Talking to Addison

by Jenny Colgan

Talking to a feel good romantic comedy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Endless Beach [Paperback] Colgan, Jenny

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Adult, Contemporary Romance

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Café' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.

For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter.

Jenny Colgan has also been published under the name Jenny T. Colgan.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally titled as Talking to Addison, this one wasn't the hilarious romantic comedy that is claimed to be. The characters didn't charm me and I probably should have thrown it into the do not finish pile and those last 100 pages, what was that?






Originally published 16/06/20

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! This one just wasn't for me. I couldn't stand the main character and I couldn't wait to finish it.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it at first, but the last 100 pages were brutal. It just got weird and all wtf.

I liked Holly at first, but in the end..no. F no. She is flaky. She gets new roommates and falls in love with the nerd who does not talk. He has a girlfriend online, but does she care. No, because she knows better. He should be with her, even if he does not want to. She lies. She meets this great guy, but she is all in love with Addison, and trust me, she will still get a HEA: But in the end I did no think she deserved one.

I just wish those last 100 pages had not happened, it was some sort of trippy dream, it just went from a silly book to is everyone crazy?

Also there is this one thing that happens, and most just laugh it off, but honestly, you could put someone in jail over that!

It went from good to bad. So ok then

[Kika]

DNF - 3000% less fat-shaming next time, pls.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh. So it turns out this is an old book Colgan's (2001) published in 2001. A lot of the problems I have are probably because it was written nearly 20 years ago. And usually I won't judge a book too hard for being a product of its time, but . . . if you're re-releasing it, I think you need to make it better.

In the forward, Colgan says she thinks her portrayal of Addison might not come off as great, but, really, he's fine. What's not fine is:

1. The fatphobia
2. The portrayal of Josh. Ultimately, I think he really was supposed to be questioning his sexuality, but for most of the book, it felt like it was everyone else who decided he might be gay because . . . IDK, he's good looking and nice?

And then it just gets ridiculous in the end. And now I don't know if I can read more Colgan. I need a break anyway.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh! I was so looking forward to this book! I have often said that Jenny Colgan has a formula of girl has problems with her job and love life, decides to chuck it all to start over in some god forsaken place, starts new career, meets lots of quirky people and falls in love. Even though most of her books follow this formula, they tend to be charming reads. In the forward to this book, Ms Colgan said that her publisher wanted one of her older manuscripts, so she dusted off My Very 90’s Romance. Obviously, this was pre-formula. She should have just left it on it’s dusty shelf. The plot was skattered and was way too wordy and drawn out. The characters were quirky but there was nothing charming about them. I couldn’t wait to finish it. Let me repeat- UGH!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hilarious story filled with memorable moments and characters! My favorite scene in the book was when Addison was in the hospital with a coma and his flatmates were attempting to awaken him. The situation quickly became a three ring circus.

Some of my favorite characters were Mr. McClockerty (aka God), Dr. Flowers (aka Dr. Hitler) and Chali (lead singer of the band Mr. Big and the Spangles).

[Elley Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the way this book ended enough to give it back an entire star. That being said, HOLY PROBLEMATIC BOOK, BATMAN! Holly is a super judgemental bitch, and just pretty all-around unlikelable.

This book is soooo fatphobic, it makes my physically ill. Even this misleading blurb!
"Holly and her friends make desperate attempts to connect with Addison, drag him away from his fiercely possessive girlfriend, Claudia, and get him to communicate with the real world." Holly spends most of the book trying in her weird, delusional way to hook up with Addison DESPITE THE FACT that he says he has a girlfriend, and she makes (NUMEROUS) disparaging remarks about Addison's girlfriend because she's fat. ALSO, Addison makes huge strides to come out of his shell and he tells Holly is because Claudia has encouraged him to be more social and get out more. So no, Holly and her friends are not making desperate attempts to connect with Addison and drag him away from his fiercely protective girlfriend - HOLLY is making desperate attempts to hook up with a guy who already has a girlfriend, while said long-distance girlfriend is incredible supportive despite her own crippling battle with agoraphobia. HOLLY IS A BITCH. /mic drop

Also, she cavalierly uses guys she doesn't even like, and the way she treats Finn is abominable despite that fact that 1) he's clearly THE MOST ADORABLE NERDBOY and 2) they have the cutesty and best chemistry. She is just ... UGH. Yuck. There is also a lot of homophobic ribbing of Josh, who may or may not be straight/CIS, and the handling of Josh and his gender/sexuality was just ... not done well.

