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Point, Click, Love
In Molly Shapiro’s fun and sexy debut novel, four women try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates, and other high-speed connections.
Best friends and fellow midwesterners Katie, Annie, Maxine, and Claudia are no strangers to dealing with love and relationships, but with online dating and social networking now in the mix, they all have the feeling they’re not in Kansas anymore. Katie, a divorced mother of two, secretly seeks companionship through the Internet only to discover that the rules of the dating game have drastically changed. Annie, a high-powered East Coast transplant, longs for a baby, yet her online search for a sperm donor is not as easy—or anonymous—as she anticipates. Maxine, a successful artist with a seemingly perfect husband, turns to celebrity gossip sites to distract herself from her less-than-ideal marriage. And Claudia, tired of her husband’s obsession with Facebook, finds herself irresistibly drawn to a handsome co-worker. As these women navigate the new highs and lows of the digital age, they each find that their wrong turns lead surprisingly to the right click and, ultimately, the connection they were seeking.
Best friends and fellow midwesterners Katie, Annie, Maxine, and Claudia are no strangers to dealing with love and relationships, but with online dating and social networking now in the mix, they all have the feeling they’re not in Kansas anymore. Katie, a divorced mother of two, secretly seeks companionship through the Internet only to discover that the rules of the dating game have drastically changed. Annie, a high-powered East Coast transplant, longs for a baby, yet her online search for a sperm donor is not as easy—or anonymous—as she anticipates. Maxine, a successful artist with a seemingly perfect husband, turns to celebrity gossip sites to distract herself from her less-than-ideal marriage. And Claudia, tired of her husband’s obsession with Facebook, finds herself irresistibly drawn to a handsome co-worker. As these women navigate the new highs and lows of the digital age, they each find that their wrong turns lead surprisingly to the right click and, ultimately, the connection they were seeking.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
13 people are currently reading
760 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 19, 2012
This one had a promising enough start, and then it devolved into bewildering idiocy at about the midpoint. The chapters alternate between four different women in their 30s. Author Molly Shapiro tells us that they're friends and occasionally throws us a scene or two where the women are chatting over each other drinking wine or coffee, but they might as well be strangers. Their forced interaction adds nothing to the book because each woman has a tendency to isolate herself from her friends, so caught up in their own personal dramas, and they never seem to really talk to each other when they're together - they just rattle off their part of the story without much in the way of comment from their peers. Shapiro seems to want to make these women seem like the Sex and the City ladies, but their friendships (and personalities, for the most part) are completely devoid of chemistry and the kind of ribbing and analysis that usually marks bull sessions between women. Nobody ever calls any other woman on her BS, even when it's apparent that she's lying, not telling the whole truth, or doing something dangerous, ridiculous, or borderline illegal. I felt like these women kind of hated each other, to be honest.
The ladies and their dramas are all exacerbated by Internet culture. Each of the ladies is a specific archetype: a recent divorcee with a hardened attitude towards love but in want of affection, a married woman who maintains the facade that her marriage is perfect though it's not, a very unhappily married woman, and a happily single woman that wants to adopt a baby. The one thing that they all have in common are that they are insipid, utterly lacking in self-awareness, and have a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions fostered by stuff they do on the Internet. Everyone's pretty miserable, all things told, and in the end, the Internet just ends up making everything worse. The depersonalizing effects of things like Facebook, blogging, and online dating are certainly worth some consideration and analysis, but in the end Shapiro really just uses her story to malign the whole Internet culture. Though it's a double-edged sword, for sure, I kept getting the feeling that Shapiro never truly understood the reasons WHY people turned to Internet dating or got swept up in Facebook, or how they might find these things fulfilling. Her point felt so one-sided and completely lacked nuance. Even though I don't necessarily disagree with Shapiro, I just couldn't shake the feeling that she was a crotchety older person that JUST DIDN'T GET IT.
Also, I really kind of resented some of the ageism I noticed in the story. Every character in their 20s was depicted as stupid and self-involved, and as a Millennial, I was resentful of all of the youth-bashing going on. This only reinforced my belief that Shapiro never really understood what she was criticizing, and I got sick of reading about how everyone in my generation believed that they were superstars in their own minds. Honestly, the Gen X-ers that are the focus of the book were more lacking in sense and self-awareness than the people they looked down upon.
Katie, for instance, was probably the most moronic of all, deciding that she doesn't believe in love after divorcing the only man she had ever been in a relationship with. We never learn why Katie divorced her husband, nor why she is so distrustful of love. Did he cheat on her? Did her parents have a marriage that fell apart? Did she realize one day that she had settled? We never really know. All we do know is that after a couple of years of handling the divorce like a pro, no hard feelings towards the ex-hubby, she just wants sex. Thanks to Internet dating, she finds it in abundance, going after it so aggressively that she begins abandoning her family and friends in pursuit of it, and then she's shocked - just shocked! - when these physical relationships aren't emotionally fulfilling.
In fact, all of these women are having marital problems because they won't be honest, open, or communicative with their spouses. They never confront their husbands about their feelings, and they're all so deeply insecure that they jump to incorrect conclusions at every turn. They know THEMSELVES so little that they're incapable of figuring out what they want, and when by some miracle they do, they refuse to articulate it to their partners. Instead, they continue leaping straight past logic to jump to conclusions and quit on their marriages and relationships, blaming the men in their lives all the while. The women, whose opening chapters and characters seemed promising if lacking a little in nuance, morphed into bitter harpies by the end of the book. But since this is "women's fiction", they all get a happy ending anyway, even if none of it makes sense and the women only obtain a modicum of self-awareness along their journeys.
I also perceived a bit of a tonal disconnect. The description and initial chapters made me think that this would be light-hearted, but the dark turns that each narrative takes are decidedly not fun. The ladies make some bad decisions and don't really grow from them. Divorce is thrown around as a solution to everything that ails the girls. In fact, Annie's storyline, meant to be the most wacky, has her stalk a sperm bank donor that no longer makes donations, and there is nothing about this that is not creepy. As a victim of stalking, it made me deeply uneasy, and the fact that Annie is presented as the sensible one, and that she suffers no consequences for her questionable behavior, AND that her friends ENCOURAGE her to do it, makes it even more reprehensible. The final chapter that serves as an epilogue/fast-forward makes me think that maybe the author was trolling us the whole time, too. Was this meant to be satire? Because the epilogue dispels with every pretense that this story could have taken place in any kind of reality. It only made me even more mad.
