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True Love
Travel writer Claire Spencer doesn't believe in fate, much less any part of that fairy tale, happy ending, love at first sight stuff. Especially not for Amazon-sized women like her. So when Jack, the sexy man who sits next to her on a flight from New York to London, asks her out, Claire figures there has to be a catch. Is he blind? Sleazy? On the rebound? But she decides to accept, and finds herself smitten and a little frightened at how happy she is with how fast things are moving.
While in London (on assignment for Sassy Seniors! magazine), Claire is also looking forward to seeing her best friend, Maddy, one of those impossibly gorgeous, if-I-didn't-love-her-I'd-hate-her women who's got everything in the world going for her--except that, for the first time in her trouble-free life, Maddy has just been dumped...by Jack. Claire's finally met what seems to be the perfect guy, and now the only way she can have him is by betraying her best friend. It's almost enough to make Claire believe in Fate, but if Fate does exist, it seems intent on screwing her over.
While in London (on assignment for Sassy Seniors! magazine), Claire is also looking forward to seeing her best friend, Maddy, one of those impossibly gorgeous, if-I-didn't-love-her-I'd-hate-her women who's got everything in the world going for her--except that, for the first time in her trouble-free life, Maddy has just been dumped...by Jack. Claire's finally met what seems to be the perfect guy, and now the only way she can have him is by betraying her best friend. It's almost enough to make Claire believe in Fate, but if Fate does exist, it seems intent on screwing her over.
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
22 people are currently reading
2424 people want to read
About the author
Whitney Gaskell
13 books185 followersGrowing up, Whitney Gaskell always wanted to become a writer. Then for some unknown reason, she went to law school. TABLE FOR SEVEN is Whitney's eighth book. She also writes the Young Adult GEEK HIGH series under the name Piper Banks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 23, 2018
So I have been reading Whitney Gaskell off and on for years. I noticed she hasn't put out something new in years though. I decided to do a re-read of some of the books I owned and I can't understand why I loved this book when I read it before. Maybe because I was younger and thought the whole plot was so romantic. Now I am older and call BS more I guess.
"True Love and Other Lies" follows Claire. Claire is a travel writer who has pretty much given up on love after being shat upon by her ex called Sawyer (that name you guys). But she has an absolute awesome meet cute (yeah...it was alright) with a lawyer named Jack on her way to London. Claire feels herself getting excited about Jack, but second guesses everything he says and does after he expresses interest in seeing her while she is in London. A huge surprise is in store for Claire though when she finds out who Jack was dating before he started seeing her.
Claire was driving me up the wall through most of the book. She hates her job, has a dubious relationship with her sister (who she diagnoses as anorexic or bulimic) and acts like an asshole towards her parents when they make other holiday plans without her (this is after she goes into how she doesn't want to go out of town to see them) and also acts like a jerk towards her best friend Maddie when she makes other plans to go out and once again Claire doesn't want to see her since she has plans. Did you follow all that? Pretty much Claire wants everyone to be thinking about how her all the time while ignoring how she is not putting any effort into her personal relationships at all. She's also a jerk at work and I didn't find myself rooting for her at all. I think some of the characters she was tormenting would be writing into "Ask A Manager" cause of the crap she pulls.
I think I just got tired of Claire and her woe is me thing she had going through the whole book. Her own mother tells her she has self esteem issues. But honestly, I don't think that's it. She just acts contradictory about every little thing and it drives you up the wall.
The secondary characters don't work that well. There is Claire's best friend Maddie, that I wish we had gotten more details about since most of the book is about their relationship. And Claire's next door neighbor Max who I found to be off-putting the entire time I read about him.
I did love the writing about London and New York. I wish that we got more details about Claire's travel assignments, but we just get tidbits here and there.
Without giving away the plot, I no ma'amed through most of this book. I just could not with Claire and also side eyed the hell out Jack as well. When you get to the end things fall apart (the center cannot hold) with an explanation about things that did not make any sense at all.
