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Four of a Kind
Besides the fact that their kids all attend the same fashionable Brooklyn Heights private school, Bess, Robin, Carla, and Alicia have little in common. Thrown together on the tony school’s Diversity Committee, the women impulsively turn their awkward first meeting into a boisterous game of poker. Instead of betting with chips or pocket change, however, they play for intimate secrets about their lives.
As the Diversity Commitee meetings become a highly anticipated monthly ritual, the new friends reveal more with each game. Picture-perfect housewife Bess struggles to relate to her surly teenage daughter and judgmental mother. Robin, a single mom, grapples with the truth concerning her child’s real father. Carla, an ambitious doctor, attempts to balance the colossal demands of her family with her dream of owning her own private practice. And to distract herself from her troubled marriage, shy copywriter Alicia fantasizes about an attractive younger colleague.
Putting all their cards on the table, the four women grow to rely on one another, bracing for one final showdown.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
As the Diversity Commitee meetings become a highly anticipated monthly ritual, the new friends reveal more with each game. Picture-perfect housewife Bess struggles to relate to her surly teenage daughter and judgmental mother. Robin, a single mom, grapples with the truth concerning her child’s real father. Carla, an ambitious doctor, attempts to balance the colossal demands of her family with her dream of owning her own private practice. And to distract herself from her troubled marriage, shy copywriter Alicia fantasizes about an attractive younger colleague.
Putting all their cards on the table, the four women grow to rely on one another, bracing for one final showdown.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
352 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2012
151 people are currently reading
3031 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Frankel
52 books115 followersShe's written twenty books (e.g., The Accidental Virgin and The Girlfriend Curse), and contributed to dozens of publications including the New York Times, Self, Allure, Glamour, Parenting and Good Housekeeping. Her memoir, Thin Is the New Happy, about overcoming bad body image after 30 years of dieting and self-loathing, was recently described as "Rueful, zestful and surprisingly funny," by the New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
February 2, 2012
“A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I sat down to write this review in the same manner I write every review. I wanted to diplomatically describe the details of the book (something you can easily find on Amazon or Goodreads and therefore do not need me to repeat here). I was then going to give my impression of the book, where the author excelled, what was interesting about the plot, describe the challenges the four main characters faced in their lives (at home, at work, in love). All of this would have been interesting and informative but it would also be stagnant. It would be run-of-the-mill. It would be something you could find in the hundreds of reviews on line or in magazines and newspapers. It would be something you could find just by reading the book yourself. (Which I highly recommend you do!)
Instead, I want to do things a little differently. I want to explore the theme of this book and how it relates to life. Because isn’t that why we read fiction in the first place? To learn more about ourselves, to understand our lives, our hopes, dreams, fears, and failings?
Four of a Kind by Valerie Frankel (Ballantine Books, February 7, 2012) is a novel about FRIENDSHIP.
Friendship is crucial in life. It is an integral part of our happiness. Strong social ties are key to happiness. Gretchen Rubin in her book, The Happiness Project, routinely points out that “To be happy we have to feel strongly connected to other people.” She even has a post on her blog with 8 Tips for Making Friends. In that post she talks about how the “mere exposure effect” makes you like someone better. Basically, just by repeatedly seeing the same people, you will, in fact, like them better. Another tip she gives is to join a group. “Being part of a natural group, where you have common interest and are brought together automatically, is the easiest way to make friends.”
This is what happens in Valerie Frankel’s completely entertaining novel, Four of a Kind. Four women are brought together as part of a school diversity committee, each woman has a child in the same school. Ironically, the diversity committee is a very diverse group, women who would never be friends if not forced together. On a whim, the women end up playing a game of Texas Hold’em, but instead of money the currency is secrets. Secrets in their marriage, secrets with their careers, their children, their parents. Every woman has a secret in her life and even though she keeps them close to her heart and aches because of them, she is really just looking for the right person to tell. When these secrets (and worries and fears and hopes) begin to come out, the women realize they are bonded more closely than they ever could have imagined. These women found each other and as a result have built honest, beautiful, complicated relationships.
