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Excellent book from a great new author.
I have read many chic-lit books and this is much smarter than most.
The premise of a guy writing a chic lit novel is a great idea and works perfectly. At first you are wondering how you are going to like this guy, but all will be rooting for Mitch by the end of the novel.
Fast-paced writing, great supporting characters, and a great new setting in the city of St. Louis make this a must read.
Funny at times and heartbreaking at others, it is a great read.
Other favorite chic lit authors: Liza Palmer, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.knicmo
Posted March 17, 2010
I was late to the party on this book as I stumbled upon a review in a magazine. It was hard to find, but worth it after reading.
That said, this book has all of the elements of a well-crafted chick-lit novel - humor; well-crafted, over the top characters; a predictable, but witty plot; and a love story you are rooting for throughout the book.
As a first-time chick-lit author, Dan provides a fresh take on a genre many have come to love. I give this one two thumbs up!
Although he's a PhD candidate, Mitch Samuel doesn't seem to be a very promising guy at this story's beginning.. He's neglected (read completely forgotten) to pick-up his girlfriend, Hannah, at the airport. So, she appears at the apartment they've been sharing not only rain soaked but lugging a purse, carry-on, and fat suitcase. She drags these behind her "not even bothering to look back when she knocks into a table and sends a vase crashing to the floor." This doesn't bode at all well for Mitch who soon is asked to leave - permanently.
Of course, not much as been boding well for Mitch of late - an aspiring writer he's collecting a nice stack of publisher's rejection notices. It seems his literary talent is both unrecognized and ignored. Then he wanders into a bookstore one day and sees Katharine Longwell, a top women's writer, chick lit if you will. She's making mega dollars; why can't he? He thinks surely it wouldn't take much to write one of those fluffy novels.
We read, " I mean, how hard can it be? Katharine is no Rhodes scholar, yet she does it and makes a fortune." Mitch knows he can do it, but never under his own name so he creates a female cousin, Bradley. However, in order to write the book he realizes he needs two things - one, a plot and two, he needs to know a bit more about how females think and what they talk about. Where to do this research? Watch Oprah, and a dance class, of course, where he enrolls as Jason, a pharmaceutical representative.
You know the old saying about what a tangled web we weave. Well, Mitch has really gotten himself into a snarl. The fun is in seeing how he works everything out. This is light, frothy, and fun reading. Who says a guy can't write chick-lit?
Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
PhD candidate Mitch Samuel writes an epic tale about life on the farm, but like all his other manuscripts, the publishing industry rejects it. He explodes ripping each paper of his book and a magazine owned by a neighbor. Feeling guilty for ripping up People, he goes to the bookstore to buy a replacement. While there he goes over the top in a fiery rage when he sees Katharine Longwell's latest numbing novel.
He steals a copy of The Cappuccino Club planning to put it in a bonfire but begins to read it while sipping coffee at Starbucks. Katharine sees what he is reading and joins Mitch. He tells her that his cousin is considering writing a chick-lit tale and Katharine offers to help her. Mitch assumes chick lit should be easy - dump down. However, he cannot think like a chick lit aficionado so he tries Oprah and a dance class accompanied by his roommate's sister Marie, a hairdresser. To his shock he likes Marie and being with her though as an intellect he cannot fathom why.
This is an amusing satire of gender sub-genre stereotypes using hyperbole to exaggerate the acceptable roles. This makes for a humorous story line, but also leaves Mitch as an unlikable intellectual snob who mocks chick lit and its fans as being shallow morons; he bites the hands that might feed him. Still chick lit fans contrary to the protagonist's scorn will enjoy the lampooning of their sub-genre while hoping Mitch is exposed as one of their writers.
Harriet Klausner
Anonymous
Posted November 8, 2010
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Posted October 15, 2009
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Posted February 1, 2011
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Overview
PhD candidate Mitch Samuel's life isn't going exactly according to plan: his girlfriend just dumped him (to be fair, he did forget to pick her up at the airport), his estranged father has landed in the hospital, and his literary masterpiece-one part Shakespeare, one part Steinbeck, and all parts lyrical epic-has been rejected for the umpteenth time.However, after a chance encounter at Starbucks with the queen of women's fiction- Katharine Longwell-who seems to take a liking to him, he senses an opportunity for literary riches, if not reputation. After telling her that his (imaginary) female cousin is an aspiring chick-lit author, he secures a promise ...