The book fast forwards about a year or so though and we get a happily ever after.
"True Love and Other Lies" follows Claire. Claire is a travel writer who has pretty much given up on love after being shat upon by her ex called Sawyer (that name you guys). But she has an absolute awesome meet cute (yeah...it was alright) with a lawyer named Jack on her way to London. Claire feels herself getting excited about Jack, but second guesses everything he says and does after he expresses interest in seeing her while she is in London. A huge surprise is in store for Claire though when she finds out who Jack was dating before he started seeing her.
Claire was driving me up the wall through most of the book. She hates her job, has a dubious relationship with her sister (who she diagnoses as anorexic or bulimic) and acts like an asshole towards her parents when they make other holiday plans without her (this is after she goes into how she doesn't want to go out of town to see them) and also acts like a jerk towards her best friend Maddie when she makes other plans to go out and once again Claire doesn't want to see her since she has plans. Did you follow all that? Pretty much Claire wants everyone to be thinking about how her all the time while ignoring how she is not putting any effort into her personal relationships at all. She's also a jerk at work and I didn't find myself rooting for her at all. I think some of the characters she was tormenting would be writing into "Ask A Manager" cause of the crap she pulls.
I think I just got tired of Claire and her woe is me thing she had going through the whole book. Her own mother tells her she has self esteem issues. But honestly, I don't think that's it. She just acts contradictory about every little thing and it drives you up the wall.
The secondary characters don't work that well. There is Claire's best friend Maddie, that I wish we had gotten more details about since most of the book is about their relationship. And Claire's next door neighbor Max who I found to be off-putting the entire time I read about him.
I did love the writing about London and New York. I wish that we got more details about Claire's travel assignments, but we just get tidbits here and there.
Without giving away the plot, I no ma'amed through most of this book. I just could not with Claire and also side eyed the hell out Jack as well. When you get to the end things fall apart (the center cannot hold) with an explanation about things that did not make any sense at all.
The book fast forwards about a year or so though and we get a happily ever after.
January 25, 2012
Why do I keep having to read about women who allow others to treat them like garbage? Why is it somehow noble amongst women to allow your "bestie" to abuse the shit out of you? I don't get it.
Should the Amazonian travel writer have told her best friend, "Hey, I just fucked your ex? Sorry, didn't know who he was at the time!"? Probably. Does that make what the best friend does at the end even slightly justified? (Here's a hint; your answer should be a resounding " Fuck no!").
Should said Amazonian travel writer put the needs of her abusive, self-absorbed best friend over her own happiness when said abusive, self-absorbed best friend obviously cares very little for anyone besides herself? Well, I guess if she wants to continue on the path of being a spineless doormat, sure. Just keep letting everyone walk all over you, sweetheart. It's very empowered.
I fucking hated these people.
Should the Amazonian travel writer have told her best friend, "Hey, I just fucked your ex? Sorry, didn't know who he was at the time!"? Probably. Does that make what the best friend does at the end even slightly justified? (Here's a hint; your answer should be a resounding " Fuck no!").
Should said Amazonian travel writer put the needs of her abusive, self-absorbed best friend over her own happiness when said abusive, self-absorbed best friend obviously cares very little for anyone besides herself? Well, I guess if she wants to continue on the path of being a spineless doormat, sure. Just keep letting everyone walk all over you, sweetheart. It's very empowered.
I fucking hated these people.
October 10, 2010
True Love (And Other Lies) by Whitney Gaskell tells the story of travel writer, Claire Spencer. Claire is not an extraordinary woman, by any means. Self-proclaimed as extra tall and curvacious, Claire doesn’t feel attractive- especially next to her beautiful best friend Maddy who relocated to London a few years prior.
When Claire is traveling to London for work, she meets a very sexy man on the flight. His name is Jack and he is like no man Claire has ever dreamed of knowing. When Jack takes an interest in Claire, and asks to see her again in London, Claire gives him her number, but is convinced he won’t call. When he does call and they go out on a few successful dates, Claire is thrilled to have finally found someone special- even if he does live on another continent.
