A descent book nothing great. I listened to this book as I was convalescing from a pretty badly injured back so it took me forever to get through. In part because I kept getting knocked out by my meds the other part was just that the book was boring and uninspired. It was very sappy at the end. Yeah I laughed, I cried (at the end anyhow) and getting a middle aged man on potent muscle relaxants to cry at chick is no small feat . . . I just can not give this book a very positive review. Yeah a lot of chick lit is sappy and predictable but the story and the characters are so good it does not bother you. Well that was unfortunately not the case with this book.The supporting characters were flat and the title of the book never really made sense. You think you are going to get a book about an early middle aged woman finding herself after divorce or something who comes to a slow complicated realization that she is a much better person than she thinks she is over a series of funny stories, tragic events etc. This book it kind of just happens with little to no known reason and it happens all at once. The title, cover and publisher blurb also give this novel a sexy vibe that is just not there . . . not I the least!If you are in love with author or this kind of novel I guess it is worth reading but that is about it.As I have written this review I realized I could not even give this a generous 3 star rating it is just not good enough! There are much better books out there!
I read this book for a book club and that is probably the primary reason I finished the book. It was an ok book, well written, but didn't really appeal to me overall. The book is about Sara, a recently engaged middle age woman, who is trying to come to turn with lots of changes in her life. There is her best friend from child hood, Kate. The "Derm Darling" of park avenue who is losing herself in a relationship and becoming someone who Sara doesn't recognize. Berni her new best friend a recently retires Hollywood agent who is expecting twins. She has a new fiance , with a new house and new social standing (aka money to go with the marriage). Her ex husband, and father of her son, returns after disappearing for around 7 years of no contact. Her fiance has a daughter she has to forge a relationship with and an ex wife on a mission to get him back. As Sara finds her way through this all she is all so having a new career and opportunities being open up to her. I can't really say why I didn't enjoy this book and I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my cup of tea I think. Maybe, if it was older and could understand the situations more or something, but over all didn't do anything for me.
Sara is a teacher, but lives within the upper class in a suburb in New York. Her best friends are Kate and Bernie. Kate is a famous New York dermatologist and Bernie is a publicist ready to give birth to twins at any moment. Bradford is her fiance and James is her ex-husband.This book was given to me by a co-worker, who received it from the author Jacqueline Michaud, as an advanced, unedited copy. From the minute I read the first page, I was hooked. I really liked the main character, Sara. She was depicted as a very real, very authentic person. She was constantly surrounded by people who were fake, whether it was fake personalities or fake breasts! I would feel so lucky if I had the same attitude, humility and sense of humor that Sara had. She was a character that, I believe, many women could relate to. The book is funny and pretty realistic.Grade: B+
—Jodi Goldbeck
I'm sure I got plenty of looks while reading Mine Are Spectacular!: A Novel at the gym. The pictures they put on these books sure get people's attention...I can almost feel the condescension boring into my back, but whatever, they really are the best books to get you to stay on the elliptical/stairs/treadmill when you'd otherwise be bored out of your mind.I wonder how it'd be to co-write a book...and/or if Janice Kaplan and Lynn Schrnurnberger were friends first...I'm sure their story could be found somewhere online.In any case, I'm on to The Botox Diaries which was also co-authored by them!
—Sarah
This is a story about a friendship that consists of 4 ladies in their forties live in New York with all the luxurious,botox,affairs are there.Along the way,friendship doesnt always go smoothly,there are disagreements and missunderstanding, but at the end they help one another.Showing how friends can help you to go trough difficult times.Most of the times.Eventhough the back ground is quite common -new york life style-, in fact too common, but somehow having read this book reminds me that we need friends to keep our priorities right.
—Putri