The ladies and their dramas are all exacerbated by Internet culture. Each of the ladies is a specific archetype: a recent divorcee with a hardened attitude towards love but in want of affection, a married woman who maintains the facade that her marriage is perfect though it's not, a very unhappily married woman, and a happily single woman that wants to adopt a baby. The one thing that they all have in common are that they are insipid, utterly lacking in self-awareness, and have a tendency to jump to ridiculous conclusions fostered by stuff they do on the Internet. Everyone's pretty miserable, all things told, and in the end, the Internet just ends up making everything worse. The depersonalizing effects of things like Facebook, blogging, and online dating are certainly worth some consideration and analysis, but in the end Shapiro really just uses her story to malign the whole Internet culture. Though it's a double-edged sword, for sure, I kept getting the feeling that Shapiro never truly understood the reasons WHY people turned to Internet dating or got swept up in Facebook, or how they might find these things fulfilling. Her point felt so one-sided and completely lacked nuance. Even though I don't necessarily disagree with Shapiro, I just couldn't shake the feeling that she was a crotchety older person that JUST DIDN'T GET IT.
Also, I really kind of resented some of the ageism I noticed in the story. Every character in their 20s was depicted as stupid and self-involved, and as a Millennial, I was resentful of all of the youth-bashing going on. This only reinforced my belief that Shapiro never really understood what she was criticizing, and I got sick of reading about how everyone in my generation believed that they were superstars in their own minds. Honestly, the Gen X-ers that are the focus of the book were more lacking in sense and self-awareness than the people they looked down upon.
Katie, for instance, was probably the most moronic of all, deciding that she doesn't believe in love after divorcing the only man she had ever been in a relationship with. We never learn why Katie divorced her husband, nor why she is so distrustful of love. Did he cheat on her? Did her parents have a marriage that fell apart? Did she realize one day that she had settled? We never really know. All we do know is that after a couple of years of handling the divorce like a pro, no hard feelings towards the ex-hubby, she just wants sex. Thanks to Internet dating, she finds it in abundance, going after it so aggressively that she begins abandoning her family and friends in pursuit of it, and then she's shocked - just shocked! - when these physical relationships aren't emotionally fulfilling.
In fact, all of these women are having marital problems because they won't be honest, open, or communicative with their spouses. They never confront their husbands about their feelings, and they're all so deeply insecure that they jump to incorrect conclusions at every turn. They know THEMSELVES so little that they're incapable of figuring out what they want, and when by some miracle they do, they refuse to articulate it to their partners. Instead, they continue leaping straight past logic to jump to conclusions and quit on their marriages and relationships, blaming the men in their lives all the while. The women, whose opening chapters and characters seemed promising if lacking a little in nuance, morphed into bitter harpies by the end of the book. But since this is "women's fiction", they all get a happy ending anyway, even if none of it makes sense and the women only obtain a modicum of self-awareness along their journeys.
I also perceived a bit of a tonal disconnect. The description and initial chapters made me think that this would be light-hearted, but the dark turns that each narrative takes are decidedly not fun. The ladies make some bad decisions and don't really grow from them. Divorce is thrown around as a solution to everything that ails the girls. In fact, Annie's storyline, meant to be the most wacky, has her stalk a sperm bank donor that no longer makes donations, and there is nothing about this that is not creepy. As a victim of stalking, it made me deeply uneasy, and the fact that Annie is presented as the sensible one, and that she suffers no consequences for her questionable behavior, AND that her friends ENCOURAGE her to do it, makes it even more reprehensible. The final chapter that serves as an epilogue/fast-forward makes me think that maybe the author was trolling us the whole time, too. Was this meant to be satire? Because the epilogue dispels with every pretense that this story could have taken place in any kind of reality. It only made me even more mad.
May 14, 2012
Being of an age where I have seen the internet go from non-existence to an almost necessary part of life has been interesting to say the least. So it goes without saying that I found the premise of this book fascinating. Unfortunately, I found the story to be disappointing.
There seemed to be an overall disdain of the internet which gave the book a feeling of overwhelming self-righteousness. The message in the end is less prejudiced, but by the time I got to the end I felt that I had been beaten over the head about the evils of social media so much that there was nothing that could salvage the story for me.
Usually, if I don’t enjoy the story of a book, I will at least like the characters. Regrettably, that was not the case here. Each character’s redeeming qualities were overshadowed by their less enviable characteristics. It also didn’t help that the writing style felt almost clinical. As if I were watching it from far away rather than truly getting into the head of the character. And if you can’t feel personable with the character then how can you sympathize with them?
Sadly, in the end, this book was not for me.
Nat
There seemed to be an overall disdain of the internet which gave the book a feeling of overwhelming self-righteousness. The message in the end is less prejudiced, but by the time I got to the end I felt that I had been beaten over the head about the evils of social media so much that there was nothing that could salvage the story for me.
Usually, if I don’t enjoy the story of a book, I will at least like the characters. Regrettably, that was not the case here. Each character’s redeeming qualities were overshadowed by their less enviable characteristics. It also didn’t help that the writing style felt almost clinical. As if I were watching it from far away rather than truly getting into the head of the character. And if you can’t feel personable with the character then how can you sympathize with them?
Sadly, in the end, this book was not for me.
Nat
February 1, 2012
I didn't read the blurb of Point,Click,Love properly before I started on the book so honestly I didn't know much about it when I started reading the book except that it's some kind of chick lit.
I have to say, I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a little slow at first and I had assumed that the whole novel followed Kate's story (my bad) but further into the book, I started to really get interested!
Point, Click, Love reminded me a bit of the film He's Just Not That Into You. It's about four women - Kate, Maxine, Claudia and Annie - whose lives are linked and each have with their own problems and insecurities.