Rachel Bertsche’s website and book, MWF Seeking BFF, was devoted to the challenge of finding friendship once you are no longer in structured, friend-building environments (school, offices, teams). Her message struck a chord. Why is it so hard to make friends as you get older? Studies constantly point out the health benefits behind having friends. For example, did you know that gossiping with friends can help lower stress? Friends give you an impartial outlet to vent your frustrations. They can listen to your complaints, offer advice and guidance and be the shoulder to cry on. They can also help you find joy and happiness in life. They get you out of your routine and can help you discover new aspects of yourself.
It is easy to isolate yourself, to retreat into your own world and shut people out. Women often feel competition and jealousy, even with their closest friends. They strive to have the most successful life; the best clothes, career, husband, children, vacations. Women can sometimes see that green-eyed monster lurking when a friend’s life seems to be sunnier than their own. So in trying to prove that our lives are successful and that jealousy never crosses our mind we put on false fronts, fake faces. We live in a false sense of security with our hundreds of Facebook “friends.” But what about real, live interaction? An email message pales in comparison to lunch with a girlfriend.
By reading Four of a Kind you will find yourself longing to have the close friendships that evolve throughout the novel. You may not envy their struggles and fears, but you will rejoice in their successes and find yourself routing for all of them in the end. When you turn the last page you will have an immediate urge to call your closest friends and organize a girls night out. I highly recommend you do this!
(This review can also be found on www.bookfinds.com)
I sat down to write this review in the same manner I write every review. I wanted to diplomatically describe the details of the book (something you can easily find on Amazon or Goodreads and therefore do not need me to repeat here). I was then going to give my impression of the book, where the author excelled, what was interesting about the plot, describe the challenges the four main characters faced in their lives (at home, at work, in love). All of this would have been interesting and informative but it would also be stagnant. It would be run-of-the-mill. It would be something you could find in the hundreds of reviews on line or in magazines and newspapers. It would be something you could find just by reading the book yourself. (Which I highly recommend you do!)
Instead, I want to do things a little differently. I want to explore the theme of this book and how it relates to life. Because isn’t that why we read fiction in the first place? To learn more about ourselves, to understand our lives, our hopes, dreams, fears, and failings?
Four of a Kind by Valerie Frankel (Ballantine Books, February 7, 2012) is a novel about FRIENDSHIP.
Friendship is crucial in life. It is an integral part of our happiness. Strong social ties are key to happiness. Gretchen Rubin in her book, The Happiness Project, routinely points out that “To be happy we have to feel strongly connected to other people.” She even has a post on her blog with 8 Tips for Making Friends. In that post she talks about how the “mere exposure effect” makes you like someone better. Basically, just by repeatedly seeing the same people, you will, in fact, like them better. Another tip she gives is to join a group. “Being part of a natural group, where you have common interest and are brought together automatically, is the easiest way to make friends.”
This is what happens in Valerie Frankel’s completely entertaining novel, Four of a Kind. Four women are brought together as part of a school diversity committee, each woman has a child in the same school. Ironically, the diversity committee is a very diverse group, women who would never be friends if not forced together. On a whim, the women end up playing a game of Texas Hold’em, but instead of money the currency is secrets. Secrets in their marriage, secrets with their careers, their children, their parents. Every woman has a secret in her life and even though she keeps them close to her heart and aches because of them, she is really just looking for the right person to tell. When these secrets (and worries and fears and hopes) begin to come out, the women realize they are bonded more closely than they ever could have imagined. These women found each other and as a result have built honest, beautiful, complicated relationships.
Rachel Bertsche’s website and book, MWF Seeking BFF, was devoted to the challenge of finding friendship once you are no longer in structured, friend-building environments (school, offices, teams). Her message struck a chord. Why is it so hard to make friends as you get older? Studies constantly point out the health benefits behind having friends. For example, did you know that gossiping with friends can help lower stress? Friends give you an impartial outlet to vent your frustrations. They can listen to your complaints, offer advice and guidance and be the shoulder to cry on. They can also help you find joy and happiness in life. They get you out of your routine and can help you discover new aspects of yourself.
It is easy to isolate yourself, to retreat into your own world and shut people out. Women often feel competition and jealousy, even with their closest friends. They strive to have the most successful life; the best clothes, career, husband, children, vacations. Women can sometimes see that green-eyed monster lurking when a friend’s life seems to be sunnier than their own. So in trying to prove that our lives are successful and that jealousy never crosses our mind we put on false fronts, fake faces. We live in a false sense of security with our hundreds of Facebook “friends.” But what about real, live interaction? An email message pales in comparison to lunch with a girlfriend.