In the meanwhile, Claire is concerned because her best friend Maddy is ignoring her phone calls. Claire finally gets a hold of Maddy and learns that Maddy’s boyfriend has dumped her. Claire rushes to her side to console her. While she’s with Maddy, Maddy’s ex-boyfriend comes over to pick up his things and you’ll never believe who the man at the door really is.
I loved this book! My favorite thing about it was that I randomly picked this book up at a book sale a few months back. I’d never previously heard about it or read about it on a blog; I just loved the title and decided to give it a try and I ended up loving it.
I really was able to resonate with Claire in this novel. We both love to travel and we both love writing. I feel the same way about Claire in regards to relationships and I was rooting for her the whole book to land the man of her dreams.
Even though I loved Claire, I did wish that she grew a bit of a thicker skin and defended herself more throughout the book. I won’t go into more detail for fear of spoilers, but I think Claire could have been a tad bit stronger, especially since she was strong and determined in other areas of her life.
Overall, a very cute story that had me turning the pages. I finished it pretty quickly because I didn’t want to put it down!
When Claire is traveling to London for work, she meets a very sexy man on the flight. His name is Jack and he is like no man Claire has ever dreamed of knowing. When Jack takes an interest in Claire, and asks to see her again in London, Claire gives him her number, but is convinced he won’t call. When he does call and they go out on a few successful dates, Claire is thrilled to have finally found someone special- even if he does live on another continent.
In the meanwhile, Claire is concerned because her best friend Maddy is ignoring her phone calls. Claire finally gets a hold of Maddy and learns that Maddy’s boyfriend has dumped her. Claire rushes to her side to console her. While she’s with Maddy, Maddy’s ex-boyfriend comes over to pick up his things and you’ll never believe who the man at the door really is.
I loved this book! My favorite thing about it was that I randomly picked this book up at a book sale a few months back. I’d never previously heard about it or read about it on a blog; I just loved the title and decided to give it a try and I ended up loving it.
I really was able to resonate with Claire in this novel. We both love to travel and we both love writing. I feel the same way about Claire in regards to relationships and I was rooting for her the whole book to land the man of her dreams.
Even though I loved Claire, I did wish that she grew a bit of a thicker skin and defended herself more throughout the book. I won’t go into more detail for fear of spoilers, but I think Claire could have been a tad bit stronger, especially since she was strong and determined in other areas of her life.
Overall, a very cute story that had me turning the pages. I finished it pretty quickly because I didn’t want to put it down!
September 16, 2009
True Love (and Other Lies) tells the story of Claire, a travel writer for Sassy Seniors. She’s single and doesn’t believe in The One or Happy Ever After.
However, on a flight to London, she meets Jack, an attractive ex-pat and they spend the three days she has in London together.
It’s all going well, until it turns out Jack was seeing someone close to Claire… someone very close to Claire.
I first read True Love (and Other Lies) a year or so ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing a fellow blogger review it I decided to re-read it and review it myself.
I found it a bit slow-going second time around so it’s probably a book you can only read once unlike some where you can read them again and again without questioning what the main characters of the book do.
However the book is still really enjoyable. At first the meeting of Claire & Jack seems fanciful and not something that would happen in real life. However all is revealed through-out the book – which is one of the reasons I loved the book. The fact that someone would go out of their way to do what they did made the book for me. Of course, what I’m saying sounds ridiculous but I can’t mention what happens otherwise it spoils the magic of the book. Let me just say it’s incredibly romantic and makes you say, “I wish that would happen to me!”
Second time around I found Claire a bit annoying. Going on and on and on and on and on about how fat you are compared to your best friend gets really annoying after a while. If, as Claire said, she was happy with her body she would not be comparing herself to Maddy or keep mentioning the fact she was Amazonian sized. However I enjoyed reading about her struggles in the office to have her column printed the way she wanted it to – sarcasm and all.