Kate's a recently divorced woman trying to get back to the dating scene, mostly to fulfill her physical needs rather than the emotional ones. Maxine seems to leading the perfect life with the most perfect family to everyone watching from the outside but only she knows how distant her relationship with her husband has become. Claudia is a smart,ambitious,agressive woman married to a guy who'd rather spend his time watching TV and on Facebook than go out and get a job to support his family. Annie's decided that she can't wait for a man to find love and wants to have a baby on her own.
All their stories have been influenced by technology in someway or the other. I guess in the present day, the internet, facebook, twitter, text messaging etc. basically rule our lives and we see how it affects these women's lives.
I think anyone reading this can relate to at least one of the four women. For me, it was Claudia -
"Steve knew all too well the many moods of Claudia. The contemplative Claudia, the boisterous Claudia, the I'm-having-an-existential-crisis Claudia, the I-hate-everyone Claudia,and, most recently, the I-love-everyone Claudia. Yes, she was moody, but Steve was the one person who was able to handle her wild swings.
Claudia had always been a 'handful,' as her parents liked to put it. She was outspoken and strong willed and fearless."
"None of them seemed to match her temperament."
Okay super long quote, sorry but I could relate to Claudia so much that I realized Molly Shapiro's probably based the other three characters on real people with whom some readers could relate to just as much! I loved each of their stories, I liked their characters and little adventures too. I liked how each of their married lives were different and led them down separate paths. I'll admit that the technology part is actually not necessary to make this a good read but it did make the story more entertaining at times (especially with Kate and Claudia).
All these ladies seem to rely on the internet for the things that they're looking for in their lives - truth, happiness and even distraction.
I do, however, feel that maybe their stories need not have been linked at all. The four of them being friends was a bit unnecessary and didn't contribute to the overall plot in any way - positive or negative. Point, Click, Love is a good, quick read that manages to keep you interested, if not throughout the entire novel,the story of at least one of the characters!
For the record, I totally agree. Facebook is evil.
May 16, 2012
A new one for the Favorites list! I adored Point, Click, Love, the debut from Molly Shapiro. I started this book one night while curled up in my chair, and after what felt like ten minutes I decided it was time for bed – and realized I was 61% finished with the book! This is an absolute gem, and one for your must-read list.
The story follows four friends as they deal with some tough issues. Katie is a divorced mother of two who uses the internet to get back in the dating game. She has decided she is over relationships and love, she just want some casual sex and companionship. But it Kate really ready for the world of online dating – and does she really in heart want to stay single? Annie has come to Kansas City from New York to get away and do something different from all her classmates – who are now all crazy successful – and has decided she is going to have a baby on her own. But when the sperm donor she wants isn’t giving the goods anymore, she takes matters in her own hands. Maxine has the perfect marriage – or so everyone on the outside thinks. She hasn’t even shared with her best friends that she and her husband have stopped having sex and she thinks he is having an affair. She turns to gossip sites and immerses herself in the celebrity world – until a wakeup call outside of Jennifer Aniston’s house brings her back to her own reality. And Claudia has become over-the-top angry with her husband, who has seemed to lose any motivation to try to find a job and is obsessed with sharing too many details of his life on Facebook. When a relationship with a co-worker goes too far, Claudia has to decide what she really wants from her marriage.
I thought this debut was fabulous. I loved each character and reading about how they went through their troubles, how they thought they could fix them, and what their end results were. I will say I didn’t think of them as friends so much, there was very little interaction between them, but I enjoyed their stories none the less. It was refreshing to have a novel set somewhere else than New York or LA, and this was set in Kansas City, which I loved. Annie’s story turned just a bit unbelievable with the sperm donor, but I still can’t give this any less than 5 stars. A great read that showcases powerful women, and a very modern tale about the times we live in now.
The story follows four friends as they deal with some tough issues. Katie is a divorced mother of two who uses the internet to get back in the dating game. She has decided she is over relationships and love, she just want some casual sex and companionship. But it Kate really ready for the world of online dating – and does she really in heart want to stay single? Annie has come to Kansas City from New York to get away and do something different from all her classmates – who are now all crazy successful – and has decided she is going to have a baby on her own. But when the sperm donor she wants isn’t giving the goods anymore, she takes matters in her own hands. Maxine has the perfect marriage – or so everyone on the outside thinks. She hasn’t even shared with her best friends that she and her husband have stopped having sex and she thinks he is having an affair. She turns to gossip sites and immerses herself in the celebrity world – until a wakeup call outside of Jennifer Aniston’s house brings her back to her own reality. And Claudia has become over-the-top angry with her husband, who has seemed to lose any motivation to try to find a job and is obsessed with sharing too many details of his life on Facebook. When a relationship with a co-worker goes too far, Claudia has to decide what she really wants from her marriage.
I thought this debut was fabulous. I loved each character and reading about how they went through their troubles, how they thought they could fix them, and what their end results were. I will say I didn’t think of them as friends so much, there was very little interaction between them, but I enjoyed their stories none the less. It was refreshing to have a novel set somewhere else than New York or LA, and this was set in Kansas City, which I loved. Annie’s story turned just a bit unbelievable with the sperm donor, but I still can’t give this any less than 5 stars. A great read that showcases powerful women, and a very modern tale about the times we live in now.
July 27, 2012
Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro is the story of four friends, Maxine, Kate, Claudia and Annie, who are all dealing with issues related to the internet in one way or another. Maxine is not the happily married woman she portrays to the world and, in fact, hasn't had sex with her husband in years. She forgets her own troubles by burying herself in gossip magazines about celebrities. Katie is a divorcee who swore off men until she realized that she couldn't swear off sex. She decides to find casual encounters online. Claudia's lazy husband spends more time on Facebook than he does with his family or looking for a job and 38 year old single Annie is no longer interested in finding a soul mate but she does want a baby and has decided to pick her sperm donor from an online catalog.
I'm giving this book 4.5 stars not necessarily because I LOVED it, but because I really couldn't put it down from page 1. I found myself tearing through the pages at every opportunity to see what happened.
