is NOT a rom-com. There's romance, but it's not funny. And while I expected it to be a superficial cliché tale of how an outward makeover gave a woman inner confidence, it was in many places deeper, more raw than that; it was more a story of her inevitable meltdown and rebuilding, her learning hard truths about life and herself, her standing up for herself sometimes and collapsing in a heap at other times. I liked that, it felt real, because we aren't just vulnerable once or brave once or foolish once, and we do often take two steps forward and one step back, expanding and shrinking and expanding again. (Imo.)
Louise seems self-centred at times, but there's a good dose of self-loathing in there too, and overall it seemed like it was about her learning and maturing, not just becoming a hot bad-ass woman.
A few other things I liked: While Louise accepts the advice of the Elegance author unquestioningly at the start, she and other characters also critique it at other times, so it's not seen as a bible, more as a catalyst. And, I was stunned to realise 3/4 through the book that the author had never given the husband a name! I was so immersed, I hadn't noticed, but I think that's rather a feat, actually, and it felt right for this story. Also, it was nice to read a book with a female lead who doesn't want to have kids and doesn't spend time questioning that decision, because I feel like all life choices and experiences deserve to be portrayed in good fiction.
Things I didn't like: A completely inappropriate therapist. As a counsellor-in-training, seeing that depiction made me cringe. And I wasn't too sure about the portrayal of bulimia, or that the problematic eating seemed to resolve with one good talking-to from a friend.
I planned to take this book back to the op shop when I was done with it, but I might just hang on to it, as I think I might read it again one day.
It is NOT a rom-com. There's romance, but it's not funny. And while I expected it to be a superficial cliché tale of how an outward makeover gave a woman inner confidence, it was in many places deeper, more raw than that; it was more a story of her inevitable meltdown and rebuilding, her learning hard truths about life and herself, her standing up for herself sometimes and collapsing in a heap at other times. I liked that, it felt real, because we aren't just vulnerable once or brave once or foolish once, and we do often take two steps forward and one step back, expanding and shrinking and expanding again. (Imo.)
Louise seems self-centred at times, but there's a good dose of self-loathing in there too, and overall it seemed like it was about her learning and maturing, not just becoming a hot bad-ass woman.
A few other things I liked: While Louise accepts the advice of the Elegance author unquestioningly at the start, she and other characters also critique it at other times, so it's not seen as a bible, more as a catalyst. And, I was stunned to realise 3/4 through the book that the author had never given the husband a name! I was so immersed, I hadn't noticed, but I think that's rather a feat, actually, and it felt right for this story. Also, it was nice to read a book with a female lead who doesn't want to have kids and doesn't spend time questioning that decision, because I feel like all life choices and experiences deserve to be portrayed in good fiction.
Things I didn't like: A completely inappropriate therapist. As a counsellor-in-training, seeing that depiction made me cringe. And I wasn't too sure about the portrayal of bulimia, or that the problematic eating seemed to resolve with one good talking-to from a friend.
I planned to take this book back to the op shop when I was done with it, but I might just hang on to it, as I think I might read it again one day.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would've liked if the final romance started a bit sooner but the book was good and entertaining.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Part advice novel and part journey of self discovery. while the book could have been a hundred pages shorter and the middle almost loss me for a sec, I find I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.