I liked Jack even when everything was revealed. Depending on your views the big reveal could make or break the book for you. I found it romantic and thus, it made the book for me. I thought he and Claire clicked and worked well together.
I liked Maddy but there were also huge dislikeable points about her. I thought she was a bit of a cow to Claire but I could also understand why she was so spiteful.
Overall it was an enjoyable novel, and a quick read at that. I love Little Black Dress books and this is one of my favourites. It’s the ultimate in romance novel and is well worth a read.
Rating: 4/5
However, on a flight to London, she meets Jack, an attractive ex-pat and they spend the three days she has in London together.
It’s all going well, until it turns out Jack was seeing someone close to Claire… someone very close to Claire.
I first read True Love (and Other Lies) a year or so ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing a fellow blogger review it I decided to re-read it and review it myself.
I found it a bit slow-going second time around so it’s probably a book you can only read once unlike some where you can read them again and again without questioning what the main characters of the book do.
However the book is still really enjoyable. At first the meeting of Claire & Jack seems fanciful and not something that would happen in real life. However all is revealed through-out the book – which is one of the reasons I loved the book. The fact that someone would go out of their way to do what they did made the book for me. Of course, what I’m saying sounds ridiculous but I can’t mention what happens otherwise it spoils the magic of the book. Let me just say it’s incredibly romantic and makes you say, “I wish that would happen to me!”
Second time around I found Claire a bit annoying. Going on and on and on and on and on about how fat you are compared to your best friend gets really annoying after a while. If, as Claire said, she was happy with her body she would not be comparing herself to Maddy or keep mentioning the fact she was Amazonian sized. However I enjoyed reading about her struggles in the office to have her column printed the way she wanted it to – sarcasm and all.
I liked Jack even when everything was revealed. Depending on your views the big reveal could make or break the book for you. I found it romantic and thus, it made the book for me. I thought he and Claire clicked and worked well together.
I liked Maddy but there were also huge dislikeable points about her. I thought she was a bit of a cow to Claire but I could also understand why she was so spiteful.
Overall it was an enjoyable novel, and a quick read at that. I love Little Black Dress books and this is one of my favourites. It’s the ultimate in romance novel and is well worth a read.
Rating: 4/5
July 25, 2015
Books should not be this long! Books should not be this long if all they're going to discuss is one overly ridiculous problem of one woman sleeping with another woman's ex without knowing at the time that it was, in fact, the other woman's ex. I even bored myself with this explanation. Imagine the 500-page book!
Another , much more important, point is that the writing style was off. Maybe it was too much tell without enough show. Maybe the display of Claire's insecurities came off as raw and painful and not as humorous or witty as is planned in any self-respecting chick-lit.
Just to be clear, I did not finish the book. At one point Claire's reflections over her relationship with Jack and Maddy seemed to go on forever. I flipped the pages over to the last 30 pages, found that she's still pondering the Jack and Maddy situation, only this time with her mother, and closed the book for good. My tolerance for petty drama is too low, I'm afraid.
Another , much more important, point is that the writing style was off. Maybe it was too much tell without enough show. Maybe the display of Claire's insecurities came off as raw and painful and not as humorous or witty as is planned in any self-respecting chick-lit.
Just to be clear, I did not finish the book. At one point Claire's reflections over her relationship with Jack and Maddy seemed to go on forever. I flipped the pages over to the last 30 pages, found that she's still pondering the Jack and Maddy situation, only this time with her mother, and closed the book for good. My tolerance for petty drama is too low, I'm afraid.
July 25, 2018
I ended up skimming this one, in the hope that the ending would be different from my prediction. But nope, it turned out that I was right. I didn’t like the main character at all. At first I was excited—here was a tall, voluptuous, sarcastic woman starring in her own chick lit. Finally! Alas, she secretly hates everyone around her and is jealous of them. I was sad for her and how much she felt like she was competing with her friend. Claire’s kind of the worst.
