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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
funny
This was a fun read. Light and funny, some characters you loathe and some you root for. There were several laugh out loud moments. The lengths that mothers go to for their children makes it believable.
This sounded like it would be right up my alley. I love my book club, I love humor, I love caper stories, so this seemed like a natural for me. And there were definitely parts I liked. But the parts I didn't like really bugged me!
I could totally sympathize with Annie. I have three kids with medical problems and the bills can be overwhelming. My kids sometimes wonder why we didn't take vacations to Disney, why we didn't sign up for dance lessons and music lessons and have nice cars. Easy - all our money went to medical bills. The idea of coming with some crazy scheme to finance a new therapy - sign me up.
And I appreciated that they weren't taking money from other cash-strapped moms, but from the upper crust, the ones who want whole heartedly support conspicuous consumption. I got a little tired of how outstandingly attractive Sarah was, how she only had to show up and everyone wanted to talk to her, to be her. You know, she's been on hormones to get pregnant. That makes you gain weight and get puffy.
My real problem was the secret ingredient. SPOILER:
It's cocaine.
And that's my biggest complaint. Annie comes up with this brilliant scheme to make her skin care creme more attractive, to give it that extra something. I was expecting something kind of like this, but really? Has she never heard of the health risks? She takes a few really basic precautions, like telling Sarah not to sell it to pregnant women, but that's about it. What about those elderly women? What about those with heart problems? It's so unbelievably stupid for such a supposedly smart woman to do. And then when the consequences inevitably hit, I just had to roll my eyes. There was a lot of potential in this one, but in the end, I just couldn't buy it. Sorry, but not recommended.
I could totally sympathize with Annie. I have three kids with medical problems and the bills can be overwhelming. My kids sometimes wonder why we didn't take vacations to Disney, why we didn't sign up for dance lessons and music lessons and have nice cars. Easy - all our money went to medical bills. The idea of coming with some crazy scheme to finance a new therapy - sign me up.
And I appreciated that they weren't taking money from other cash-strapped moms, but from the upper crust, the ones who want whole heartedly support conspicuous consumption. I got a little tired of how outstandingly attractive Sarah was, how she only had to show up and everyone wanted to talk to her, to be her. You know, she's been on hormones to get pregnant. That makes you gain weight and get puffy.
My real problem was the secret ingredient. SPOILER:
It's cocaine.
And that's my biggest complaint. Annie comes up with this brilliant scheme to make her skin care creme more attractive, to give it that extra something. I was expecting something kind of like this, but really? Has she never heard of the health risks? She takes a few really basic precautions, like telling Sarah not to sell it to pregnant women, but that's about it. What about those elderly women? What about those with heart problems? It's so unbelievably stupid for such a supposedly smart woman to do. And then when the consequences inevitably hit, I just had to roll my eyes. There was a lot of potential in this one, but in the end, I just couldn't buy it. Sorry, but not recommended.
I’ve had this on my Kindle for forever, so when I had the opportunity to use it for the Popsugar “book about a book club” prompt, I jumped at the chance to finally read it.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! A very light and quirky read and just all over CUTE. The storyline and the characters were amusing and I found myself giggling occasionally throughout the book.
I liked how each chapter started with a little tidbit/reference about a book, tying into and making it relevant to the story.
Definitely a fast, fun, female friendship book.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! A very light and quirky read and just all over CUTE. The storyline and the characters were amusing and I found myself giggling occasionally throughout the book.
I liked how each chapter started with a little tidbit/reference about a book, tying into and making it relevant to the story.
Definitely a fast, fun, female friendship book.
"But if I'm going to do something stupid, it's always more fun to do it with a friend."
Some books are just fun. They grab you from the beginning and take you on an outrageous ride. This book was exactly that. Fun.
I think it's safe to assume that we all, or at least most of us, have stumbled upon a situation in our lives, where the solution required more money than we had or could get. An accident, or an illness, or an unexpected bill. Somewhere, somehow, we've all been blindsided.
For Annie, it's when her son gets diagnosed with autism. For Sarah, it's infertility. Two women, friends who were brought together over a love of books years previously in college, now faced two vastly different, yet similarly insurmountable problems.
This premise seems poised for some strong women's fiction where you need a box of tissues on the ready. Yet, the author takes us instead on a hilarious adventure where they put their entrepreneurial skills to work and cleverly manage to raise the cash.
At least, that's what Sarah thinks. The truth, well, that's a little on the shady side.
What I really liked about this book was the clever dialogue on how money is valued in certain spectrums of life. Not just how the wealthy are revered, but how they interact with each other.
The book centers on Annie and Sarah. But there is a rich cast of characters from the bookclub in which the crimes have been perpetrated against.
This bookclub is made up of rich women, and through each chapter we get a glimpse of their own internal struggles. These women are wonderfully complex and I found it interesting to watch their struggles with having money versus the other struggle of needing money. In particular, when one of "their own" faces financial struggles herself.
The most interesting character in this aspect, was Kim, a housewife who used to teach. After her husbands company launched to the stratosphere of uber-successful, she stayed home with their kids. "The changes were gradual but but huge. The balance of power in our marriage shifted... every time Andrew success at work, he gets another piece of armor... every time I give in to him, I take off a piece." This revelation of how power can work within a marriage was insightful. Women feel pressure all the time to be the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect everything. Kim was a compelling character because she was not satisfied to simply be arm candy. She wanted a partner. She wanted to be valued in her own right. I really enjoyed following her storyline and watching her develop.
