Inappropriate Men

by Stacey Ballis

Inappropriate Men by Stacey Ballis released on Mar 25, 2004 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance

346 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[WynterAngel Zsun · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book loving the premise. When I started reading I was completely enthralled and couldn't for the life of me put the book down.

Then as the main character who was a married woman who was having an affair with an older married man started to waste my life droning on and on about her hopes and dreams of her next romp with the older married man and how often she wasn't seeing him or the fact that she wasn't allowed to spend the night, I found myself wanting to write more fanlit that while they were in bed together doing their regular mundane sex thing that she never really let us in on, a helicopter crashed into the house shredding them to pieces killing them instantly. As I read on and saw no helicopter in sight I saw that she mustard up some sort of pride or self worth or whatever and tried relationships with other men. The writer was so oblivious that there were actually people reading the words that she put on the page that she actually believed that some resolution was wrong and therefore banned it from her book. So knowing this ahead of time I began to wonder why she was even writing for in the first place.

She also blathered on and on about how she was an overweight woman and how she refused to write the fat chick gets the man book that she wasted a considerable amount of ink on it almost like she wished she could write that very book.

With her premise of no actual resolution and no actual exploration of why she was in such a relationship. She wrote it almost trying to convince herself or the readers that this older man was just using her as a vacant hole. It's really tragic when women debase themselves and believe things that are untrue to do horrible things.

Basically, if you walk away from having read this book without some sort of grimace on your face and not wanting to banish the name Jeff from your life there is something very wrong with you.

[Jessie Wilkens · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am greatful this was not the first story I read from Stacey Ballis. If it was, I would not plan on reading anything else by her. This story was so over-sexed and self-serving I was shocked. Maybe that was what the author was going for, but this reader was not impressed.

[Peebee · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading several heavy books, I was looking for something lighter, but this was just dreadful. I was drawn to the premise: an unapologetically size-24 and sexy heroine newly thrust into the dating world after a breakup. But most of the book ends up being about her affair with a married guy 20+ years her senior, while her husband has to do the heavy lifting on their divorce. And the poetry was awful awful awful as a literary device: (our heroine writes bad poetry to express herself after her dates with the married guy, but after the first couple, I just skipped them.) I realize this is Ballis' first book, and I do like the other book of hers I read, but I do hope Ballis realizes just how cringeworthy this is, and how she should be thanking her lucky stars that she still has a book deal after this effort.

[Melia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I *heart* Stacey Ballis. I want to be her new BFF and hang out with her and Jennifer Lancaster and make snarky comments about people and things that we find hilariously mock-worthy. But I kinda hated this book. To be perfectly fair, I didn't finish reading it and got a little less than halfway through it. I just couldn't find a way to get on board with a woman who leaps into an affair with a married man while she is also married. Their unwitting spouses made it very easy for them to conduct their illicit affair (complete with poetry) but in no way did either of them attempt to end their marriages or seem to feel much guilt for cheating. Maybe that comes later in the book, but I couldn't get that far. I'm sure the book ends in a way that reconciles the cheating spouses and they come to some grand realizations and catharsis, but I just couldn't continue reading about a protagonist that I didn't like very much.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, her debut novel, was my third Ballis book and I definitely liked it better than Sleepover Friends (which seemed awfully contrived) and as well as Room for Improvement (which was quite fun). I didn't love the poetry that mingles with the text, but I did really enjoy the conversational tone of the story.

Ballis does an amazing job detailing her perfect compatibility with Geoff, leaving me feeling relatively certain that she and I have slept with at least one of the same men. As well, her description of the night spent with another guy (I won't give away whom) gives me reason to assume that we probably have two suitors in common. :)

It's chick lit to be sure. A light read. Nothing profound. Exactly what I needed this weekend.

[JH]

I just could not get into this book. I read about half of it before giving up. The main character was insufferable. The poems and flowery letters (and weird, breaking the fourth-wall interludes) were just annoying and seemed to be designed to make the book longer. I skipped almost all of them. I loved the first two books I read by this author, so I was shocked that this one left me feeling so disappointed.

[Kim Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally love books by this author but not this time. It took me forever to read. I just couldn't deal with any of the main characters.

