Scan barcode
tita_noir's review
3.0
Cute chick lit that was rather uneven in places.
Summer and Autumn have been best friends since kindergarten and know each other better than they know themselves. Each woman has been unlucky in love.
After a break-up that also left her jobless, Summer relocates from NYC to DC to become a freelance photographer and move in with her bestie, Autumn. Realizing that the other tends to clearly see the flaws in the men they choose, they embark on a plan. Each woman will go on ten blind first-dates. But Summer's dates will be vetted and chosen by Autumn and vice versa.
I thought the premise and set up was rather interesting. Each woman has an alternating chapter told in her first person POV. And I was looking forward to seeing how the dating thing would play out. I thought I get some interesting stories and loads of entertainment out of a melange or good/bad/horrible/funny dates. Sadly, this did not happen.
Summer's chapters were much stronger and had felt more complete than Autumn's. With Summer we got to spend more time with her on her dates, I felt that the interaction and connection with the guy she ultimately ends up with was nicely explored, and we got to see her interact with other people outside of Autumn. We also got to watch her in her workplace.
Autumn's chapters, otoh, felt frustratingly surface. I didn't feel that we got anywhere near the character time or development with Autumn that we got with Summer. We never saw Autumn at work. In fact, it felt like Autumn spent the majority her time picking out outfits in her room, texting a lot and talking to Summer. Her very best chapter (and my biggest laugh in the book) was her first date with the guy she eventually ends up with. I didn't feel her relationship trajectory as deeply as I felt Summer's. Her chapters felt shorter, I didn't check to see if they were or not, but one of them for sure was...it was two sentences long. And we only got the most cursory introductions to her dares.
And finally, this book made liberal use of one of my narrative pet peeves -- the italicized inner dialog. There was LOT of it. At one point I wondered why it was so necessary when the women were already using first-person voice?
Hence I would characterize the book as pleasant enough, with Summer's story doing all the good heavy lifting. While Autumn's story was a big let down. In the end the book didn't feel as if it capitalized on it's intriguing premise.
Summer and Autumn have been best friends since kindergarten and know each other better than they know themselves. Each woman has been unlucky in love.
After a break-up that also left her jobless, Summer relocates from NYC to DC to become a freelance photographer and move in with her bestie, Autumn. Realizing that the other tends to clearly see the flaws in the men they choose, they embark on a plan. Each woman will go on ten blind first-dates. But Summer's dates will be vetted and chosen by Autumn and vice versa.
I thought the premise and set up was rather interesting. Each woman has an alternating chapter told in her first person POV. And I was looking forward to seeing how the dating thing would play out. I thought I get some interesting stories and loads of entertainment out of a melange or good/bad/horrible/funny dates. Sadly, this did not happen.
Summer's chapters were much stronger and had felt more complete than Autumn's. With Summer we got to spend more time with her on her dates, I felt that the interaction and connection with the guy she ultimately ends up with was nicely explored, and we got to see her interact with other people outside of Autumn. We also got to watch her in her workplace.
Autumn's chapters, otoh, felt frustratingly surface. I didn't feel that we got anywhere near the character time or development with Autumn that we got with Summer. We never saw Autumn at work. In fact, it felt like Autumn spent the majority her time picking out outfits in her room, texting a lot and talking to Summer. Her very best chapter (and my biggest laugh in the book) was her first date with the guy she eventually ends up with. I didn't feel her relationship trajectory as deeply as I felt Summer's. Her chapters felt shorter, I didn't check to see if they were or not, but one of them for sure was...it was two sentences long. And we only got the most cursory introductions to her dares.
And finally, this book made liberal use of one of my narrative pet peeves -- the italicized inner dialog. There was LOT of it. At one point I wondered why it was so necessary when the women were already using first-person voice?
Hence I would characterize the book as pleasant enough, with Summer's story doing all the good heavy lifting. While Autumn's story was a big let down. In the end the book didn't feel as if it capitalized on it's intriguing premise.
More...