What the hell was this? I checked the front several times because I simply could not believe that Weisberger wrote this. It read more like a 15-year-old girl decided to write fanfiction based on the original novel. The first book was certainly not the Great American Novel, but it was fun, silly, both ridiculous and relatable at the same time, and the characters were entertaining. The characters seemed to both devolve and evolve, which is very normal for people fresh out of college, I think.
But this? I don't even know what this was. Andy was an idiot who clearly didn't learn her lessons from the first book and completely ditched her dreams and principles to delve into the world of couture and glamour once again. Um, ok. Good luck with this one, Alex. The word "sloppy" kept popping up in my mind. Everything about this book is sloppy. The writing, the character/plot development, the dialogue...everything. It just seemed so haphazardly put together in a clear effort to make money.
Let’s talk about Max for a second. Max confused me. Was he evil? Was he not? I didn’t understand his whole rush to get married and him wanting to “look for a ring for their one year anniversary;” the way she kept writing about it just made it seem like he had ulterior motives. Throughout the book I thought: 1. he was in cahoots with Miranda the whole time and had a deal that would help with his financial situation 2. he was gay and needed a wife (and eventually a child) to keep up with the image for the sake of his family name (and actually, when he was caught with Miles I thought they were having an affair) 3. he was somehow related to Miranda and was helping her sabotage the magazine. Instead, he came across as just weird and needy and written with zero personality: “Oh no! You are sick?? Poor BABY! Get in bed! I am going to take care of you!”
Moving onto the pregnancy. First of all, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for a male doctor to examine a female patient without a female nurse/pa present. So, that whole doctor/Nurse Kevin thing really annoyed me. Second, was the doctor even an OB/GYN? Or was he just a GP who happened to have the equipment needed to do a pelvic examination? Again, odd. And Andy, I don’t care how “trendy” it is for pregnant women to have a drink every now and then….it’s still weird and generally considered unsafe. So drinking champagne probably wasn’t the best idea. Neither was staying in the room while your friend smoked even though you knew you should have left. “Oops! I know I shouldn’t breathe in these toxic fumes, but I miss smoking so much! Sorry Unborn Baby! Teehee!”
Characters aside, the plot was simply awful. The whole catalyst for Andy's anxiety was finding the letter before her wedding, which had exactly zero to due with the rest of the plot. I get that Weisberger needed something to kick off the Drama, but this was simply not the way to go.
And why the constant references to Andy being naked? Ok, maybe Weisberger wanted to make this a little more “mature,” and I’m not averse to a few love scenes or the description of the humiliation that can be a visit to a doctor’s office, but really, the amount of times we read about Andy being naked/partially naked/her body parts was unnecessary and over the top.
This book was not about Miranda getting revenge. This book was about Andy once again being lured to the glamorous lifestyle and realizing it is completely out of her world. Except she wasn’t even remotely likeable in this one. When did Andy become obsessed with getting up at 6am and going to the gym everyday? When did Andy care about meeting a rich guy and falling “in love” with him and everything he has? Sidenote: Any 30-year-old woman who believes that she is in love after three days of good sex is a freaking moron. I actually liked Miranda in this one, mostly because she made Andy’s life miserable.
Bottom line, this book was awful. The characters, the plot, the dialogue, the writing was awful. I didn’t expect a classic, but I was hoping for an entertaining summer read. This certainly failed on every level. I blame everyone who touched this book, from the author, to the agent, to the editor, because it was so clear they just wanted to put out something that is guaranteed to make money/make a movie sequel. I’m glad I didn’t spend money on this book.
P.S. Catherine is a Duchess. Not a Princess. Big difference. I am happy to get into a full discussion of why "Princess Catherine" is her incorrect title. Get it right, editing team.