The book is basically 4 separate stories that only come together because the individual women are friends. Although I enjoyed all four storylines, I was surprised to find myself most interested in Maxine and Claudia since I have never been married. Annie's story was a bit far-fetched but I enjoyed it as well. My least favorite was Katie. The way things wrapped up for all four was somewhat predictable and while I was satisfied with how things turned out with Maxine, Katie and Annie, I was disappointed with Claudia. Finally, while each story was definitely unique, the personalities of the characters were all pretty similar and I wish there had been more distinction made. They were all likeable and sympathetic characters but there were no character traits, aside from appearance, that really made them stand apart from each other. For instance, we were told that Claudia was a bit aggressive sometimes but you never really saw it.
Although the book had the potential to dig deep into how our society has become so dependent on technology and using the anonymity of the computer to avoid relating to each other on a more personal basis, it really didn't. So, if you're looking for depth, keep searching. If you're looking for a fast read to get you through a long commute by train or plane, though - this is a perfect pick!
I'm giving this book 4.5 stars not necessarily because I LOVED it, but because I really couldn't put it down from page 1. I found myself tearing through the pages at every opportunity to see what happened.
The book is basically 4 separate stories that only come together because the individual women are friends. Although I enjoyed all four storylines, I was surprised to find myself most interested in Maxine and Claudia since I have never been married. Annie's story was a bit far-fetched but I enjoyed it as well. My least favorite was Katie. The way things wrapped up for all four was somewhat predictable and while I was satisfied with how things turned out with Maxine, Katie and Annie, I was disappointed with Claudia. Finally, while each story was definitely unique, the personalities of the characters were all pretty similar and I wish there had been more distinction made. They were all likeable and sympathetic characters but there were no character traits, aside from appearance, that really made them stand apart from each other. For instance, we were told that Claudia was a bit aggressive sometimes but you never really saw it.
Although the book had the potential to dig deep into how our society has become so dependent on technology and using the anonymity of the computer to avoid relating to each other on a more personal basis, it really didn't. So, if you're looking for depth, keep searching. If you're looking for a fast read to get you through a long commute by train or plane, though - this is a perfect pick!
August 14, 2012
As much as I wanted to become invested in Molly Shapiro's Point, Click, Love, I struggled. I'm an online dating alum myself, and stories delving into the world of meeting potential mates through the Internet catch my interest. That’s what brought me to the novel, an entertaining story that kept me reading -- even if I wasn’t completely invested in the characters’ lives.
Despite heralding the four central women as “best friends,” we see very little interaction between them. The book’s third-person narration shifts focus between chapters from one woman to the next. That might have been my biggest hurdle to jump, enjoyment-wise: just as I was getting into Annie’s story, for example, we were hopping over to Maxine’s. Claudia’s situation felt the most realistic, but I couldn’t believe she was tumbling so far down a rabbit hole without anyone to pull her out. And I didn’t feel having four “main” characters was a benefit; I almost wish this had just been Katie’s story. Or maybe Claudia’s, though she made me pretty mad.
Point, Click, Love is easily digestible and occasionally sparkles with humor. Shapiro writes well and I enjoyed her turns of phrase, but her characters lacked the depth required to make me care about them. The “online dating” theme took a backseat to run-of-the-mill drama, and I didn’t feel like technology’s role in the modern dating world was explored in a satisfying way.
Fans of chick lit, modern romance and vignettes might find Shapiro’s novel an easy, breezy read for a summer afternoon. Though Point, Click, Love didn’t bowl me over, I did finish it quickly and would take a peek at the author’s future work. Maybe with a bigger concentration on the online dating scene, which was the most interesting part of this work -- whew wee, Katie and her potential sugar daddies! (You know, if the current situation doesn’t work out.)
Despite heralding the four central women as “best friends,” we see very little interaction between them. The book’s third-person narration shifts focus between chapters from one woman to the next. That might have been my biggest hurdle to jump, enjoyment-wise: just as I was getting into Annie’s story, for example, we were hopping over to Maxine’s. Claudia’s situation felt the most realistic, but I couldn’t believe she was tumbling so far down a rabbit hole without anyone to pull her out. And I didn’t feel having four “main” characters was a benefit; I almost wish this had just been Katie’s story. Or maybe Claudia’s, though she made me pretty mad.
Point, Click, Love is easily digestible and occasionally sparkles with humor. Shapiro writes well and I enjoyed her turns of phrase, but her characters lacked the depth required to make me care about them. The “online dating” theme took a backseat to run-of-the-mill drama, and I didn’t feel like technology’s role in the modern dating world was explored in a satisfying way.
Fans of chick lit, modern romance and vignettes might find Shapiro’s novel an easy, breezy read for a summer afternoon. Though Point, Click, Love didn’t bowl me over, I did finish it quickly and would take a peek at the author’s future work. Maybe with a bigger concentration on the online dating scene, which was the most interesting part of this work -- whew wee, Katie and her potential sugar daddies! (You know, if the current situation doesn’t work out.)
January 29, 2012
My GoodReads First Reads FREE copy just arrived in the mail! Can't wait to read it, I think it's going to move up on my to-read list. Sounds VERY much like some of my friends...
FULL REVIEW: OK, now I've read it the book. It was... fine. Without reading the blurb on the back of the book, I wouldn't have known that the four women were supposed to be friends until the middle of the book. There was nothing earth-shattering about this book. The basic gist of it is that technology can screw up your love life if you let it take over or you don't control it. Also, communication is important in relationships. I'm still not sure how the four women became friends and what the purpose of their friendship is. It could just as easily have been a story of 4 women in the same town who had never met each other. I think that you can probably identify with one character more than the others, and you probably know people who fit these profiles. But that's not really a great reason to read the book.
Overall, it was a quick read, but I would probably be irritated if I had spent $15 on it. Likely that I wouldn't have bought it, might have checked it out at the library.
FULL REVIEW: OK, now I've read it the book. It was... fine. Without reading the blurb on the back of the book, I wouldn't have known that the four women were supposed to be friends until the middle of the book. There was nothing earth-shattering about this book. The basic gist of it is that technology can screw up your love life if you let it take over or you don't control it. Also, communication is important in relationships. I'm still not sure how the four women became friends and what the purpose of their friendship is. It could just as easily have been a story of 4 women in the same town who had never met each other. I think that you can probably identify with one character more than the others, and you probably know people who fit these profiles. But that's not really a great reason to read the book.
