Ruby Blues

Ruby #2

by Jessica Rudd

Ruby Stanhope is back, bigger and better than ever! - with more cocktail spills, more romantic thrills, more political skewerings and LOLs. In Campaign Ruby, the very fabulous Ruby Stanhope got the Leader of the Opposition elected and fell in love with Luke.Two years into his first term, the new PM is on the nose. And Luke is demanding romantic dinners at home rather than takeaway on the run.

What's a girl to do when she's about to turn thirty, when her wardrobe turns drab, her love life turns luke-warm and the government is leakier than a cheap umbrella? Can she find her inner Nancy Drew in time to save her boss? Will she succumb to temptation when Elliot, the hot vet, enters the scene?

Luke? Elliot? Work? Love? Unladdered stockings?

Can she have it all? And, more importantly, what should she wear to the Midwinter Ball?

Jessica Rudd, 28, had three career changes in as many years - law, PR, politics - but is now going steady with her life as a writer. She hopes Ruby Blues, sequel to Campaign Ruby, will give her readers as many laughs as she had writing it. Jessica is based in Beijing.

'A light-hearted, skilfully written political romp...the Gen Y comedy of manners par excellence.' Age

'Ruby Blues is a delight to read. Beyond the laughs, it contains some serious messages for us (about our priorities) and for our leaders (about being themselves rather than just spouting predictable talking points). Will someone please buy the PM a copy?' Canberra Times'Fresh funny and smart. Loved it.' Mia Freedman, West Australian magazine'Ruby Blues should serve to establish Jessica as an author of thoroughly fun and thoroughly female books. Ruby Blues is like The West Wing meets Marian fast-talking through the corridors of power blended with putting-make- up-on-in-a-bike-taxi drama and work-life-balance calamity.' Sunday Mail Brisbane'Rudd is a natural storyteller, one whose narrative and character construction reveal an underlying intelligence. There is substance behind the easy writing style.' Weekend Australian'Ruby Blues is Allison Pearson (I Don’t Know Show She Does It) with parliament...Rudd should really have written At Home with Julia - she would have done a better job.' Sunday Age'Ruby Blues is one of the best novels I've read this year. Easy to read, hard to put down, it has everything Campaign Ruby had plus more, namely a hunky veterinarian...Rudd's writing is witty, modern and on-trend with her target audience. If you love politics, chick lit, fashion and twitter, then this book is for you.' Examiner'For politically savvy Gen-Y chick lit, you can't go past [Jessica Rudd]...It's a savvy and entertaining read.' Saturday Age'Laugh-out-loud moments the scrapes, foibles and follies are and the bitchiness is biting. Someone, please, grab the film rights.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Australia, Politics, Romance

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2011

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen, I like Jessica Rudd. I don't know her personally, but she seems a good sort and that comes out in her writing. That being said, I don't think her novels are the strongest on offer in chick-lit. They're not bad - a solid three stars for both the first book and this sequel - but I think she is smarter than her writing suggests. By this I mean that I wish she didn't fall into the old chick-lit tropes so that Ruby could be something more than every other hapless heroine from something penned by either Helen Fielding or Richard Curtis (she should read Mindy Kaling's chapter on women in rom-coms). Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed Ruby Blues as much as I enjoyed its predecessor but given that Rudd engages with feminism as a significant theme in this, it made me want more - I wish she would take it to some next, much cleverer level (like The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, which is my benchmark for hilarious feminist writing, even though it is a YA novel). So, I like Jessica Rudd. I like her books. I'll keep on reading them because, like Bettina, I've got a little bit of hope.

[Sarah Neofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby Blues is one of those rare sequels that is better than the first novel. In part, this is because I'd already suspended my disbelief that an English former investment banker who bought tickets to Australia on a drunken whim, with seemingly no relevant experience could so quickly rise through the ranks of Australian politics. Especially when she has no legal right to even work in the country. But girl-lands-amazing-job-with-hectic-scheudle-of-flights,-lattes-and-hotel-stays is a relatively common conceit in the genre. (And it certainly wouldn't be the first time a pretty young (white! immigrant) woman got places in Australian politics at the expense of someone less attractive though more experienced and qualified - but if this is the angle you're going to take, I'd like to see it problematised...)
Although this annoyed me in Campaign Ruby, I was prepared for it in Ruby Blues, which may account for much of my more positive evaluation. But more than that, I found Ruby Blues to be more complex and nuanced than most books which are as 'lighthearted' and readable. Ruby faces questions that left me guessing at how she would react and how the book would end. This may be a spoiler, but my only real disappointment was the seeming absence of any admirable non-stereotypically feminine characters in the political realm. Naturally, all players in this (and any) field have their flaws, but as much as I felt the character of Bettina showed that being cute and ditzy-seeming doesn't necessarily equate with silliness, equally, being strong and refusing to bow to the unspoken or spoken (in some political systems and workplaces!) demands to wear makeup, high heels and clothing frankly uncomfortable for long working hours does not necessarily equate with heartlessness either. Overall, I found Ruby Blues a surprisingly enjoyable read.

