What do you think?
Rate this book
Don't Ask
Two years out of college, Julie Spencer is realizing that her life isn’t turning out exactly how she had hoped it would. After four years and $150,000, she has a college degree that hasn’t gotten her anything more than administrative work, and she’s stuck in some sort of love polygon that’s better suited to high school than adulthood. Greg, the man she’s been with for almost a year, is still in love with his ex, Chloe. The man perhaps she should be with, Duncan, lives six hours away, so she only sees him when he’s in town on business. And her friends aren’t any help. Tess is relationship-challenged, and Brian is in a long-distance, open relationship with a hook up buddy, and is—more than likely—also in love with Greg. Lost in a quarter-life crisis, Julie is just letting life take her where it will, while she tries to figure out exactly what she wants. But is putting off making a decision taking her just where she doesn’t want to go? Don’t Ask is the story of a new generation suffering from being caught somewhere along the edge of adulthood in a world that looks nothing like what their parents’ knew.
168 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2012
Let's get this out of the way first: This book is fantastic. If you don't want to look at any more of this review, I want you to know that the TL;DR of it is that this book is awesome.
Now, to elaborate. (Beware of some vague spoilers, nothing extreme.) Honestly, I was a bit hesitant about reading a book with 0 reviews and only 1 rating here on GR, and 0 reviews or ratings on Amazon. I got it, though, because it sounded interesting and I make a point to go out of my way to support my fellow Wrimos. So, I sprung for the Kindle version for all of $4.99 and I am so glad I did.
I'm actually a little concerned that this is the wrong place for the book, and I'm somehow overlooking the real place, because...I don't know how I'm the first to review this great book.
Julia is a young woman I can very much relate to. She's just out of college, has herself a fancy degree, and is doing nothing with it (just like me!). She loves her family but doesn't talk to them much anymore, mostly because her love life is something she doesn't want to have to explain to them (like me!). The men in her life are also easily placed in my life--I know one or two of each of them, bless their hearts. So, despite our differences (Julia being a straight lady who is [mostly] surrounded by straight men), it was too easy for me to slip right inside her head and heart. I understand Julia. She was wonderfully (almost too realistically) written.
There were a couple of digs I didn't appreciate (an implication that open long-distance relationships aren't 'real' relationships, and possibly an implication that men who enjoy sex with women can't be bi?), but things like that are unavoidable and luckily they weren't dwelled on.
Basically, this is a story of a young women who is getting tired of men's BS. One non-boyfriend takes her for granted, the other can't really be there for her. Another dude is queer and the last one is married. She goes through a lot of heartache dealing with these fellows but she puts up with it--ah, the things we do for love. Unlike most stories that would fit this description, though, I was really rooting for Julia. She's strong and she knows her own flaws. Great combination.
My biggest complaint was the lack of ladies. Julia has two lady friends, one of whom is mentioned all of about five times. Her other friend is her support system who ultimately gets used because she's not as exciting as the men. Other women are mentioned in the book, but they are mostly coworkers or (ex-)girlfriends of the dude characters and most of them don't show up at all. I understand this book is about her relationships with men, but...I feel like we could have gotten a little more time with non-men (especially the cute queer one, heh).
OH, ALSO, I can't believe I almost forgot: This book contained ZERO sex scenes. Like, there was a lot of sex--Julia mentioned how good her partners were, and we were told when she had sex, but we got descriptions about NOTHING, and frankly, that was so refreshing. It was written wonderfully, as well, so that it didn't feel abrupt or lacking, or like the author was skirting around the topic.
Overall, this was a fun book with a perfect ending (let's just say Julia ended up with the man I was rooting for, which rarely happens), great characters, and an engaging plot. I can't believe it isn't more popular!
Now, to elaborate. (Beware of some vague spoilers, nothing extreme.) Honestly, I was a bit hesitant about reading a book with 0 reviews and only 1 rating here on GR, and 0 reviews or ratings on Amazon. I got it, though, because it sounded interesting and I make a point to go out of my way to support my fellow Wrimos. So, I sprung for the Kindle version for all of $4.99 and I am so glad I did.
I'm actually a little concerned that this is the wrong place for the book, and I'm somehow overlooking the real place, because...I don't know how I'm the first to review this great book.
Julia is a young woman I can very much relate to. She's just out of college, has herself a fancy degree, and is doing nothing with it (just like me!). She loves her family but doesn't talk to them much anymore, mostly because her love life is something she doesn't want to have to explain to them (like me!). The men in her life are also easily placed in my life--I know one or two of each of them, bless their hearts. So, despite our differences (Julia being a straight lady who is [mostly] surrounded by straight men), it was too easy for me to slip right inside her head and heart. I understand Julia. She was wonderfully (almost too realistically) written.
There were a couple of digs I didn't appreciate (an implication that open long-distance relationships aren't 'real' relationships, and possibly an implication that men who enjoy sex with women can't be bi?), but things like that are unavoidable and luckily they weren't dwelled on.
Basically, this is a story of a young women who is getting tired of men's BS. One non-boyfriend takes her for granted, the other can't really be there for her. Another dude is queer and the last one is married. She goes through a lot of heartache dealing with these fellows but she puts up with it--ah, the things we do for love. Unlike most stories that would fit this description, though, I was really rooting for Julia. She's strong and she knows her own flaws. Great combination.
My biggest complaint was the lack of ladies. Julia has two lady friends, one of whom is mentioned all of about five times. Her other friend is her support system who ultimately gets used because she's not as exciting as the men. Other women are mentioned in the book, but they are mostly coworkers or (ex-)girlfriends of the dude characters and most of them don't show up at all. I understand this book is about her relationships with men, but...I feel like we could have gotten a little more time with non-men (especially the cute queer one, heh).
OH, ALSO, I can't believe I almost forgot: This book contained ZERO sex scenes. Like, there was a lot of sex--Julia mentioned how good her partners were, and we were told when she had sex, but we got descriptions about NOTHING, and frankly, that was so refreshing. It was written wonderfully, as well, so that it didn't feel abrupt or lacking, or like the author was skirting around the topic.
Overall, this was a fun book with a perfect ending (let's just say Julia ended up with the man I was rooting for, which rarely happens), great characters, and an engaging plot. I can't believe it isn't more popular!
April 2, 2013
Review on blog: http://reviewmetwice.blogspot.com on 03/15/2013
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews