Self Helpless

by Rachel Hall

Jenny Peterson is a single, self-help junkie looking for her soul mate. But despite being an expert in self-improvement, her life still seems to be stuck in a rut. Her designer clothing rental business, even with its well-heeled Orange County clientele, is mysteriously losing money. And although it goes against every fiber in her moral makeup, the one guy she pines for happens to be her best friend’s husband. But are her fortunes about to change? A super-cute mystery guy has just recommended a new book, and from the moment she opens the pages of A Better Life, her world is turned upside down in ways that not even Dr Phil could have predicted.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary

318 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2014

About the author

Rachel Hall grew up in Sydney, Australia where she completed a Master of Arts in Psychology. Having spent many years travelling between California and Australia, she currently lives in Sydney with her husband and daughter and is at work on her next novel.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not actually a big chick lit fan and I think this book is actually a rather good example of why I usually prefer romance novels to chick lit.

I don't particularly care for love triangles. I care even less about reading about a woman who has a dysfunctional family and a best friend with whom she doesn't get on all that well. And I care even less about a character who does nothing but whine and is in financial trouble due to her own actions such as not paying much mind to financial questions.

And while quite a few readers have stated that they really enjoyed this book and its writing style, I have to admit that I am not one of those readers. All the writing style managed was keep me not all that intrigued and interested about our heroine Jenny. Or I guess I was interested ... in hitting her with A Better Life. Hard. Several times.

Jenny seemed superficial. She was way too interested in clothing labels and "dressing well". She put down her own family and her best (only?) friend who is prettier and richer than her (her words, not mine). Luckily, it seemed that the things did get slightly better by the time I finished the book because she kind of got her relationships back in order.

The self help clues as such were actually kind of nice, even if they did seem self-explanatory and obvious. But hey, maybe I'm simply the wrong audience.

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[Brenda Haddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may learn a thing or two from this Rachel Hall novel

Being my first Rachel Hall novel I was not at all familiar with her style of writing. Her novels or at least "Self Helpless" seemed to move pretty slow in the beginning then about half way through the novel I couldn't put it down. Unlike most novels I found this one unusually interesting as it was loaded with good life advice on business, family (parents), friends, and of course your love life; that's all based on a self help book the main character has learned to live by. I almost wish that book was real and everyone read it and lived by it.
Looking forward to my next Rachel Hall novel.

[Bibliongirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, if you're a fan chick lit I think you'll like this one.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and clever little book. Light reading during commute type of book. Not much else to say. Gave it to a friend afterwards so she could get into reading with her limited English.

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of serious nonfiction lately and needed something a bit lighter as a breather and since I've been making an effort to actually read more of the Kindle books I've picked up during sales, I started browsing my digital library and this caught my eye. I was pleasantly surprised! It reminded me a lot of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series, which I enjoyed years ago. The characters are flawed (who in real life isn't?) and there are some maybe-excessive twists, but overall, it was an enjoyable read.

One thing I've noticed though is there seems to be a growing need for copy editors in publishing these days. I get that typos and grammatical errors sometimes slip through, but there were far more than a few in this text.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had an extremely hard time committing to read this book in its entirety. I was "tricked" into purchasing it, and nearly $6 later, I tried to understand why this book was entitled to an amount that quadrupled other books pricing, & did not measure the quality of similar novels. The novel moved very slowly & seemed to have no direction. It was a cute concept, but lacked the strength needed to be seriously considered.

[Mary Stockwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

This is an interesting, entertaining and enjoyable semi-romance. I say semi -romance because it's on again, off again. There is complicated friendship with friction, jealousy, admiration and envy. Then there is the surprise twist at the end.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun Rebecca Bloomwood type character.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF just could NOT get into it.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stares, rounded up. Pretty shallow and predictable book. Everything happened as expected. Very light read with some very light characters.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve ready by Rachel Hall. Part of what attracted me to the book was that Jenny is a fashionista and funny, and it reminded me of the Finley Anderson Tanner mysteries by Rhonda Pollero (Sadly, she no longer writes books). It was definitely worth my time to read this book.