January 7, 2020
Chick Lit/Women's Fiction is not a genre I generally read, but I really loved the books this author wrote under her other name (Margot Hunt) so I wanted to try her other ones. This book, however, was not only disappointing, but just too long. IMHO, Whitney Gasekll/Margot Hunt's forte is definitely thriller/mysteries.
February 12, 2019
This book was way too long and it could have done without the bedroom scenes. The main character, Claire slept with Jack the first night she met him, gross. Her friend Maddy was a sleaze too sleeping with her married boss.
April 22, 2023
This book is just my favorite genre. It's easy, fast, kind of mindless and just a fun time. Is it something I'll remember forever? No. Is it super impactful or important? No. This one especially was written in the early 2000's in the midst of diet culture EXTREME so there are a lot of nasty body comments that are terrible. However, so many chick lit books from that time are the same. This one is about a woman named Claire (who is AMAZON sized because she's 5'10 and slightly curvy- YUCK). She lives in NYC and works for a magazine called Sassy Seniors. She travels different places to review them from the lense of a senior citizen. She meets a guy named Jack on a plane and its instant chemistry. He lives in London but the 2 keep in touch- only to find out he is the guy her best friend just got dumped by. The book is about the romance between Jack and Claire, but I'd argue this is more women's fiction because its ultimately about Claire and her relationship with her friend, her mom, her neighbor who has a crush on her, her job, etc. The romance is a strong element to this book, but its more about Claire figuring herself out than just a romance. The 3rd act conflict was annoying as it always is and wasn't handled in the most mature way. It also definitely tainted me on my love for Jack, even though it resolves itself and we're supposed to believe its all good. There were a lot of shady things going on. Anywho, this was a fun read and I'd recommend it for any chick lit lover as long as you're aware going in that there are a lot of inappropriate and annoying body comments.
September 5, 2013
*****5 Chocolate dipped Stars*****
So we've establish by now that I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy and True Love and Other Lies was every bit of funny and endearing, so great that I couldn't put it down and finished the whole book in less than twelve hours.
Claire is a thirty two year old writer with a terrible dating record, divorce is a common thing whiting her family and friends so she is jaded and even a little bitter when it comes to love. She is on her way to London on a work assignment and seating next to her in the plane is a very handsome man, the guy starts a conversation and against her previous plans of sleeping throughout the flight she can't resist the good-looking and smart American who if she believed in love at first sight this guy would be definitely it.
Jack is completely smitten with Claire and so he asks her out and they spend a couple of very romantic days together in London where he currently lives; they have a lot of things in common and are totally perfect for each other, but just as Claire's luck would have it, there is a big catch in her incredible love affair, and she will find herself in a battle between heart and mind.
There's a lot of reasons why I loved this book, but the first one was definitely the honesty in which it was written; the characters were not only lovable but extremely relatable. Claire has a strong personality and she's made peace with her curvaceous appearance but like many of us she can't see in the mirror what others do, and that is that she is beautiful, sexy and very smart, she is also very cynical and is always waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to love. This story was simple yet highly entertaining, I find that stories like this that are able to captivate your emotions without any of the embellishing facts are my favorites. This book was extremely funny, I was laughing my ass off and found myself reminiscing with Claire about all those terrible first dates that we all in fact go through. This is a novel with great substance and I enjoyed it tremendously, without a doubt I will recommend this one to all my reader friends.
So we've establish by now that I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy and True Love and Other Lies was every bit of funny and endearing, so great that I couldn't put it down and finished the whole book in less than twelve hours.
Claire is a thirty two year old writer with a terrible dating record, divorce is a common thing whiting her family and friends so she is jaded and even a little bitter when it comes to love. She is on her way to London on a work assignment and seating next to her in the plane is a very handsome man, the guy starts a conversation and against her previous plans of sleeping throughout the flight she can't resist the good-looking and smart American who if she believed in love at first sight this guy would be definitely it.