Overall, it was a quick read, but I would probably be irritated if I had spent $15 on it. Likely that I wouldn't have bought it, might have checked it out at the library.
January 28, 2012
Note: I received this book through Goodreads First Reads. This an entertaining novel following the sex and love lives of 4 friends. Each go through a different problem (dating post-divorce, affair, disinterested husband, contemplating single motherhood), but as a neat touch, Shapiro uses technology as an anchor in all of the stories, and as a way to tie all the stories together in the end.
The dialogue is a bit uninspiring in some parts, and rushed in others, pushing the plot forward too quickly for Claudia's story. And Annie's story, one of the most interesting, gallops to a finish. Ultimately, each of these stories end quickly, but satisfactorily. I would have liked to have them fleshed out more, but I guess it's better to leave them wanting more.
The dialogue is a bit uninspiring in some parts, and rushed in others, pushing the plot forward too quickly for Claudia's story. And Annie's story, one of the most interesting, gallops to a finish. Ultimately, each of these stories end quickly, but satisfactorily. I would have liked to have them fleshed out more, but I guess it's better to leave them wanting more.
March 2, 2012
If you are looking for a fun, romantic and beach read, well then you have come to the right place. I might be a little biased because I'm a huge chick-lit fan, and this is DEFINITELY chick-lit. I might also be biased because I met my husband online, via Jdate.com. I will admit it is a bit scary but it turned out great. If I wasn't feeling so sick I would have flown through this book in probably less than 2 days. I'm definitely looking forward to Molly's next novel.
December 13, 2012
Oh that was dreadful. The only reason I made it through the whole book is because it was the only book on my e reader. Not quite what I was hoping. The premise of the story intrigued me and I thought it would be a fun light read but it was just so stupid and the characters were not likeable. I expected more.
January 16, 2012
Depressing for no real reason. Nothing new here. Lots of man-bashing.
March 25, 2012
Really funny girlie girl book! I loved Annie and the way all 4 leads were really easy to relate to. The book club story was good. Good read with a lot of humor
October 5, 2012
Terrible. Do not waste your time.
January 15, 2013
So horrible I can't even put into words how badly I hated this book.
March 6, 2017
Loveable Hot Messes!!!
Claudia, Katie, Annie and Maxine are four middle aged(ish) women who are each struggling with something in their life. Claudia ' s husband is out of work and obsessed with Facebook. She is completely frustrated with him and starts noticing a good looking co-worker. Katie, divorced, doesn't want to get married or even have a serious relationship, but she wants to have sex. She signs up for online dating. Annie, an NYC transplant to KC, don't know what she wants, she just knows she wants something more than what she has. Maxine, the one with the "perfect marriage", discovers it's not so perfect after all and becomes obsessed with celebrity gossip, paralleling what she reads to her own marriage.
These four women, all friends, go about getting what they want in sometimes not the best way, but it's certainly entertaining and oh so refreshing to read about true, non-judgmental relationships between women. I couldn't read this quickly enough to find out how and if these ladies resolved their dilemmas. Thus book is a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
Claudia, Katie, Annie and Maxine are four middle aged(ish) women who are each struggling with something in their life. Claudia ' s husband is out of work and obsessed with Facebook. She is completely frustrated with him and starts noticing a good looking co-worker. Katie, divorced, doesn't want to get married or even have a serious relationship, but she wants to have sex. She signs up for online dating. Annie, an NYC transplant to KC, don't know what she wants, she just knows she wants something more than what she has. Maxine, the one with the "perfect marriage", discovers it's not so perfect after all and becomes obsessed with celebrity gossip, paralleling what she reads to her own marriage.
These four women, all friends, go about getting what they want in sometimes not the best way, but it's certainly entertaining and oh so refreshing to read about true, non-judgmental relationships between women. I couldn't read this quickly enough to find out how and if these ladies resolved their dilemmas. Thus book is a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
February 27, 2017
The book was good, but not great. It ended abruptly and everything started feeling rushed a little over halfway through the novel which I found odd and unnecessary. In the beginning of the book I really identified with the main characters, who were experiencing relationship problems. However, for how close they were supposedly, I was quite surprised on how little they leaned on each other. Even when they did lean on each other, it was in an intoxicated state and short-lived. Also, (spoiler alert) they all get a happily ever after in their own way. I think this is realistic if they learn to accept their happily ever after as such, because if you asked me what the characters' happy ending would be based on how they were developed initially, it would be different. Unfortunately, the transformation wasn't clear for 3/4 main characters, and the 4th could have been better.
July 12, 2017
3.75. A fun, light read about four friends, each having a go at the world of online dating. The narrative moves easily and with clarity from thread to thread--no problems with shifting POV--but we didn't stay with any of the four women long enough to feel a strong emotional connection. This is a good vacation read: no deep, dark, heaviness to drag down your sunny mood, some relatable humor, and everyone gets their HEA in the end. I enjoyed it.
October 10, 2019
I needed something light after Rabbit Girls, and this fit the bill. It was definitely a bit dated (as novels about technology are wont to be), but I liked the very different storylines and how they came together without it feeling forced. It was interesting to see the different paths each was taking with relationships; I could really relate to both Katie and Anna.
July 25, 2017
A cute, quick read. Characters are kind of assholes, but it is easy to overlook.
August 8, 2017
Breezy and cute. A good book palette cleanser.
July 28, 2019
Cute, fun and quick read!
September 27, 2025
Misogynistic and out dated. stilted writing, poor character development, god awful dialogue. Shocked I managed to finish it.
February 9, 2012
All of my reviews are originally published for Twisting the Lens:
http://twistingthelens.wordpress.com
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Ever since Sex and the City, authors have tried to recreate the magic that it created for women across the country. Most of them have, unfortunately fallen short of connecting with their audience in quite the same way. With Point, Click, Love, Molly Shapiro attempts to add her name to the list of those following in the stilettoed footsteps of many chick-lit books before.
Shapiro serves up a story of four friends in the Mid-West trying to navigate their love lives within the world of social networks that have become so pervasive in our everyday lives. Katie, coping with her divorce, tries her hand at on-line dating services, while Maxine turns to celebrity gossip sites to escape what everyone thinks is the perfect marriage. Claudia is faced with competing with her husband’s obsession with reconnecting with old friends on Facebook, and Annie decides to explore the world of online sperm donor sites in her quest of motherhood.