[Kathryn Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Ruby Blues as I'd remembered liking Campaign Ruby years ago, but found Ruby to be a selfish, irrational and bullying character. Ruby's behaviour towards Bettina was totally inappropriate. The ending seemed rushed and the supposed romance was non-existent and unbelievable.

The editing errors also grated on me. For example, the suburb of Queanbeyan is misspelled as 'Queenbeyan' and Ruby eats a nectarine in winter (definitely a summer fruit). I know this nitpicking!

One star for the supporting characters.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s two years after Ruby fled London for Australia after losing her banking job and scored a job as a financial analyst on a prime ministerial campaign. Although their candidate was voted in, now he’s not doing so well in the polls and Ruby is busier than ever. After the Leader Of the Opposition won the election and became Prime Minister, Luke quit his position as Chief of Staff so he and Ruby no longer work together, but they have been dating for time between books. Luke, having already lost one marriage to the hours he worked when he was on staff, is starting to make noises about Ruby cutting back, coming home earlier, maybe spending more time together. But Ruby can’t even find the time to sit down and decide where she wants to go on holidays (despite Luke putting together a brief, with possible destinations alphabetized and pros/cons listed) and she loves her job. She definitely can’t see herself cutting back any time soon, and she definitely won’t be taking any extended time off.

With Luke on the way out due to conflicting opinions, Ruby throws herself even more into her work, mounting a campaign to help the Prime Minster’s desperately sliding poll numbers. Doing the rounds of talk shows, dealing with potentially career-ending scandals and blackmail threats, Ruby’s life is never dull. Her personal life is hectic as well, with Daphne and Debs expecting a baby and Ruby’s sister and niece flying in for a visit. Add in the arrival of one very attractive vet and also the return of a former flame (or is that adversary?), an iconic birthday looming (the big 3-0) and a big formal event, the Midwinter Ball looming on the horizon, there’s still decisions to be made like where is she going to get the perfect dress?

I went straight on to Ruby Blues after finishing Campaign Ruby. The second novel is often lauded as the trickiest one, especially after a successful first one. Fortunately, Ruby Blues is just as enjoyable and amusing as its predecessor with likable heroine Ruby Stanhope back and busier than ever and getting herself into more situations than before! After falling asleep during a rather hmm, intimate moment with boyfriend Luke, things come to a head (haha) in that relationship with Luke venting his frustration at the endless late nights, take away dinners, lack of quality time etc. Ruby immediately fires up given that Luke knows exactly what her job entails (after all, he was the one that hired her) given he used to work as Chief of Staff and with neither backing down, it ends with Luke leaving.

But Ruby can’t dwell. Men come and go but the nation is a fickle minded beast and they’re not happy with their current Prime Minister. The honeymoon period is well and truly over with the PM sliding to record lows so it’s up to Ruby and the rest of the team to get in there and try and fix it. Jessica Rudd isn’t afraid to give Ruby some glaring flaws and throw her into some horrendously embarrassing situations but it makes her so easy to love, laugh at and relate to. Let’s face it – who hasn’t tried a home waxing kit that went hideously wrong? The fact that Ruby has somewhere important to be on the night just makes it even more cringe-worthy! I can sympathize with Ruby, I can laugh at her, I can cheer for her and at times, I can shake my head at her in disbelief.

I get book crushes a lot. The amount of reading I do, quite a lot of the series and novels I enjoy have at least a thread of romance running through them, so there’s always interesting guys popping up here and there. I think I can go all the way back to being about 9 and reading the Anne series by L.M Montgomery and having my first book crush on Gilbert Blythe. And my latest book crush happens to be Luke. I was into him when he first appeared in Campaign Ruby and bit my nails nervously as he hovered in the background wearing revolting ties while Ruby dithered over a good looking political reporter. But because these novels aren’t really romance as such and Ruby is not the sort of girl to stay at home and iron her man’s shirts, we don’t get a lot of them as a couple in this one. But my crush only grew as the book went on, despite his absence. Even nice guys can act like tossers. But they don’t always finish last!