By reading Four of a Kind you will find yourself longing to have the close friendships that evolve throughout the novel. You may not envy their struggles and fears, but you will rejoice in their successes and find yourself routing for all of them in the end. When you turn the last page you will have an immediate urge to call your closest friends and organize a girls night out. I highly recommend you do this!
(This review can also be found on www.bookfinds.com)
February 14, 2012
Valerie Frankel's last book Four of a Kind, is another great book carrying all of her wit and "girly" insight. Most women are familiar with her way of exposing a woman's fear, struggles and insecurities. This book is no exception except it also includes their strengths developed through friendships and the importance of those friends. Another title for the book might have been Friends. This is not a surface friendship. This is the relationship that the woman needs with other women, like Monday night football for the guys. Would these four be as revealing to anyone else, probably not. What are the struggles like picking up kids and dropping them off and dealing with spouses who are in the world during the day and the endless issues of managing a household which means all those in the household? And although this is certainly a "girly" book it is one that guys might want to read if they really want to understand their spouses and what goes on 8 to 5 when they are in the office.
March 8, 2012
I love the cover of this book - I like the shade of blue and the painting on the tea cups. However, nowhere in this book does anyone drink tea. It's more of a boozing it up, poker-playing book, so I think the cover is misleading. I liked the characters and thought the plot was interesting, but there was a rawness to the language that I found a little off-putting. Usually, that kind of thing doesn't bother me at all, but it just seemed a little incongruous with a tale of four women's lives.
March 27, 2014
Was it "good"? No. Did I read it voraciously? Yes.
April 10, 2012
I loved this book. It is the story of four women who all have children attending the same expensive private school. At the beginning of the school year, Bess invites the other three women to become part of the school's "Diversity Committee" and attend a meeting at her house. Bess is a perky blonde housewife of a very successful, driven husband. Carla is a black physician who lives with her husband and sons and is extremely straightlaced and strict with her kids and her own personal behavior. Robin is a Jewish single mother with a daughter and a secret about her daughter's father and her own personal history. And finally, Alicia is a working mother of a scholarship kid, with a husband who is really not her partner.
Each of the women has big secrets, and even bigger aspirations. They are all shy and a bit afraid of getting involved, but as the story moves on, the women become closer to each other. They become sounding boards, best friends, comforters and secret keepers.
The reason I read this book was because B&N shared a story about the cover design on their blog. The author admitted that the four teacups really had nothing to do with the story (and they don't) but said that the four different cups represented the four women; the same, but with cosmetic differences. I liked that idea and really wanted to read the book. I am so glad I did.
The one caution I will offer is that there seems to be a lot of sex in this book. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it can be a useful literary device, but I was unaware going into it what I would encounter.
Each of the women has big secrets, and even bigger aspirations. They are all shy and a bit afraid of getting involved, but as the story moves on, the women become closer to each other. They become sounding boards, best friends, comforters and secret keepers.
The reason I read this book was because B&N shared a story about the cover design on their blog. The author admitted that the four teacups really had nothing to do with the story (and they don't) but said that the four different cups represented the four women; the same, but with cosmetic differences. I liked that idea and really wanted to read the book. I am so glad I did.
The one caution I will offer is that there seems to be a lot of sex in this book. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it can be a useful literary device, but I was unaware going into it what I would encounter.
March 6, 2012
I picked this because I had just finished a heavy book and I was stressed out and wanted something light. What a surprise. While this was funny and entertaining it was also deep in its own way and touched a lot of sensitive subjects for me. As always, Valerie Frankel brings truly likable and lovable characters that you grow to care about and be interested in. I was sad when the book came to an end.
September 7, 2013
I marked the book "finished" but I couldn't force myself to finish. I didn't get beyond Chapter 4. I wanted to like this book. It implied that it was about 4 women who found similarities that would bind them together as friends. I love books about strong women, strong friendships. I love books that depict women who support, encourage, listen to, and when necessary show a little "tough love" toward each other. Perhaps if I had read further the characters would have turned out to be those women.
