Héritière Malgré Moi

by Lynn Messina

Welcome to Tallulahland. Growing. Tallulah West thinks she's got everything figured out, from her interrupted career path to the men in her life. (Career path = anything to displease Dad. Nick = trusty best friend. Dad = see career path.) But when her world is turned upside down (again), not everyone acts accordingly and nothing goes as planned. Once upon a time Tallulah was happy to follow in her father's footsteps. But then her mom died. Now she'd rather toil away for a hack designer than work on her own designs and lay claim to all that comes with being the only daughter of furniture-designing royalty. Which is a shame -- because Tallulah has so much talent. Nick knows the truth -- that she's a little too good at making bad decisions -- and has no qualms about interfering in her life. But only after she finds the deed to a plot of land in North Carolina, an unexpected final gift from her mother, is she propelled into action. Accompanied by Nick and an excitement she hasn't felt in years, Tallulah heads south. She's following her mother's dream, but somewhere in the underbrush of an undeveloped plot of land, she finds her own.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lynn Messina is author of more than a dozen novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into sixteen languages, and a series of Regency romance novels. Her essays have appeared in Self, American Baby and the New York Times Modern Love column. She lives in New York City with her sons.

Reviews

[Ariella Papa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of Lynn's books.

[deb ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

lame
1 star only for nick

[Le carnet de Calli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une histoire bien sympathique.

Lou rêve d’ouvrir sa boite, mais sans demander d’aide à son père et ce n’est pas facile.

Dans ce livre, on suit son cheminement vers l’indépendance, ses doutes, ses joies, ses peines, elle broie beaucoup de noir, mais c’est sans compter sur ses amis.

On y découvre Hannah son amie actrice qui invente des histoire et des personnages tordus, avec elle, on ne s’ennuie pas.

Et puis Nick le meilleur ami, avec qui Lou partage beaucoup de chose, il la pousse à aller de l’avant à faire des choses sans écouter ses doutes.

Une histoire pas compliquée, qui se lit facilement.

[Myriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is not revolutionary but it was a pleasant enough read. The story and the plot lack a bit of depth and unpredictability but it's not badly written, the characters are a bit one-dimensional but the dynamics were interesting nonetheless. I regret that too little time was spent fleshing out the main characters and describing the scenery. Other than that, it was a nice simple book.

[Chris Avalon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Tallulahland. It's a quirky story of relationships, good friendships, parental challenges and even a little romance. This is a feel good book that makes you laugh and at times makes you a little sad, but all in all a happy story.

[Diane Moeller]

bad

[Philip Meckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and charming. The dialogue just flows.

[K McBride · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh, after 100 pgs, I skipped around and finally gave up.

[Julie Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Tallulahland' by Lynn Messina is a chick-lit novel.
Tallulah West is a 29-year-old aspiring furniture designer who lives in New York City. She's still struggling to cope with the death of her mother. Her father has recently remarried and Tallulah is upset with him for moving on so quickly.
Tallulah's father is a famous designer and her dream is to follow in his footsteps and create her own furniture designs. In order to get revenge on him, she decided to settle as an assistant to Marcos Medici, the boss of a mediocre company. This upsets Tallulah's father as he believes his daughter, being a West, has more potential.
When Tallulah discovers her mother has left her a deed to a plot of land in North Carolina, she and her best friend, Nick, go on a road trip to follow her mother's dream and to gain the courage to work towards her dream.
I liked Tallulah's character. She was funny and relatable. Although, I thought it was sad how she was pessimistic a lot of the time and she remained this way for most of the novel.
Nick and Hannah made excellent side characters. I liked Hannah's eccentricity and outrageous ideas. I liked Nick's charm and willingness to do anything for Tallulah.
I wish there were more scenes with Tallulah and Nick. I liked their friendship, their banter and how well they complemented each other.
There were times when the metaphorical language got in the way of the story and stopped it from flowing.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 15 years and older and is a fan of chick-lit novels.

[Kelly Gatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book 6 * before I finally was able to sink my teeth into it. The first few pages are a spoiled child's tirade over a father's choice to remarry and her selfish need to ask him at his wedding for funds to start a business she can't start on her own. Once I trudged through the first few pages though, the main character's underlying issues show a vulnerability with which we all can connect even if we have no idea about fashion, design, or families of notoriety.

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the author was too busy trying to make up metaphors and deep, insightful writing to bother with a plot or character development. There was no real feeling, only an overly done description of feeling. It would've been a better story if I hadn't felt like the author was so pompous.

[Jan Marks]

Cute and fast read (3 hrs.) another inspiring "I can do it" book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great chick lit read.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one and thought that Jason would have liked it with the design part of it but he wasn't interested, oddly enough.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

designer had basic issues. i rock reviews

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tallulahland was an instant favorite when I read it. Something about a character who finally gets over her personal hurdles and achieves her dreams really resonated with me.

[Kristy Cunningham · Rating 2 out of 5]

couldn't wait to finish.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, light entertainment. Tallulah was a bit whiny about her father & the Marcos thing was predictable, but it was very easy reading.

[Sherri Bryant]

I couldn't get into this book for some reason, though I have enjoyed other books by this author.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

""

[Charity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Expected much more from Messina after Fashionistas.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Lisa Turner

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of slow in the beginning, but got interesting.