Ruby Blues is a worthy sequel that gave me a chance to get another fix of characters I’d come to love whilst also giving me a good laugh. I hope I haven’t seen the last of Ruby.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my book journal, I have written two things on the first line in regards to Campaign Ruby. They are:
BEST EVER!
Awesome!!

Writing this review a little while later with a sense of perspective, I still stand by my initial comments. Jessica Rudd is a highly talented writer who makes chick lit incredibly funny. She is the Manolo Blahnik, the Godiva chocolate, the Dior Addict Extreme of this genre (i.e. the crème de la crème). I also read a rumour on Twitter that Ruby could be returning for a third adventure…the champagne is chilling and the eReader is charging in anticipation of this event!

But I digress. Now that you know what a wonderful writer Jessica Rudd is (yes, she is former Australian prime minister Kevin’s daughter), let’s focus on Ruby. I would say that Ruby is possibly one of the funniest creatures to grace the page – at least until I met Bettina. More about Bettina later.

When we left Ruby at the end of Campaign Ruby, she’d bagged the man and her boss had been elected Australia’s Prime Minister. Now the dust has settled and someone’s leaking secrets from the PM’s office and things with Luke could be way better. Plus, there’s also the dreaded 3-0 coming up…what’s Ruby to do? Hark the arrival of the new intern, Bettina. Bettina is super organised and super co-ordinated. I need to expand on that last point so you understand – Bettina matches her clothes, bag, shoes, car and stationery. Rather loudly. She drives a purple Monaro (that’s a muscle car – super-duper hotted up) and she has matching seat covers (so not macho). Bettina adores stationery, the sparklier and more colourful the better – one of my favourite lines in the book is from Bettina’s mother, who states that she knows Bettina is seriously upset when she refuses a trip to Smiggle (Australian stationery store, colourful and quirky). I think Bettina could be my BFF! There’s also a sexy vet, Elliott and the hardest question of all, what to wear to the most important ball of the year?

Apart from Ruby’s usual clumsiness and talent for getting into awkward situations, there’s serious stuff at play. The amount of infighting within the party is unbelievable as is the workload. Jessica Rudd manages to make the incredible grind that politics is seem sexy – and funny too. Plus it’s fun to try to work out if any character is based on any real Aussie politician…

This book is incredibly funny and the pages just whizz by. Jessica Rudd is a talented comic writer who can also do serious emotions well. The characters are incredibly well done (I think Bettina is the most memorable character I’ve ‘met’) and I look forward to more from her.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[Sally906 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby Stanhope is the sort of girl who lurches from one hilarious drama to another – she is so busy trying to be all things for all people that she spreads herself thin and starts to forget stuff. RUBY BLUES commences two years after book one (Campaign Ruby) and Ruby has a number of issues going on in he life. She is now an advisor for the PM after his landside win at the snap election in the first book; however now the PM is plunging in the popularity polls and nothing seems to be reversing the trend. There are more leaks in Canberra than in the Titanic – all of them untrue – and Ruby needs to track them down fast. Her lesbian aunties are expecting their first child and need constant reassurance. The irritatingly upbeat “life is wonderful’ acronym queen Bettina has been assigned to Ruby as a trainee much to the disgust of Ruby. Ruby’s relationship with the dynamic Luke has reversed and she is now the one who is never home, and forgets important dates, and faces an ultimatum: Luke or the job. But more important than any of these drama’s in Ruby’s life is the fact she is about to turn thirty. There are quite a few plot twists going on and they all get concluded before the last page is turned. I loved Bettina – she would drive me nuts – but everyone needs a Bettina in their life. Overall a really enjoyable, fun read and I am fairly certain it is a good indication of what really happens behind the scenes in politics in all the parties.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Jess Rudd's first book so I was really looking forward to reading this her follow up novel.

Again this book is about the character Ruby Stanhope and is set a couple of years further on from the end of the last book.

I loved the start of this book and found I was as glued to it as I was the original book. For me the last couple of chapters let the book down as I thought that although the ending event was believable the way in which it happened wasn't. I would have preferred to see the evolving relationship be featured more in the last third of the book rather than just the end.

Overall though I did enjoy this book and am looking forward to reading Jess Rudd's next novel as she is proving herself to be a good writer.