Four women come together to form a Diversity Committee to promote diversity and multicultural events at the privileged private school their children attend. They are, in a loose manner of speaking diverse themselves. Bess is the wealthier of the 4 women and the head of the committee. She is a stay at home mom raising 4 children. Ok. Diverse? Robin is a single mother who is comfortable enough with finances that she can support herself and her daughter through her job doing telephone surveys. She is Jewish. Ok. Diverse? Alicia is fairly dowdy and works 9-5 while her husband remains unemployed after his company down-sized. Ok. Diverse? Carla is a doctor and is black. Ok. Diverse?
Their first meeting at the home of Bess is spent breaking out the drinks and the cards to play poker, not for money, but for the telling of secrets in order to get to know each other. The dealer tells a secret and the winner gets to ask a question regarding that secret. After 3 poker games and that many chapters I learned TMI about their sex lives, lack of sex, one-night stands, and their frustrations with their husbands. Really? Who reveals this stuff to women they are meeting for the first time. A couple of the characters, after meeting the husbands began to mentally size-up their male anatomy. Ugh.
While some of the women had some serious issues in their lives (obesity, rebellious children, high-profile mother, the threat of losing a job), the conversations between the women were too contived, coming off as flippant and a desperate attempt at being "with the times". I didn't get the idea that the women were really interested in being friends, the kind of friends that I would want anyway; but as I said, I didn't go beyond the fourth chapter. There are other books out there about women and their friendships and this one was just a waste of my time. I do hope, though, that the women put away the cards and finally, finally get on with the planning of the multicultural events for the school, otherwise, they have wasted the school's time too.
Four women come together to form a Diversity Committee to promote diversity and multicultural events at the privileged private school their children attend. They are, in a loose manner of speaking diverse themselves. Bess is the wealthier of the 4 women and the head of the committee. She is a stay at home mom raising 4 children. Ok. Diverse? Robin is a single mother who is comfortable enough with finances that she can support herself and her daughter through her job doing telephone surveys. She is Jewish. Ok. Diverse? Alicia is fairly dowdy and works 9-5 while her husband remains unemployed after his company down-sized. Ok. Diverse? Carla is a doctor and is black. Ok. Diverse?
Their first meeting at the home of Bess is spent breaking out the drinks and the cards to play poker, not for money, but for the telling of secrets in order to get to know each other. The dealer tells a secret and the winner gets to ask a question regarding that secret. After 3 poker games and that many chapters I learned TMI about their sex lives, lack of sex, one-night stands, and their frustrations with their husbands. Really? Who reveals this stuff to women they are meeting for the first time. A couple of the characters, after meeting the husbands began to mentally size-up their male anatomy. Ugh.
While some of the women had some serious issues in their lives (obesity, rebellious children, high-profile mother, the threat of losing a job), the conversations between the women were too contived, coming off as flippant and a desperate attempt at being "with the times". I didn't get the idea that the women were really interested in being friends, the kind of friends that I would want anyway; but as I said, I didn't go beyond the fourth chapter. There are other books out there about women and their friendships and this one was just a waste of my time. I do hope, though, that the women put away the cards and finally, finally get on with the planning of the multicultural events for the school, otherwise, they have wasted the school's time too.
February 19, 2012
I won this book from Goodreads, having never read anything by this author I'm very glad that I won.
Valerie Frankel's writing style lays her characters bare for the world to see flaws and all. These four women not only share their weakness's with us, but also their inner strengths that have developed through their friendships and the importance of those friends. This is not a surface friendship. This is a bonded relationship that is just what these women needed.
This book reveals those inner thoughts, dilemma's and fears that run through most women's brains 24/7. Granted the thoughts are different from person to person, but it's that fear of not really being heard that keeps these inside, and I'm sure it's not a totally unfounded fear. Like other married women out there my husband tends to tune me out regardless of what I'm telling him. This is where good friends come in and pick up the slack. This is part of what this book is trying to put across, we need our friends to make our other relationships successful, unless your one of the lucky ones whose husband clings to every word and you feel like you can tell him anything, then just count your blessings. :)
This book also goes through the daily struggles that these four have going one everyday. Like organizing your children's schedule and still being able to just get to an appt on time. This is just a small exsample of the turmoil and chaos involved in running a household smoothly. There is so much going on in this book but I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I will just leave you with this, This is a great writer that really knows how to draw you into a story, and hit home the point of how important it is to have friends.
Valerie Frankel's writing style lays her characters bare for the world to see flaws and all. These four women not only share their weakness's with us, but also their inner strengths that have developed through their friendships and the importance of those friends. This is not a surface friendship. This is a bonded relationship that is just what these women needed.