While reading each of these women’s stories, with alternating chapters for each, it quickly becomes clear that there is more going on beneath the surface. We follow the ladies through issues of infidelity, distrust, divorce, dating, and navigating through their own lives, while struggling to achieve their own independence and sense of comfort. They do so while trying to maintain their privacy, learning that it is not always so easy with everyone being so digitally connected.
At times, Point, Click, Love is a bit predictable and misses the chance to really stand out in the chick-lit genre. The characters are well-developed, and the storyline is easy for many types of women to identify with. While the characters may not always make the best decisions, it makes them seem more real in the long run. However, in the end, everything is nicely tied up with a romantic little bow, which may leave the reader wanting something a bit more realistic and cohesive with the rest of the storyline. Though, this is by no means a reason to avoid the sweet book candy that Shapiro has given us.
Point, Click, Love serves up a good, sassy, easy to read, story of four very different women, and does so with a twist. With the world of the internet that is so readily available to us, it is obvious that our means of communicating and relating to one another have changed in recent years. The question is, how much is too much, and at what point should we simply take a time out from it all and focus on the relationships right in front of us? Has all the social networking actually made us more distant, while delivering a sense of false connectedness? Point, Click, Love may not be the great answer to life, but it is a book sure to capture your attention and make you appreciate the people that are right in front of you.
http://twistingthelens.wordpress.com
_______________________________________________________________
Ever since Sex and the City, authors have tried to recreate the magic that it created for women across the country. Most of them have, unfortunately fallen short of connecting with their audience in quite the same way. With Point, Click, Love, Molly Shapiro attempts to add her name to the list of those following in the stilettoed footsteps of many chick-lit books before.
Shapiro serves up a story of four friends in the Mid-West trying to navigate their love lives within the world of social networks that have become so pervasive in our everyday lives. Katie, coping with her divorce, tries her hand at on-line dating services, while Maxine turns to celebrity gossip sites to escape what everyone thinks is the perfect marriage. Claudia is faced with competing with her husband’s obsession with reconnecting with old friends on Facebook, and Annie decides to explore the world of online sperm donor sites in her quest of motherhood.
While reading each of these women’s stories, with alternating chapters for each, it quickly becomes clear that there is more going on beneath the surface. We follow the ladies through issues of infidelity, distrust, divorce, dating, and navigating through their own lives, while struggling to achieve their own independence and sense of comfort. They do so while trying to maintain their privacy, learning that it is not always so easy with everyone being so digitally connected.
At times, Point, Click, Love is a bit predictable and misses the chance to really stand out in the chick-lit genre. The characters are well-developed, and the storyline is easy for many types of women to identify with. While the characters may not always make the best decisions, it makes them seem more real in the long run. However, in the end, everything is nicely tied up with a romantic little bow, which may leave the reader wanting something a bit more realistic and cohesive with the rest of the storyline. Though, this is by no means a reason to avoid the sweet book candy that Shapiro has given us.
Point, Click, Love serves up a good, sassy, easy to read, story of four very different women, and does so with a twist. With the world of the internet that is so readily available to us, it is obvious that our means of communicating and relating to one another have changed in recent years. The question is, how much is too much, and at what point should we simply take a time out from it all and focus on the relationships right in front of us? Has all the social networking actually made us more distant, while delivering a sense of false connectedness? Point, Click, Love may not be the great answer to life, but it is a book sure to capture your attention and make you appreciate the people that are right in front of you.
February 27, 2012
2.5/5 Passing grade but barely.
Point, Click, Love is Molly Shapiro's debut novel.
Four women in Kansas are each facing a crisis of sorts in their lives. Maxine, a successful artist married to an equally successful doctor, finds that their relationship (and sex life) is suffering. When her husband refuses to acknowledge the problem, she instead becomes immersed in the lives of celebrities, scouring online gossip sites. Claudia is angry, very angry. Her husband Steve isn't working and doesn't even try to make an effort to cook or clean their home, instead spending his days on Facebook.
"Now all he wanted to do was gather material and run to the computer or his cell phone, where he could share his thoughts and feelings with a larger, more appreciative audience." (I thought this was a fantastic line)
Annie is a successful single woman, who has just realized she wants a child. With no man in the picture, she turns to online sperm banks. And Katie, a divorcee with two kids, searches for companionship and sex through online dating sites.
"And so she decided to take care of her need for sex in the same way she took care of paying her bills, finding cheap airfare, and buying her kids' school uniforms - she went online."
Although the back cover blurb lists the women as being friends, we don't see much interaction between them. It seems that the story rotates to the next women in line every fourth chapter. Each woman's tale could easily have been a short story. As it was, I started making myself a quick chart to keep track of who was who and what their 'issue' was. Why? Well, none of the characters really stood out for me - they kind of all ran together. I never really became invested in any of them at all - they seemed quite stilted and wooden, despite the dialogue Shapiro has provided them with.
The book is touted as humourous women's fiction, but I really didn't find too much to laugh at or with. I found some of their behaviour tawdry, sad and desperate - not funny at all.
Some of the situations were completely far fetched. A sperm bank receptionist who willingly gives up confidential information to one of them posing as a reporter?
"The fact that Jill had no idea that she was doing anything wrong by disclosing Marcus's identity made it even easier for Annie. Kids today, she thought. No boundaries. No rules."
A mom who seriously considers being a paid 'Seeking Arrangement' on Craigslist as a way to support herself when she loses her job? Ick. Perhaps some of these ideas looked good in the planning stages on a white board, but they didn't make a smooth jump to the written page.
Shapiro has started with a good idea - Point, Click, Love explores how the web and online interactions impact relationships and how nothing can truly replace that face to face connection. But for me the delivery of that premise was only mediocre.
Point, Click, Love is Molly Shapiro's debut novel.
Four women in Kansas are each facing a crisis of sorts in their lives. Maxine, a successful artist married to an equally successful doctor, finds that their relationship (and sex life) is suffering. When her husband refuses to acknowledge the problem, she instead becomes immersed in the lives of celebrities, scouring online gossip sites. Claudia is angry, very angry. Her husband Steve isn't working and doesn't even try to make an effort to cook or clean their home, instead spending his days on Facebook.