I liked the way this book resolved (for the most part...) and I'm glad I stuck with it and kept reading, but it is VERY problematic. I'd have liked to see Holly go through some realization of what a horrible person she is and maybe some self-growth, but we don't really see that... or maybe not go around making disgusting comments about peoples' weight all through the book (both about Claudia and about Dr. Flowers...) Actually, Holly basically makes disparaging, snotty observations about everyone she encounters, which is rich since she very much does not have her shit in order.

"But wait, why did you rate this 3 stars?" you may be asking.
Reasons I did like this book:
* Finn
* God
* Chali
* Finn & Addison nerd-bonding
* Nurse Stephen in general
* Dr. Flower's enjoyment of Chali's band
* God again (he was really funny, ok?)
* Finn some more (Team Finn)

So mostly side characters that saved the day, as the main character just didn't float my boat. Hooray for great side characters, though!! But if it weren't for God and Finn, this would have been a 2 star read,and if not for the other side characters (and that party scene with Finn & Addison, as well as Finn's scenes with Holly that made me not HATE HER GUTS) I'd probably have DNF'd this one... :/

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss + for review.

Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter

[Leslie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have you recently rewatched Friends and realized what an absolute horrible person Ross was? He was shallow, misogynistic, insecure, self-pitying, selfish, homophobic, controlling and enjoyed fat jokes at his sister's expense. Well, if that is what a 90s leading man was then I guess this book nails the 90s setting. What a time to be alive.
I borrowed this book having no history with the author and because I thought Addison was a woman (thank you Grey's Anatomy). I was expecting something quirky and subversive to help me through a 16 hour road trip. Technically it helped, I spent the entire time yelling at Holly, the protagonist, and that kept me awake. If you loved Ross you will probably love Holly - they are equally cruel and terrible. I wish I had read the reviews here first, you guys would have saved me.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I read a chick-lit book, but I couldn't resist this tale of Holly, a financially-challenged young florist who falls for Addison, her hot computer geek room-mate. It turned out to be an hilarious read with some unusual elements. Hot computer geek? Do they really exist? Stereotypes aside, just because someone is extremely attractive doesn't mean they'll gravitate towards image-conscious careers. While I can't say that I've personally met too many computer geeks who resemble Johnny Depp, it's not implausible that there are a few out there. Holly falls for Addison purely because of his appearance. She doesn't really know him, since he spends all his time glued to his computer, but that doesn't stop her from pursuing him avidly. Addison has an Internet girlfriend, Claudia, also a computer geek, who works for the government and has high-level clearance. Claudia is enormously overweight and extremely unattractive. Cute perky Holly is convinced that Addison would naturally prefer her, a real-life, attractive, slim girlfriend, to his physically unappealing cyber girlfriend, but things don't turn out the way she expects. I give the author a lot of credit for writing so sympathetically about Claudia and Addison's relationship. With chick-lit, you expect the hot people to get together and the girl to get her guy. Colgan understands that for computer geeks and other personality types, good looks might not count for as much as for the general population. The way Addison explains this to Holly is really quite touching, but the book isn't overly sappy or sentimental. It's a light-hearted, comic read with a happy but unexpected ending. It can also be regarded as a cautionary tale about falling for someone based purely on their appearance. But mostly, it's just hilarious, in a that peculiarly British way that I find especially entertaining.

[Aura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so sad. Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite authors and I did not enjoy this book. It is heavy on the chiclit side. I wanted to like it but I kept getting bored. I lived in the 90's but there was not a thing interesting about My Very 90's Romance. I rounded up to 3 stars but I know I will be reading Ms. Colgan's next book because I have loved all her book except this one.