This book reveals those inner thoughts, dilemma's and fears that run through most women's brains 24/7. Granted the thoughts are different from person to person, but it's that fear of not really being heard that keeps these inside, and I'm sure it's not a totally unfounded fear. Like other married women out there my husband tends to tune me out regardless of what I'm telling him. This is where good friends come in and pick up the slack. This is part of what this book is trying to put across, we need our friends to make our other relationships successful, unless your one of the lucky ones whose husband clings to every word and you feel like you can tell him anything, then just count your blessings. :)
This book also goes through the daily struggles that these four have going one everyday. Like organizing your children's schedule and still being able to just get to an appt on time. This is just a small exsample of the turmoil and chaos involved in running a household smoothly. There is so much going on in this book but I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I will just leave you with this, This is a great writer that really knows how to draw you into a story, and hit home the point of how important it is to have friends.
March 30, 2012
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I really enjoyed Four of A Kind. The author could not have created a group of more different women. They say opposites attract and that could not be more obvious with these women. I really enjoyed how much the women gained from each other. Whether it be the strength for Carla to stand up to her husband, or Bess to stand up to her mother, each of the women grow as women because of the strength of their friends. As their relationships with each other grew, so did their desire to correct the wrongs in their life, one way or another. When the chips are down, the strength of their friendships pull them together in a way that none of them expected.
I really enjoyed Four of A Kind. The author could not have created a group of more different women. They say opposites attract and that could not be more obvious with these women. I really enjoyed how much the women gained from each other. Whether it be the strength for Carla to stand up to her husband, or Bess to stand up to her mother, each of the women grow as women because of the strength of their friends. As their relationships with each other grew, so did their desire to correct the wrongs in their life, one way or another. When the chips are down, the strength of their friendships pull them together in a way that none of them expected.
July 3, 2020
I liked This book a lot. In the age of making friends as adults.... which sucks - it’s a feel good story about friendships. It doesn’t matter how you meet or why you may be so different. What matters is you support each other and have fun.
February 13, 2021
This was a 3 star but the app would only present me with one star.
April 21, 2014
This is a classic example of why you should never judge a book by the cover, which in this case features four lovely teacups. There is no tea anywhere in the book. It would have been a much better book if the women had tried drinking tea now and then. At least it couldn't have been worse.
This is the story of four women from four different walks of life who bound together over games of poker, during which they bet intimate details of their lives instead of money. I have absolutely no interest in poker, but I decided I would give the book a chance anyway. Bad decision.
Maybe I would have cared more about the characters if they didn't seem self-centered, immoral, and generally unlikable. The only one I felt sympathy for was Bess. (Actually, if the book had just been about Bess, I might have liked it.) And maybe occasionally Carla, but she completely lost me at the end. I couldn't stand Alicia. And Robin's self-loathing got old pretty quickly. Plus all four of them seemed to be obsessed with sex.
While I'm complaining... there were a ton of typos, including at least one instance when the wrong character's name was used. This book needed a good editor.
Basically, I have no idea why I even finished this book. I guess I was hoping that the characters would redeem themselves somehow. That didn't happen.
(I feel kind of bad about giving this book such a negative review. I hope the author doesn't read this and feel bad. I'm sure this book is right for somebody... just not for me.)
This is the story of four women from four different walks of life who bound together over games of poker, during which they bet intimate details of their lives instead of money. I have absolutely no interest in poker, but I decided I would give the book a chance anyway. Bad decision.
Maybe I would have cared more about the characters if they didn't seem self-centered, immoral, and generally unlikable. The only one I felt sympathy for was Bess. (Actually, if the book had just been about Bess, I might have liked it.) And maybe occasionally Carla, but she completely lost me at the end. I couldn't stand Alicia. And Robin's self-loathing got old pretty quickly. Plus all four of them seemed to be obsessed with sex.
While I'm complaining... there were a ton of typos, including at least one instance when the wrong character's name was used. This book needed a good editor.
Basically, I have no idea why I even finished this book. I guess I was hoping that the characters would redeem themselves somehow. That didn't happen.
(I feel kind of bad about giving this book such a negative review. I hope the author doesn't read this and feel bad. I'm sure this book is right for somebody... just not for me.)