[Pam Laine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish. Tedious beyond belief. Bad poetry. No good erotica to speak of. Even more annoying than Eat Pray Love, which I at least finished but then regretted. Complete zero. Oh wait… a recommendation for a good online vibrator store: goodvibes.com. There. You don’t have to read it now. You’re very welcome.

[Betania · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are things I really liked about this book, and a few things I didn't so much. A few of the poems were a bit long for my attention span, and a few parts were a bit tedious to get through. But I enjoyed parts of Stacey's writing style - it is a bit different from mainstream chicklit, which is refreshing. I also thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this book demonstrates that chicklit and a decently large vocabulary are not mutually exclusive.

As for the storyline, well, I'm not usually into books where the main character has an affair for the heck of it. Usually because the entire time the protagonist spends her time all whiny and completely surprised that, of course, they never leave their wives, and spends her time trying to justify her actions (Having It and Eating It, anyone?!). The story from Sidney's perspective seemed to exhibit a lot less of all that, and she was pretty up front and honest about the realities of the situation she got herself into.

I don't know, maybe I need a bit more time to digest this. There were several parts that I really just enjoyed reading, that made me laugh. This is one of those "you'll have to try it for yourself" books. Although be warned, as one of the other commenters suggested, the sex parts really are a bit TMI.

[mandyfujita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sidney Stein met her husband at Northwestern when she was a freshman in college. The two are very different in physical and mental characteristics. 14 years later, she is having trouble being faithful to her husband and begins an extra marital affair with her father's business partner.

I didn't particular like the premise of this story and as I read more and more, I did not particularly care for Sidney herself. She was a flirt to begin with. She craves for attention, which her traveling husband couldn't give her, she seems to be in heaven with Geoff even if she knows its the wrong thing to do.

I was getting kind of sick reading about Sidney's obsession with Geoff and was greatful for a change in the story. I stuck it out reading this book, because I enjoyed another book of Stacey Ballis'. I don't recommend this book at all. Sorry.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this story. Although the main character is involved in a situation of questionable morality, I found her very sympathetic and identifiable. I have a lot in common with her, as far as her interests go (I almost died when she quoted Nigella Lawson). What I especially like about the book is that the fat girl is really fat, not just fatter than she'd like to be (see: Bridget Jones' Diary) and she doesn't have to lose the weight to get the guy (see: Jemima J and Good In Bed). Also, the book and its characters are intelligent. It's chick lit, but it's chick lit with a brain. The author knows about life and literature and art, has a vocabluary with words over three syllables, and isn't obsessed with Prada shoes. Brava, Ms. Ballis.

[Lychee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Her debut novel, which I read last. I might've liked it better if I'd read it first. It was somewhat "multi-textual" with poems and letters included in between the more direct narrative. I'm not normally opposed to such things, but some of the poems and letters were looooong -- probably the most irritating thing was that they were in a different font style/format making them more difficult to read. I've really enjoyed her other books and they've each taken on different aspects of dating and friendships and are often quite comedic. That's perhaps another difference, this book didn't seem quite as humorous as her later efforts.

[Kecia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the Nerdy Girls book exchange. I thought it would be a fun mindless read...and I certainly got the mindless part.

300 plus pages of Sidney's whining was a bit too much. This would have been so much better if it was 100 pages shorter. It really got bogged down in the middle. And the poetry...ug, the poetry was awful.

I did try Sidney's recipe for pumpkin soup for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I plan to try her pasta recipe too. I also liked her mom's advice that everybody has a nobody. So the read was not a total loss. But it wasn't a winner either.

Next!

[Zoie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally, I thought this book was going to be a man-bashing checklist telling funny stories of encounters with laughs and moments where the reader would want to pee themselves. Instead, It follows a woman who becomes involved with men and tells stories about her "romantic" encounters. After sleeping with people or general emotion she writes poetry (which I skipped) and in the end I think the message is (it's o.k to be single). I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a page-turner. Old women who are single and people in divorce may find this book amazing, however; it was definitely not my kind of book.