[Tony Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me. Reading Chick-Lit. Well yes. I read Jessica Rudd's first novel and it was good fun. And, frankly i needed a bit of light relief after a series of page turning thrillers. It worked. I rocked through Ruby Blues in record time and yes, I enjoyed it. Background here is that Jessica Rudd's dad was Aussie Prime Minister (and rumour has it could be back in the Lodge again). So she obviously has knowledge and experience about what goes on in the inner sanctums of power. That's what this is all about, with Ruby one of the PM's closest advisors alongside having a klutzy and shambolic private life. Its a fun read.

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course, the details of "Campaign Ruby" (which preceded this book) were a little hazy in my mind but I got the gist again reading this follow-up. In "Ruby Blues", Ruby is now working for the prime minister (the PM), constantly battling to put out fires every time Max (the PM) stuffs up or someone else does on his behalf. At the same time, she's trying to juggle her relationship with Luke, remember to get her watch battery changed (she never does), pick up the dry cleaning, and get the dogs to the vet. Suffice to say, something's gotta give.

A lighthearted, entertaining read. Definitely recommended.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me a good chuckle. Given the political flavour of the subject matter, I was conscious of the fact that Jessica is an ex-Prime Minister's daughter. Worried me slightly that there might actually be people such as Ruby running campaigns for our politicians. I had quite a few chuckles in it, but could see why the book didn't appeal to my mother.... The assistant foisted upon Ruby irritate dme almost as much as she irritated Ruby but I did want to continue reading just to find out whether Bettina took over the world. A good example of chick lit.

[Kate Martini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby Blues is very light, funny, and a very typical chick-lit read. It reminds me so much of the Shopaholic or Bridget Jones novels, mostly in the sense that Ruby Stanhope seems to get herself into so many sticky situations, just like Becky and Bridget! It's the type of book that you could easily spend a rainy day engrossed in its story, with a bottle of wine and a block of chocolate for company. All the characters are sweet, with not too much depth to them - although Bettina Chu embodies all that is wrong with society today. Couldn't stand her! A nice, light read overall.

[Kate Dobson · Rating 2 out of 5]

In an effort to sleep better (it didn't work btw) relegated phone to outside the bedroom and only had reading last night and managed to finish this one. Not a huge fan. There were some genuine hilarious parts, but I didn't realise this was the second book - I thought I was reading the first book of this author. In her acknowledgements she even says how hard it is to write a second book. So still fun but I won't hunt out the first book.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was good and easy to read! I did feel there were a few to many of those "as if" kind of moments though. A few would have been funny but there were just too many to be believable. Ending left me wanting a bit more too as seemed to wrap up to quickly and too neatly. She's a great writer though and hope she does some more!

[Gabrielle Trenbath · Rating 2 out of 5]

look, I'm not a fan of chick lit but I am going through a political phase and reading every kind of book I can get on politics I can get my hand on and this book made a light hearted change from the other books I've been reading. Ruby and her shenanigans made me laugh even though it was a light hearted take on politics (Jess Rudd should know better:) ) but is an easy read if nothing else.

[Erika]

Had to read it because of the Rudd factor. A pretty light read (started it one night, picked it up the next afternoon and finished it). The plot twists weren't very subtle but I enjoyed the characters.

[Jessc88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy, fast read with just as many giggle out loud moments as Campaign Ruby. You really feel as if you know the main character, and that's what makes it such a page turner. If you liked Campaign Ruby, you should read this.

[Lisa Dyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light hearted political satire. I found this to be a quick and easy read but not particularly thought provoking or surprising. Jessica Rudd, as the daughter of a former prime minister,should have a deep understanding of Australian politics, I expected more from this book.

[Susiekenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sequel, politics is again made interesting (west wing + bridget jones!) and fun characters!

[Marika Mcmahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

COuld nopt put this book down, ploughed through it very quickly. The perfect combination of fashion and politics. Can't wait for Ruby's next installment. I want to be Jessica Rudd.....

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun and enjoyable. I love Ruby, Fran, Clem and the rest of the gang.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun. See my review at http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...

[Chee Chee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one, and some obvious plot twists, but still a lot of fun.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sequel.

[jesse]

what a yummy cover. drool.

[4ZZZ Book Club · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen to Sky's interview with Jessica Rudd here.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frothy, fast read. Think Kathy Lette in Canberra.

[Christine]

frantic entertainment

[Michelle Whitfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read. Hope to see more of Ruby.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

What did I think? Not much. Enjoyable enough, but nothing I think I will read again. Writing isn't that good, can't help wondering would she have been published if not for who she was....

[Hayley 〰 Hayley's Next Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sequel to Campaign Ruby. I liked the addition of Bettina's character and it is always interesting to go behind-the-scenes to read what really happens in the PM's office. Jessica would know!