Jack is completely smitten with Claire and so he asks her out and they spend a couple of very romantic days together in London where he currently lives; they have a lot of things in common and are totally perfect for each other, but just as Claire's luck would have it, there is a big catch in her incredible love affair, and she will find herself in a battle between heart and mind.
There's a lot of reasons why I loved this book, but the first one was definitely the honesty in which it was written; the characters were not only lovable but extremely relatable. Claire has a strong personality and she's made peace with her curvaceous appearance but like many of us she can't see in the mirror what others do, and that is that she is beautiful, sexy and very smart, she is also very cynical and is always waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to love. This story was simple yet highly entertaining, I find that stories like this that are able to captivate your emotions without any of the embellishing facts are my favorites. This book was extremely funny, I was laughing my ass off and found myself reminiscing with Claire about all those terrible first dates that we all in fact go through. This is a novel with great substance and I enjoyed it tremendously, without a doubt I will recommend this one to all my reader friends.
July 25, 2011
I picked up this book while waiting at the library for my husband to pick me up and immediately got sucked into this story. While Claire isn’t the most charismatic heroine I have ever read about, I identified with her immediately. I’m not sure if it was her job as a travel writer or her ‘naturally bigger and curvy’ body that made me ‘click’ with her, but I sure did in a hurry.
Gaskell mixes romance, sisterhood (and the lack thereof), and travel to create a contemporary romance that had me keep turning the pages as often as I could. Claire’s voice is so strong and distinct that it was easy for me to lose myself in what was going on in her head.
I quite enjoyed how she incorporated the quirks of all the locations involved (New York and London, mainly) without turning it into a travel guide. My inner travel addict wanted a bit more, but I do think it was the perfect amount for the story.
My nitpick in this story is that it seemed to drag out a little too much for my tastes in the last third of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, but I felt like the author took just a bit too much time getting there.
The ending was a bit too nicely packaged up with a bow for my tastes as well, but I still enjoyed the happily ever after.
Gaskell mixes romance, sisterhood (and the lack thereof), and travel to create a contemporary romance that had me keep turning the pages as often as I could. Claire’s voice is so strong and distinct that it was easy for me to lose myself in what was going on in her head.
I quite enjoyed how she incorporated the quirks of all the locations involved (New York and London, mainly) without turning it into a travel guide. My inner travel addict wanted a bit more, but I do think it was the perfect amount for the story.
My nitpick in this story is that it seemed to drag out a little too much for my tastes in the last third of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, but I felt like the author took just a bit too much time getting there.
The ending was a bit too nicely packaged up with a bow for my tastes as well, but I still enjoyed the happily ever after.
March 8, 2008
NY-based travel writer Claire is bored with her life. Her last significant romance ended with him leaving the country to get away from her. When she is seated next to a sexy stranger on a flight to London, they hit it off and arrange to hook up after he ends his current unsatisfying relationship. Not expecting to ever see him again, she is surprised when he calls and arranges to show her around London.
Imagine her surprise when she discovers that her new man, Jack is Jack Harrison, the man that just dumped her best friend Maddy (though Maddy refers to him only as "Harrison"). It wouldn't be so bad - after all, she did not know who he was, except that Maddy is obsessed with getting back with Jack, while Claire might just be falling in love.
They continue to have a trans-Atlantic romance, and Claire never gets around to telling Maddy about it.
Claire suffers from self-esteem issues and can never really understand why Jack wants her. She is suspicious of his intentions, and it does not help when those closest to her feed into her ego problems. She has to decide...Does she betray her bestfriend or fall for Jack? Predictable ending. Easy read.
Imagine her surprise when she discovers that her new man, Jack is Jack Harrison, the man that just dumped her best friend Maddy (though Maddy refers to him only as "Harrison"). It wouldn't be so bad - after all, she did not know who he was, except that Maddy is obsessed with getting back with Jack, while Claire might just be falling in love.
They continue to have a trans-Atlantic romance, and Claire never gets around to telling Maddy about it.