In the end, the shady aspect of their new business turned out to be illegal, which sends the entire charade spiraling out of control.
I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, and fun, and an overall enjoyable read. Within the humor you will find woven in a myriad of thought provoking social issues. The complexity of female relationships, both with each other and their spouses. The struggle women face with infertility. Women's struggles with identity, motherhood, careers, and aging. Issues of drug abuse and alcoholism.
This book is the exact right blend of real and raw laced with sharp wit. If you want to laugh at life, and be reminded that we all have our struggles to bear, this book is for you.
Some books are just fun. They grab you from the beginning and take you on an outrageous ride. This book was exactly that. Fun.
I think it's safe to assume that we all, or at least most of us, have stumbled upon a situation in our lives, where the solution required more money than we had or could get. An accident, or an illness, or an unexpected bill. Somewhere, somehow, we've all been blindsided.
For Annie, it's when her son gets diagnosed with autism. For Sarah, it's infertility. Two women, friends who were brought together over a love of books years previously in college, now faced two vastly different, yet similarly insurmountable problems.
This premise seems poised for some strong women's fiction where you need a box of tissues on the ready. Yet, the author takes us instead on a hilarious adventure where they put their entrepreneurial skills to work and cleverly manage to raise the cash.
At least, that's what Sarah thinks. The truth, well, that's a little on the shady side.
What I really liked about this book was the clever dialogue on how money is valued in certain spectrums of life. Not just how the wealthy are revered, but how they interact with each other.
The book centers on Annie and Sarah. But there is a rich cast of characters from the bookclub in which the crimes have been perpetrated against.
This bookclub is made up of rich women, and through each chapter we get a glimpse of their own internal struggles. These women are wonderfully complex and I found it interesting to watch their struggles with having money versus the other struggle of needing money. In particular, when one of "their own" faces financial struggles herself.
The most interesting character in this aspect, was Kim, a housewife who used to teach. After her husbands company launched to the stratosphere of uber-successful, she stayed home with their kids. "The changes were gradual but but huge. The balance of power in our marriage shifted... every time Andrew success at work, he gets another piece of armor... every time I give in to him, I take off a piece." This revelation of how power can work within a marriage was insightful. Women feel pressure all the time to be the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect everything. Kim was a compelling character because she was not satisfied to simply be arm candy. She wanted a partner. She wanted to be valued in her own right. I really enjoyed following her storyline and watching her develop.
In the end, the shady aspect of their new business turned out to be illegal, which sends the entire charade spiraling out of control.
I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, and fun, and an overall enjoyable read. Within the humor you will find woven in a myriad of thought provoking social issues. The complexity of female relationships, both with each other and their spouses. The struggle women face with infertility. Women's struggles with identity, motherhood, careers, and aging. Issues of drug abuse and alcoholism.
This book is the exact right blend of real and raw laced with sharp wit. If you want to laugh at life, and be reminded that we all have our struggles to bear, this book is for you.
This was an enjoyable and fun book! A light, beachy read.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"People were like banks; they only wanted to lend affection to people who were already rolling in it."
3 Takeaways:
- Tries a little hard to be humorous
- Most likeable characters don't get enough page-time
- Good introduction to each chapter to tie book club theme together
Review:
Crimes Against a Book Club is one of those books that's vaguely about other books, but really seems to use this mainly as a selling point. Following Annie and Sarah, two friends who are desperate for cash and their plot of swindling their rich neighbours to help their families (this is where the book club comes in) we see how this unfolds in a marginally humorous way.
There's some good time given to the characters who are being swindled and this is where I wish the focus had been. These characters had so much going on that made them interesting. My favourite character was Kim, but she had a total of 2 or 3 chapters about her, but she was clearly the most interesting for me.
It's a shame really as the book has a good premise but with trying a little to hard to be funny and clever we never really got to see anything other than the rich white housewife caricature of most of the victims. Don't get me wrong, the plot was good, and the pacing was excellent but the character development and try-hard feel of the writing left this being just too disjointed.
There's some good time given to the characters who are being swindled and this is where I wish the focus had been. These characters had so much going on that made them interesting. My favourite character was Kim, but she had a total of 2 or 3 chapters about her, but she was clearly the most interesting for me.
It's a shame really as the book has a good premise but with trying a little to hard to be funny and clever we never really got to see anything other than the rich white housewife caricature of most of the victims. Don't get me wrong, the plot was good, and the pacing was excellent but the character development and try-hard feel of the writing left this being just too disjointed.
Wow. The characters talk a lot! And it’s hilarious! The author uses very unique analogies and I laughed a lot. I do not like the mother at the beginning, but her speech at the end made me smile.
Although this book was a kindle first selection, I had chosen the other book. Wrong decision...
Although this book was a kindle first selection, I had chosen the other book. Wrong decision...
Fast read for the summer, with bookish excerpts at the beginning of each chapter. Over the top in many moments, but a fun read for book club.
Comforting beach read
Wow, really enjoyed this book! Although quite predictable I found comfort in the characters and the outcome of the story.
Wow, really enjoyed this book! Although quite predictable I found comfort in the characters and the outcome of the story.