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that, initially, I didn't think I would care for this story at all. Adultery themes really turn me off, usually. I skimmed over the poems, but I did enjoy the story for the most part. I thought Sidney was a realistic character trying to find passion and true love, though I didn't agree with her direction. I did like the author's voice and found her to be very witty, which came through in the character's personalities. The last 1/4 of the book seemed to drag for me while Sidney was waffling about what she was going to do about Geoff and having her email marathon with Joe. I think the author has a lot of potential so I will be looking for more by her to read.

[Marnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I loved her other book, "Sleeping over." This one was not as good. Sidney is really hard to like & the details of her affair with her dad's married business partner who's almost twice her age are kind of gross. I liked the style of writing & how she had "sidebars" explaining what happened before & it was kind of fun to read Sidney's cheesy bad poetry that was no doubt supposed to be "deep."

[Rebekkila · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something about the writing that I didn't like. If I knew someone that character I would roll my eyes at them. Maybe I found the character to be pretentious and smug. But in all fairness, a lot of my chick lit is silly and this book wasn't. I didn't get far into this book before I had to put it down. Maybe the next reader will like it better. I agree with Geechee girl on this one and gave it a two star.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to decide which came first, the poetry (which, IMHO isn't has bad as other reviewers say) or the story? I have a feeling, since this a debut novel, that this is somewhat autobiographical. I don't know for sure but it read very conversationally (which I liked). True, there were plenty of TMI moments but the nosy bitch in me liked it.

I will read another of her novels for sure. It was quick and easy and a nice break from what I have been reading.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hope Ms. Ballis' other books are better. I adore Jen Lancaster and since Stacey Ballis is her BFF, thought I couldn't possibly miss out. Wrong. This book is rife with too many characters, horribly boring poetry, a whiny heroine, and just about the worst storyline and ending I've ever read. I forced myself through it. That's saying a lot, as there are very few books (save for Eragon) that I've ever wanted to stop reading and chuck in the trash. This is one of them.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, although very "bedroom" focused - yes, we get it, you like sex! I'm no prude, but it just kind of got to be TMI at some points. The only other thing that bugged me was that the main character is a writer and she puts in lots of poems (which I skipped over - boring). Overall, this is a pretty fun book.

[Traci · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to move this to my read shelf and add the "not gonna do it" tag line because I just can't get into it. It was weird and jumpy and annoyed me that she was cheating on her husband. Have the decency to divorce the guy first. Sheesh. So, not gonna finish it. Already returned it to the library.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the premise for the book was good however all the poetry the main character was writing for herself was really quite tedious and annoying. I skipped most of the poetry and emails she was writing to a potential lover. I think a little could have gone a long way; however, I am not a poetry lover.

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was ok, but not something I'd be likely to pick up again. I felt the main character was very impulsive, selfish, and easily distracted...making me not a huge fan of her. Also, I was unable to get into the character's poetry. It wasn't my style, and I felt that it was poorly written.

[scarfshabitofreading · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful. The premise is amazing and I looked forward to seeing a strong woman, divorced, go through the perils of dating but I never got past the first 30 pages because awful poetry, mediocre writing and the sidebars weren't doing it for me. I get that your fat, good for you. I highly doubt any reader is going to put the book down just because you are size 24. Jeez.

[LInda L · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't like this much -- 260 pound woman agonizing about an affair with a married man. She meets other men, all of whom adore her. Not ONCE is her weight mentioned. I know that sounds politically incorrect, but it's the real world here!

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short and simple - did not like this one. Way too much language, sex and the like. I was just darn annoyed that a married woman honestly started an affair with another guy.

If you are a fan of the vulgar, this one is for you.

[GIZMO · Rating 1 out of 5]

started this book with high hopes...I figured "any friend of Jen Lancaster..." but I was wrong...only slogged through the first 20 pages before deciding I'd rather clean house than waste any more of my time with this unpleasant person

[Rebeca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story but the poems were too long and I skipped over most of them. They kind of distracted you from what the author was really saying. Other than that great story about a young, fearless female enjoying life and dating all the wrong men.

[Linda Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I would love the book
Started great but then...
I had no patience for the poems
Almost stopped reading it several times but kept thinking it would have a great ending
Disappointed there too
Basically it was a few hours I'll never get back

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of all Stacey's books.