Claire suffers from self-esteem issues and can never really understand why Jack wants her. She is suspicious of his intentions, and it does not help when those closest to her feed into her ego problems. She has to decide...Does she betray her bestfriend or fall for Jack? Predictable ending. Easy read.
June 25, 2008
A nice easy read that I enjoyed and liked, but thought it was just "good". I loved the fact that Claire wrote for Sassy Seniors (that was priceless). Thought the plot was predictable and just like every other movie where the fat-girl-gets-the-guy kind of story (oh and I'm a reforming fat girl, so I can say that!! LOL).. it's a beautiful story, but I thought just a bit unrealistic and a bit too Cinderella. Things don't typically happen like that in real life. I'd put it as a "cheery beach book"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2011
It's been a long time since I've read a book that I just could not put down, and this was definitely a page-turner! I commend Whitney Gaskell for writing a fun, witty, smart book for women of all ages! Claire Spencer is a REAL woman, someone many of us chicas can relate to in real life, I know I did! I felt like at certain moments, I was reading about myself. SUCH a good read! I highly recommend!
March 27, 2013
Need a quick chick-lit fix, this was the first book I pounce upon entering the library. Skimming through the first paragraph and read this "The whole concept of a One True Love Who Completes Your Soul is total bullshit." Couldn't check it out fast enough.
Finished this in over 18hrs, 3.5 stars.
Finished this in over 18hrs, 3.5 stars.
March 25, 2014
Sweet. Romantic. Funny. The best book to get you in a good mood.
December 2, 2014
Cute! Read this book on a Sunday...I love Claire...she is so relatable. The writing was funny and honest and the whole cast was great. Will def read another one of her books.
June 2, 2021
It’s so hard to find cheesy romance books that are also well written. Now, don’t get me wrong there are times in this book that the author went a little overboard on tedious description so I skim read a page here and there but on the whole I really enjoyed this book and read it in a day and a half. I can’t resist a meet cute and I enjoyed the travelling between NYC and London, the 2 main characters were flawed but likeable which made them feel relatable particularly, Maddy felt less so and I just could not warm to her, I felt as if she was very shallow and only kept Claire around to boost her own self esteem. I didn’t buy when she said she had always thought Claire was more beautiful than her, it didn’t align with the rest of her behaviour.
There are a few questionable moments that stand out where it’s like “really? You’re standing for this” but that’s what I have come to expect with these sort of books and these moments didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book. Stand out moments include:
1) a man seeing your face on a fridge magnet and reading a few emails before deciding to change a whole flight just so he can sit next to you is not romantic it is CREEPY AF!
2) maddy was an awful awful friend. She was absolutely batshit. She was dating this guy for 6 months I think it said, she clearly didn’t love him because she was shagging her boss behind his back so the fact that she got so angry over her friend seeing him, a friend she claims that she loves so much and wants to see happy. Well, Claire can do better.
3) Max is gross too, can we for once have a girl and a guy be friends without him having an ulterior motive please 🤦🏼♀️ then he goes and marries his gf who has essentially said was his second choice. Some of these women need to have a word with themselves they really do.
Overall I really enjoyed the read, it doesn’t get 5 stars because it’s not a book I could read over again but it kept me interested and I really did want to find out what happened next
There are a few questionable moments that stand out where it’s like “really? You’re standing for this” but that’s what I have come to expect with these sort of books and these moments didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book. Stand out moments include:
1) a man seeing your face on a fridge magnet and reading a few emails before deciding to change a whole flight just so he can sit next to you is not romantic it is CREEPY AF!
2) maddy was an awful awful friend. She was absolutely batshit. She was dating this guy for 6 months I think it said, she clearly didn’t love him because she was shagging her boss behind his back so the fact that she got so angry over her friend seeing him, a friend she claims that she loves so much and wants to see happy. Well, Claire can do better.
3) Max is gross too, can we for once have a girl and a guy be friends without him having an ulterior motive please 🤦🏼♀️ then he goes and marries his gf who has essentially said was his second choice. Some of these women need to have a word with themselves they really do.