[Mandy Saial · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very funny and I enjoyed the storyline which is not my usual cup of tea .
The part that turned me away was the main character .I just didn't mesh well with her .I have to either like to love you or like to hate you and she was kind of lost in between somewhere .

[Ane Ellasdatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ridiculous and laugh out loud funny. 3,5 stars

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

so very questionable

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great fun! There are some pretty serious things happening in the second half of the book, but I was confident that the author would give us the ending I wanted.

While there is romance, the main focus of the story is on the friendship between four flatmates who approach their thirties.
It is told from the pov of Holly, who seemed rather self-absorbed and immature to me, but in an honest way that I quite enjoyed.

As the title clearly states this is set in the 90ies and is meant to feel dated.

The humor worked for me. Very London.

The narration was amazing! I highly recommend to listen to the audio.

[Taylor Haines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but could not stand the main character. Definitely not one of my favorites

[Sharon Jean M · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was not a whole heck of a lot happening. I was invested halfway through the book because I thought things were going to start happening, but literally NOTHING was happening.

[Anita Byler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got through the first- half? Skipped to the last chapter and epilogue. So many of the other reviewers have already covered this one. One thing this book does: Helps us understand why the world is in the state it's in- if even a fraction of the citizens of earth are anything like the main character, it's clear.
Language- awful. Spare yourself.
Edit: I've been conflicted about this author for awhile. No longer. If your publisher asks you to revisit an earlier book and you pull this one out and leave the very distasteful bits in, don't do major reworking- I think it says more about the author, actually. Specifically, the really ugly language about Claudia. There are ways to have a hateful main character who is distasteful, disgusting, immature- all the things that Holly is- without making it sound like the author herself feels that way or is that way. Jenny Colgan has a large fan base, apparently. I've struggled to understand why. After mulling it over for 24 hours, I've decided: Who cares. She's not for me, at all. I'm done. A good friend read a Colgan book, raved about it, I put a bunch on hold at the library. Having just cancelled all the remaining holds, I feel a LOT better.

[Donna Worsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me a while to get into and at first I wasn’t sure if I would complete it but then I got into the humour as there were parts of the book which made me chuckle (and I often do not laugh at books or cry!!) but the last 100 pages were a bit OTT and a bit silly really!!

I liked Holly at first, but in the end…no! She is flaky. She gets new roommates and falls in love with the nerd who does not talk. He has a girlfriend online, but does she care. No, because she knows better. He should be with her, even if he does not want to be. She lies. She meets this great guy, but she is all in love with Addison. But in the end I did not think she deserved a nice boyfriend who by the way she had nothing in common with! Strange ending and felt a bit deflated as though I was expecting a bit more or a different ending!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were aspects of this book that I really liked. But it was brought down a lot by a very flawed main character. She makes fun of her friend for possibly being gay while thinking she's not being an ass. She comes across as very fatphobic. In some ways, I think it really illustrates how different acceptable public discourse surrounding inclusion is in the last 20 years.

There's also a lot of weirdness toward the end that really should have had consequences but is just completely bypassed.

Oddly, my favorite relationship is the one she has with the cantankerous other patient in the hospital who claims to be god.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to this book by the cover, the title and the author. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. I had to struggle to finish this one. I didn't like the main character at all, she was judgemental, annoying and somewhat obnoxious. There was really not much that I liked about this book. I usually enjoy Jenny Colgan's books and after finding out that this was an old manuscript that was dusted off and published, I realize that her storytelling has improved a lot over the years. Sorry, this was not one for me.

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read! I loved Holly for the fact that she was such a generally happy girl who wasn't overly ambitious (rather a slacker) and quite content to remain that way. I also love, love, loved Addison. A geeky Johnny Depp? What more does a girl need? It was a tad on the darkly humorous side which I also enjoyed very much. The last 1/8 of the book seemed a little chaotic but other than that I've no complaints.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to rate these books. Yes, they're funny for the most part, but I'm so annoyed by the language and the raunchy lifestyle portrayed that I find it hard to really enjoy them. I like this author's more serious work, but the humor is borderline offensive (and sometimes more than borderline.) The writing is competent, but not brilliant, but if you like raunchy humor, you'll probably like it better than I did.