"Now all he wanted to do was gather material and run to the computer or his cell phone, where he could share his thoughts and feelings with a larger, more appreciative audience." (I thought this was a fantastic line)
Annie is a successful single woman, who has just realized she wants a child. With no man in the picture, she turns to online sperm banks. And Katie, a divorcee with two kids, searches for companionship and sex through online dating sites.
"And so she decided to take care of her need for sex in the same way she took care of paying her bills, finding cheap airfare, and buying her kids' school uniforms - she went online."
Although the back cover blurb lists the women as being friends, we don't see much interaction between them. It seems that the story rotates to the next women in line every fourth chapter. Each woman's tale could easily have been a short story. As it was, I started making myself a quick chart to keep track of who was who and what their 'issue' was. Why? Well, none of the characters really stood out for me - they kind of all ran together. I never really became invested in any of them at all - they seemed quite stilted and wooden, despite the dialogue Shapiro has provided them with.
The book is touted as humourous women's fiction, but I really didn't find too much to laugh at or with. I found some of their behaviour tawdry, sad and desperate - not funny at all.
Some of the situations were completely far fetched. A sperm bank receptionist who willingly gives up confidential information to one of them posing as a reporter?
"The fact that Jill had no idea that she was doing anything wrong by disclosing Marcus's identity made it even easier for Annie. Kids today, she thought. No boundaries. No rules."
A mom who seriously considers being a paid 'Seeking Arrangement' on Craigslist as a way to support herself when she loses her job? Ick. Perhaps some of these ideas looked good in the planning stages on a white board, but they didn't make a smooth jump to the written page.
Shapiro has started with a good idea - Point, Click, Love explores how the web and online interactions impact relationships and how nothing can truly replace that face to face connection. But for me the delivery of that premise was only mediocre.
March 11, 2012
Katie is a divorced mother of two. She no longer believes in true love. It’s more like “true lust”. She has been fine with not having a man in her life for the last two years. Until now. She desperately craves a casual, sexual relationship and decides to sign up with an online dating service.
Claudia is married to Steve. Steve has been out of work for quite some time. Instead of scouring the newspaper job section, he sits on the couch channel surfing and updating his Facebook status. Claudia has tried to be patient with him, but money is tight and she’s tired of being the only employed spouse. She doesn’t understand Steve’s fascination with Facebook and what he could possibly be posting all day.
Maxine is married to Jake. From the outside looking in, they appear to have the perfect marriage. Only Maxine knows the truth: their marriage is in trouble. And has been for quite some time. When she discovers her husband has been texting a gorgeous younger doctor, she fears her marriage may be over.
Annie was born and raised in New York City. She relocated to Kansas City for her career. If truth be told, she also wanted a fresh start after the breakup with long-term boyfriend. Thinking their relationship would end in marriage, Annie was devastated when he announced he did not want to marry her. Now it’s years later and Annie’s biological clock is about to explode. Perhaps marriage isn’t in her future, but being a mom is. Who needs a husband when she can visit the local sperm bank?
Point, Click, Love is a tale about four friends facing the issues of dating and marriage today. From online dating, Facebook hookups, to inappropriate texts, Shapiro explores how each can destruct a relationship. From the beginning, I was entertained with this novel. I definitely could relate to Claudia’s confusion about what her husband was posting on Facebook. His need to create a world where everything is light and carefree was understandable to a point. I mean who really wants to post how miserable your life really is? As I continued to read, his behavior began to irritate me.
I’ve been looking forward to reading Point, Click, Love for quite some time. I’m disappointed I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Halfway through the novel, I began to disconnect from the characters. There are some scenes that may come across as humorous, but for me the characters appeared desperate. I cringed at some of the choices they made. What I thought would be a light, fun read turned into a serious look into the do’s and don’ts of relationships. Now that I write that, I don’t think it is a bad thing.
3.5 Stars
Claudia is married to Steve. Steve has been out of work for quite some time. Instead of scouring the newspaper job section, he sits on the couch channel surfing and updating his Facebook status. Claudia has tried to be patient with him, but money is tight and she’s tired of being the only employed spouse. She doesn’t understand Steve’s fascination with Facebook and what he could possibly be posting all day.
Maxine is married to Jake. From the outside looking in, they appear to have the perfect marriage. Only Maxine knows the truth: their marriage is in trouble. And has been for quite some time. When she discovers her husband has been texting a gorgeous younger doctor, she fears her marriage may be over.
Annie was born and raised in New York City. She relocated to Kansas City for her career. If truth be told, she also wanted a fresh start after the breakup with long-term boyfriend. Thinking their relationship would end in marriage, Annie was devastated when he announced he did not want to marry her. Now it’s years later and Annie’s biological clock is about to explode. Perhaps marriage isn’t in her future, but being a mom is. Who needs a husband when she can visit the local sperm bank?
Point, Click, Love is a tale about four friends facing the issues of dating and marriage today. From online dating, Facebook hookups, to inappropriate texts, Shapiro explores how each can destruct a relationship. From the beginning, I was entertained with this novel. I definitely could relate to Claudia’s confusion about what her husband was posting on Facebook. His need to create a world where everything is light and carefree was understandable to a point. I mean who really wants to post how miserable your life really is? As I continued to read, his behavior began to irritate me.
I’ve been looking forward to reading Point, Click, Love for quite some time. I’m disappointed I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Halfway through the novel, I began to disconnect from the characters. There are some scenes that may come across as humorous, but for me the characters appeared desperate. I cringed at some of the choices they made. What I thought would be a light, fun read turned into a serious look into the do’s and don’ts of relationships. Now that I write that, I don’t think it is a bad thing.
3.5 Stars
March 8, 2012
This book was not my cup of tea right off the bat. As I was starting the first chapter all I kept thinking was how the sentences didn't seem to flow well. Everything felt so choppy, as though I was reading a novel from someone who was taking a writing course for the first time in their life. The more I read, the worse this got - one minute a character was in the middle of an art gallery and in the next sentence in the same paragraph they were back in their hotel room. WHAT?! How did she move so quickly!?