May 7, 2012
I was excited to read this because I like playing poker. But I found that I didn't really like any of the characters in the book. I also found it annoying that all the "poker" terms were in quotes and explained to death, as well as being explained with non-humorous asides in the glossary at the end. Also, the description of Omaha at the end omits an important fact that often trips up new players: the player must use EXACTLY two cards from their hand. So if there's a heart flush on the board but you don't have any hearts in your hand, you don't have a flush.
We were talking at book club last week about how annoying it is when the POV switches from chapter to chapter. In this one, I was so excited to get rid of each person's POV, but got annoyed 3 pages later when I remembered why I didn't like that character. The best part of the whole book was the Showdown chapter in Atlantic City where each person just had a short vinaigrette in one longer chapter. Oh, I also liked their new game "Brooklyn Hold'Em" - thought that was cute.
Going to nitpick one more thing - what's up with the cover? It's beautiful, but there's nothing to do with tea in the book!
We were talking at book club last week about how annoying it is when the POV switches from chapter to chapter. In this one, I was so excited to get rid of each person's POV, but got annoyed 3 pages later when I remembered why I didn't like that character. The best part of the whole book was the Showdown chapter in Atlantic City where each person just had a short vinaigrette in one longer chapter. Oh, I also liked their new game "Brooklyn Hold'Em" - thought that was cute.
Going to nitpick one more thing - what's up with the cover? It's beautiful, but there's nothing to do with tea in the book!
June 14, 2020
I like friendship books. This was a good one. I enjoy reading about ladies that form friendships with people whom they would not normally select as a friend, to me it solidifies a stake in the relationship.
February 5, 2012
Loved this book! Very enjoyable and incredibly fun for Texas Hold'em poker fans!
Read my full review at:
http://www.dreamworldbooks.com/2012/0...
Read my full review at:
http://www.dreamworldbooks.com/2012/0...
wishlist
February 10, 2012sepertinya yummy..
March 5, 2012
This book was a good story about four friends overcoming their own personal issues set to the backdrop of poker. It was a good beach read, sadly I wasn't at the beach!
December 18, 2013
I wanted to read something light and thought I would be entertained. Reading this book turned into a hate read. I hated all the characters, hated the plot, and hated that I bothered to read this.
July 10, 2015
Cute...I could relate to the characters of this book...we all get stuck in ruts periodically.
December 13, 2018
Some people mention that there are tea cups on the cover but nobody drinks tea. I don't think the cups symbolize tea its more that they are the same cup but with different decorations so they represent the women in the story, they are 4 of a kind. ( Pretty cups wonder if they are turkish?)
Well we have 4 woman who are so diverse hence the diversity group that Bess is setting up at the Brownstone School. You have Bess"the White Diamond" the well to do blonde sparkle living in a gorgeous house with a gorgeous man seems like she has everything, right? Not necessarily. Then Alicia the mousy brunette "the wild Heart" with social anxiety problems, she's the scholarship mom. Robin the "the red Queen" red haired Jewish Stevie Nicks flower child who is unmarried but relatively wealthy. And last of all Carla a woman of color, The "Black Queen" a pediatrician struggling to keep her kids at the Brownstone school.
These women set up a poker game betting for secrets, they end up learning about each other and by the end of the story, they are fast friends and have made major life choices that they would have the courage to make if they had never met.
I loved the story , there were so many great scenes, like for instance the toast scene where Robin purposely burns toast so her daughter would find it in the morning when she went outside. (she was smoking and didn't want her daughter to know so she told her she burnt toast and threw it out the window.)
The scene were Harvey passes out and Bess shows up and asks Robin "why is he in your living room?" and she says "which room would be better?"
Really disliked Simone loved how Bess finally put her in her place.
Well we have 4 woman who are so diverse hence the diversity group that Bess is setting up at the Brownstone School. You have Bess"the White Diamond" the well to do blonde sparkle living in a gorgeous house with a gorgeous man seems like she has everything, right? Not necessarily. Then Alicia the mousy brunette "the wild Heart" with social anxiety problems, she's the scholarship mom. Robin the "the red Queen" red haired Jewish Stevie Nicks flower child who is unmarried but relatively wealthy. And last of all Carla a woman of color, The "Black Queen" a pediatrician struggling to keep her kids at the Brownstone school.