[Lauren Johnston · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmm, one of the worst books I’ve ever read. The female protagonist needs a kick up the arse. I only read on to see if it got better, because I absolutely LOVE Jenny Colgan. Oh well, it wasn’t to be.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute quick read, made me laugh out loud at the gym ;)

[Julie Doyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t waste your time

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a chatioc mess but it was a great distraction.

[Aaronlisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I get into the review, I want to say three things:
1. I should have DNF'd this book because it just wasn't working for me.
2. This is a reprint of a book originally titled Talking With Addison that was published in 2001.
3. When I bought this book I was experiencing major 90s nostalgia and it was a total cover buy purchase.

The 3 star rating is rather generous. I really wanted to like this book. For a variety of reasons. First of all, Chali was a super amazing character. And I think I would have been happy reading a book of her exploits - not as a romance but as she makes her way through London as she strives to become a star. Secondly, the character of Josh and his struggle to figure out his sexuality is handled in a rather matter of fact way. (I didn't like how his arc ended. At all. But that's okay.)

I guess there should be a fourth disclaimer. I am not a fan of the whole romance trope of main girl falls for one guy but then another guy comes along and she can't quite make up her mind. This seems to be Colgan's standard trope of choice. There's nothing wrong with it but I find in most cases, it's just tired and boring. If you like that trope, you may get more out of this book than I did. I also didn't care for the trope of the main female character not realizing how pretty she is and her insecurities. I know it's a common trope in romance novels to make the heroine seem normal and just like the reader but I find that trope is a far worse one than the sort of love triangle trope.

I think out of all of the books I've read by Colgan, The Bookshop on the Corner is the best book. There's nothing wrong with this one but I think the North American publisher should have kept the original title. There was nothing overly nostalgic about it. Some of the tech is a bit dated but not as much as you'd think. Colgan does give a warning at the start of this book about how it's dated both in it's references of technology and the lack of social media and in the way that one of the characters - who may or may not be considered to have Asperger's - is treated. I think that's an over simplification of things.

On paper - no pun intended - this book should have worked for me. We have a main female character who is trying to figure herself out when it appears that everyone around her has their stuff together. Holly feels like she's a hot mess, especially when she moves in with her friends - Kate and Josh -who are doing quite a bit better in their lives - Josh because he comes from old money and even though he doesn't have much money, has enough connections to make his way in life and Kate who is ambitious and successful. Josh and Kate, like Holly, are hopelessly single. Holly moves in with the pair who have a roommate named Addison. Addison is beautiful but a little odd since he's obsessed with Star Trek, never comes out of his room and is a computer geek. As the story goes on, we meet Chali and Finn (and a few others.)

I think for me, if Colgan had cut out the romance and just focused on Holly and her misfit friends as they try to to find their way in life without trying to be like the London version of Friends this would have been so much better. Again it's not a bad book. It just wasn't the book for me and I should have just set it down and moved onto something else. This book is cure and there's a lot of sweet moments. I think Addison's issues aren't because of Asperger's but more a result of grief and I would have loved to see Colgan explore his story more.

The ending did leave me a little cold because I just didn't feel that it fit with the rest of the story. It wasn't bad and to be honest I kind of expected it.

[Maura Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe if I'd read this when it was first published, I'd have enjoyed it more. As it is, I couldn't finish it. I guess I'm just past the flatmate drama portion of my reading life and I wasn't ever engaged enough to want to continue listening. It's not bad, it's just not for me at this stage of life. I've enjoyed all the other books I've read by this author!

[Steph Leeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so surprised people are not marking this book 3+ stars. I thought the book was hilarious. However, I did listen to the audiobook. The narrator was brilliant. The perfect choice for all the characters. I even purchased a physical copy for me and friends. Moderate profanity. Mild sexual content.