Yes, Jenny is great with fashion, and she’s funny. We read her sarcastic thought that are left unsaid. Jenny is an imperfect main character. Being a little overweight and having some acne in an appearance dominated profession are two obstacles in her life. I enjoyed her character. However, there is one event in the book that I really wish wouldn’t have happened. Jenny, what were you thinking?!

Hall has done a great job writing this book. I loved Jenny’s character right away, and I wanted to find out how her obsession with Marc ended up and if anything was going to happen with Brice. Reading this is like listening to your own internal monologue at times. It helps you connect to Jenny and understand her better. She’s an underdog that I cared about and rooted for throughout the book. There are a couple of things that happen in the book that are surprising, and one of those is a bit shocking, too. I didn’t see it coming.

The book that Jenny buys helps her to grow and mature throughout the story. Again, she is an imperfect character, and she doesn’t always do the right thing. Isn’t that true with all of us though? Everyone makes poor choices from time to time, but fortunately for Jenny, there are people in her life who are willing to give her a second change. She has people to pick her up when she has fallen.

I would recommend this book to anyone over age 18 who likes chick-lit, humorous stories about fashionistas, and female underdogs who enjoy self-help books to help them succeed in the romance department.

Thanks to Goodreads First Reads and Rachel Hall for providing a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

[Latisha Bramlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny and Livia run, Raid My Closet, a store that rents out designer clothing. Jenny has several problems: she has extreme self esteem issues, is in love with Livia's husband, and the store is operating in the red, in spite of promising sales. She has tried numerous self help books with no success. While in Barnes & Noble one day, a guy recommends another self help book. Jenny buys the book and is surprised by the results. Her life starts to turn around. Her relationship with her parents start to improve and she falls for the guy she met at the bookstore.

I enjoyed this book. I connected to the characters and found myself caring about what happened to them even when I wanted to hit them over he head.

[Angelica Dimeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads.
Jenny and Livia own a store that rents out name brand
clothing. Jenny has self esteem issues so she reads self help
books that do not work. Jenny is also in love with Livia's husband
Marc. Jenny meets a cute guy in Barnes and Nobles who recommends a
plain looking book called A Better life. What secrets is this cute guy hiding?
I enjoyed the book it was a fun read with comedy and drama mixed in.
I also like how in depth the book went on the different characters in the story.
At points I got frustrated with the characters and the plot that is why I gave 4/5.
Thanks for the opportunity.

[Jennifer Jowsey]

I won this in a goodreads giveaway. I entered the giveaway because I liked the sound of the summary. I started reading it but the lead character was so off-putting that I had to put it back on the shelf for now. The obsession with fashion labels and shoe shopping and the love-hate relationship between the main character and her best friend ("omg, she's so perfect, I hate her, why are we even friends") sounded like an author trying to write a stereotype to a mindless audience. I only made it about 15 pages in, so it may get markedly better, but I'm waiting until another day to find out.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self Helpless by Rachel Hall
Goodreads Author

Jenny and Livia are partners in a rental clothing store. Jenny is on the look out for her soul mate, which includes her best friend's husband.
The author has sprinkled humor, romance and self help in the story. A very interesting storyline, and well written.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I did not like the way the story was told but the more I read the more I enjoyed it. The reason I gave the book 4 stars is due to the infidelity I hate it in anything. Other wise this was a great read. The self help advice is good and worth a second read. I received this free as a Goodreads first read.

[Vanessa Catalano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a pre-advanced copy of the book sent by Goodreads. I liked the book, but did not love it. I found the character annoying at times, but by the end I got used to her voice and liked it more and more.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

My expectations were pretty low for this book (many bargain-priced Kindle books are not worth reading), but I ended up enjoying it. It's a love story, semi-mystery, and self-help book all in one! And the self-help advice is good!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!!!

[Noval]

Thanks before, i've gotten this excellent book, i hope finish read this book soon and give review.

[Pat Cavill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light fun read. An enjoyable way to spend some relaxing time.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a fan of Brands so when I started this I thought I would not like it but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. It has helpful self help sayings which relate to the main character but would help anyone and although it is a chick flick book it is good.A nice beach read.