Overall I really enjoyed the read, it doesn’t get 5 stars because it’s not a book I could read over again but it kept me interested and I really did want to find out what happened next
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2023
The romance was very cute and wholesome. However, I saw the twist coming, so I wasn’t surprised. I loved the twist regardless. I don’t think they are very good best friends - one is so self centred and jealous, and the other so willing to lie. So much was left unsaid between them before their fight happened. I also felt like one of them was extremely rude and disrespectful for a so called best friend. My best friend and I have been friends for even longer than the women in the story, and we would’ve told the truth, and even when mad we’ve never been that mean towards each other, so that seemed unrealistic to me that they’d still be friends. I thought I was relating to the main character’s body issues, but then she kept calling other characters obese or pigs, and I felt like those were very hateful descriptions coming from someone who was supposed to understand not being the “ideal body type”. Those descriptions were so uncalled for, unnecessary, and mean.
May 30, 2022
I haven't read anything from the Chic Lit Genre for quite a while so when I pulled this from my shelves I found that I've been missing these fun and fluffy reads.
Initially, I found the premise interesting. Waiting to find out how this would play out. The book deliberately made Claire out to be the Underdog. I wanted her to find love. I was rooting for her.
As the story played out our poor loveless Claire turned into a Pitbull. And my dislike for this character grew and grew as she played games with her best friend. When a woman steals her best friend's love with no regard for her friend it's about the lowest you can go. The whole rest of the book was a cycle of "I'm going to tell Maddie" and "Oh well, not right now. Later", over and over again.
This book could have been good. But when you dislike the main character so much it just ruins the fun feeling a chic lit book should bring.
Initially, I found the premise interesting. Waiting to find out how this would play out. The book deliberately made Claire out to be the Underdog. I wanted her to find love. I was rooting for her.
As the story played out our poor loveless Claire turned into a Pitbull. And my dislike for this character grew and grew as she played games with her best friend. When a woman steals her best friend's love with no regard for her friend it's about the lowest you can go. The whole rest of the book was a cycle of "I'm going to tell Maddie" and "Oh well, not right now. Later", over and over again.
This book could have been good. But when you dislike the main character so much it just ruins the fun feeling a chic lit book should bring.
March 10, 2022
Wow unbelievable. I want to say a very big thanks and appreciation to DR. Kadiri. of all spell casters worldwide for bringing back my wife who left i and the kids for almost two years months within the space of 72
hours after following all instruction given to me. i am very much grateful for restoring peace in my marital home, and i pray God almighty give you the strength and wisdom to continue helping more people having similar relationship and marital problem like mine. for help you can contact with him WhatsApp number.
WhatsApp Number: +2348075795842
hours after following all instruction given to me. i am very much grateful for restoring peace in my marital home, and i pray God almighty give you the strength and wisdom to continue helping more people having similar relationship and marital problem like mine. for help you can contact with him WhatsApp number.
WhatsApp Number: +2348075795842
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2020
This was a love hate story. Claire was my least favorite character. She as a jerk to her fellow workers, seemed to hate seniors and was always in the middle of a pity party. A big no to her best friend Mandy. But like all story things always work out. Just glad I finished it.
November 2, 2024
male lead was kinda weird and stalkerish, felt a bit unrealistic how he fell in love with her by just seeing her photo and reading her emails (to her friend not him) but the twists were kinda exciting
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2017
Reminded me of a bad lifetime movie
May 31, 2020
Such a cute and fun read. You know what’s going to happen before it happens but you can’t help but smiling when your prediction comes true.
May 11, 2021
Great read for chicklit lovers. Enjoyed the story and characters. Great weekend or beach read.
August 22, 2021
Was unsure at first. Took me awhile to get into the story and characters. But once in. Was enticed and wanted to know what happened next..
A pleasant read..
A pleasant read..
August 14, 2022
A fun chick-lit, rom-com, good on a rainy day at the beach kind of book
March 14, 2024
Main character was so whiny and negative.
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