These women set up a poker game betting for secrets, they end up learning about each other and by the end of the story, they are fast friends and have made major life choices that they would have the courage to make if they had never met.
I loved the story , there were so many great scenes, like for instance the toast scene where Robin purposely burns toast so her daughter would find it in the morning when she went outside. (she was smoking and didn't want her daughter to know so she told her she burnt toast and threw it out the window.)
The scene were Harvey passes out and Bess shows up and asks Robin "why is he in your living room?" and she says "which room would be better?"
Really disliked Simone loved how Bess finally put her in her place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2018
Four Of A Kind was a women’s fiction novel that focused on the lives of four moms who became friends when they met at an elementary school planning committee. This was perfect for a plan ride because it was a mindless read even though it dealt with heavier topics. Actually I was a little disappointed this wasn’t funny. But there was little humor in the issues the women struggled through including infidelity, cancer, money issues, self-worth and parenthood.
The women were given character traits that made them seem realistic and they spoke to each other in an easy way that made their conversations seem normal. Those were the things that kept me reading, more so than the issues they faced which were not all that exciting. The problem with having four protagonists was that there wasn’t enough time for each of their stories to be well developed. Their struggles were brief and had small climaxes because of the lack of time allotted for them. Then at the end, everything came together easily for each woman.
The women all spoke and thought in very similar voices which made it hard to distinguish them from each other without the author pointing out their racial or cultural differences. I thought this would be funnier, and instead it was sort of depressing. Also, the constant lamenting over their issues was grating, and took a toll. This was just okay.
The women were given character traits that made them seem realistic and they spoke to each other in an easy way that made their conversations seem normal. Those were the things that kept me reading, more so than the issues they faced which were not all that exciting. The problem with having four protagonists was that there wasn’t enough time for each of their stories to be well developed. Their struggles were brief and had small climaxes because of the lack of time allotted for them. Then at the end, everything came together easily for each woman.
The women all spoke and thought in very similar voices which made it hard to distinguish them from each other without the author pointing out their racial or cultural differences. I thought this would be funnier, and instead it was sort of depressing. Also, the constant lamenting over their issues was grating, and took a toll. This was just okay.
July 2, 2024
Maybe 3.5. I enjoyed this book about 4 women of the same age but very different lifestyles. It felt a bit like a romance novel but with friendships instead of romance. There’s some romance as well, as we explore each woman’s couple life. Nothing much happens in the book, which is why I say a 3. The story is light and easy, like a beach read, which is why I say a 4. There is a poker theme that is throughout the story. Although it is interesting to read how the womens friendship grows through poker, I found it to be a bit much that every one of their relationship has some aspect of poker as well. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
June 28, 2021
4 women from different circumstances come together and form a bond
It had a slow start and couldn't relate. Almost stopped reading this book but glad I stuck with it. These 4 very diverse women whom under normal circumstances would never been friends join a diversity group and become true and loyal friends.
It had a slow start and couldn't relate. Almost stopped reading this book but glad I stuck with it. These 4 very diverse women whom under normal circumstances would never been friends join a diversity group and become true and loyal friends.
July 11, 2017
Total beach read, but so interesting I read it in one sitting, finishing in the wee hours of the morning. This is chick-lit when it's done right: unique, nuanced characters, realistic relationships, identifiable struggles--loved seeing these four women connect.
January 2, 2018
Fun read. Loved the characters and their stories each learned about themselves as the story progressed and about how friendship can form in the most unexpected circumstances. Sometimes the best friends make your re-evaluate your life.
June 17, 2019
Great summer read! Light hearted story of four women and how their lives change throughout. You don't need to understand poker to understand, but the book has a glossary for those unfamiliar with it. I very much enjoyed all the characters, their stories, and the friendships made.
July 17, 2021
What these 4 women had in common was not their friendships, desire for diversity or even card playing skills, but their status-seeking, snobbish, whiney, self-importance. Skipped through much of the drama and was not surprised by the ridiculously rosy end for all of them.
November 24, 2024
Captured the woman experience. A bit dated. Hard to read about feeling optimistic during Obama presidency when you know what’s to come. Four perspectives of motherhood, marriage, career and sexuality of women.
July 18, 2018
Very entertaining!
March 20, 2018
I don't normally read chick-lit but I enjoyed this one more than I expected. I loved the snarky lines and quick comebacks. The ending gave me great satisfaction. Go ladies!
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