The characters were not well developed, hated men and hated technology - were they supposed to be in their 30/40's or their 70's?!? I couldn't tell! I wound up feeling nothing for them, the conversations between these women and men were so unrealistic and the situations were so more far-fetched it felt as though the author had never experienced them and was writing based on a very negative bias she has towards them (online dating, Facebook, sperm donation, being in LA, etc). The author lives in Kansas City and so that was where she based her characters - and if people in KC are anything like these 4 women we are all better off staying away from that city!
My recommendation? Skip this one and save yourself the hours you will spend banging your head against the wall just to amuse yourself again.
The characters were not well developed, hated men and hated technology - were they supposed to be in their 30/40's or their 70's?!? I couldn't tell! I wound up feeling nothing for them, the conversations between these women and men were so unrealistic and the situations were so more far-fetched it felt as though the author had never experienced them and was writing based on a very negative bias she has towards them (online dating, Facebook, sperm donation, being in LA, etc). The author lives in Kansas City and so that was where she based her characters - and if people in KC are anything like these 4 women we are all better off staying away from that city!
My recommendation? Skip this one and save yourself the hours you will spend banging your head against the wall just to amuse yourself again.
February 11, 2012
I won this book off of Goodreads. I was actually looking forward to this some what new age romance where it describes people using the internet to connect and find love. I wasn't totally disappointed, not being a fan of sex and the city I just didn't really connect to the characters in this book. I think this story might have been better if she hadn't tried to connect the women as friends at all, if I hadn't read the back of the book I wouldn't have known until halfway through that they were suppose to be friends.
Alot of the story just left me feeling depressed for no real reason. I Didn't care about characters & their self-inflicted problems. It wasn't very original and it was full of man-bashing.
The dialogue was choppy in some parts, and rushed in others, it felt like it was dragging the plot forward too quickly for Claudia's story. And Annie's story, one of the most interesting, gallops to a finish. Ultimately, each of these stories end quickly, I would have liked to have them fleshed out more, This might have actually fixed the story for me if her characters just felt a little more alive.
Alot of the story just left me feeling depressed for no real reason. I Didn't care about characters & their self-inflicted problems. It wasn't very original and it was full of man-bashing.
The dialogue was choppy in some parts, and rushed in others, it felt like it was dragging the plot forward too quickly for Claudia's story. And Annie's story, one of the most interesting, gallops to a finish. Ultimately, each of these stories end quickly, I would have liked to have them fleshed out more, This might have actually fixed the story for me if her characters just felt a little more alive.
March 1, 2012
Four separate characters and their stories that come together to make a great book. Formatted where each chapter is centered around one of the four ladies, but each of the other characters make appearances in creative ways.
Each of the four characters is in a different place in life from newly divorced to eternally single and they are each trying to figure out what kind of future they each want out of life. With four characters and their families, I did have to make a post it note to keep the girls and their spouses and children all straight. The reader falls in love with each character as these women grow throughout the book. I became invested and wanted to make sure each character ended up in a happy place, whatever that was for each of them.
As a newly engaged woman, this book was hard to read at times due to the marriages that were taking hard hits and falling apart. It made me definitely think and confirm that this marriage thing is a serious lifetime commitment which shouldn't be taken lightly. A book that will make you think and even make you realize how good things may be in your own life.
Each of the four characters is in a different place in life from newly divorced to eternally single and they are each trying to figure out what kind of future they each want out of life. With four characters and their families, I did have to make a post it note to keep the girls and their spouses and children all straight. The reader falls in love with each character as these women grow throughout the book. I became invested and wanted to make sure each character ended up in a happy place, whatever that was for each of them.
As a newly engaged woman, this book was hard to read at times due to the marriages that were taking hard hits and falling apart. It made me definitely think and confirm that this marriage thing is a serious lifetime commitment which shouldn't be taken lightly. A book that will make you think and even make you realize how good things may be in your own life.
February 16, 2012
Not sure how I really feel about this book..thus the three stars. A great book for me draws you in so that you know the characters intimately, you know their motivations, and you are almost a part of the storyline. Others make you feel like the book is a story being written by someone, that you are standing outside observing. The latter was how I felt about Point, Click, Love. I was interested so kept reading, but really wasn't invested in these characters or their lives. Seems like the author just skimmed the characters...would have liked it more had there been deeper character developement. Did enjoy the KC references as I am a native. Author's style was succinct and the story flowed although a bit choppy at times. As far as humor? Yes...there were some cute scenes that made me smile. But in this case I felt it was the author trying to be funny, rather than the characters thinking funny thoughts. Again, my lack of involvement with the characters caused this. It's an easy read..but nothing spectacular.
May 25, 2012
I don't know that I have a whole lot to say about this one...it didn't leave that much of an impression on me.
This book follows the ups and downs of four women as they use the internet as a way to escape or transform their lives. One is a single woman looking for a sperm donor, another a divorced mother looking to get back into the dating scene, the third seeks excitement through celebrity gossip to escape her less than ideal marriage and the last lets her suspicions of her husbands online infidelity spur her toward her own.
The writing style flowed well and presented no problems but I don't think that any of the women's characters were as fleshed out as they could have been. Honestly I had a hard time relating to any of these women and the choices that they made. The story line barely tied the four together and I feel that a lot of the scenes that were meant to be humorous just came across as sad and sort of desperate.
The story kept me somewhat entertained throughout yet at the end it really didn't leave me feeling happy or satisfied. I think it just wasn't for me.
This book follows the ups and downs of four women as they use the internet as a way to escape or transform their lives. One is a single woman looking for a sperm donor, another a divorced mother looking to get back into the dating scene, the third seeks excitement through celebrity gossip to escape her less than ideal marriage and the last lets her suspicions of her husbands online infidelity spur her toward her own.
The writing style flowed well and presented no problems but I don't think that any of the women's characters were as fleshed out as they could have been. Honestly I had a hard time relating to any of these women and the choices that they made. The story line barely tied the four together and I feel that a lot of the scenes that were meant to be humorous just came across as sad and sort of desperate.
The story kept me somewhat entertained throughout yet at the end it really didn't leave me feeling happy or satisfied. I think it just wasn't for me.
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