Mixed feelings here. A friend lent it to me, with the disclaimer that it's one of her favorite books ever and knowing that this author also wrote First Wives Club, I was excited to read this.It wasn't horrible, but it could have been a lot better. Here are my issues:1. It could have been shorter. 600 pages for chick lit is overkill in my eyes. Since it was summer and I just read a gruesome, based on a true story book, I wasn't as annoyed as usual. But unless you're a literary genius, you can probably cover this kind of writing in about half that space.2. I had the impression the whole time that she was writing the screenplay to First Wives Club Part II. There were some really bad jokes that maybe would have been somewhat amusing on-screen but just stupid in a book. At one point, she even references the movie and how funny it was! Conceited much?3. I would have exacted revenge on Anne in the book, she dropped the ball there.4. I hated how she wrote about the character Jada. Jada used acronyms constantly which was just weird. It got to the point that there were so many, I didn't even try to remember WTH they meant. (pun intended) Say "he's hot!" not "DDG" (drop dead gorgeous) already! I also was really ticked off that race was such an issue here - Jada couldn't believe she had a white friend, a white lawyer, white people are so lucky, so special, blah, blah, blah. And she intentionally lives in a white neighborhood so her kids can have a good school and then complains that all their friends are white?! It was beyond annoying to me. Fortunately, I really liked Jada's story line, so I dealt with this. But sorry, "sisterfriend," unless it's crucial to the storyline, I just don't get why authors have to mention race.Were this a movie, I'd probably watch it and maybe even recommend it to friends, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. (Wonder if my friend will get pissed and get revenge on me when I express my feelings about her favorite book? Uh oh.)
This book could have been called 'Young Wives Club' as it is essentially a retelling of Goldsmith's 'First Wives Club.' While it was interesting there is nothing original about it...kind of like a remake of a blockbuster movie on the Lifetime channel. A story about three...young wives (shocking, I know) who are all wronged by their husbands so they band together to seek revenge on the men who wronged them. The women are victorious in their schemes all their husbands are humiliated and the women obtain justice and move on with their lives. It was kind of fun, though Goldsmith comes across as a real man-hater...if you like the original, you'll probably like this too...but if you already read the original, move on a read something new.
Do You like book Young Wives (2015)?
Seriously, I must be getting old because these characters are driving me nuts with their "teenage" black-and-white "I hate men" attitudes. And please, if you're 31 and in good shape, why should you be proud that you can squat down without touching the ground? My goodness, I can do that and I'm neither.I think Goldsmith has a serious chip on her shoulder when it comes to men and it's getting tired. The only part that was actually funny and reminiscent of The First Wives Club was when they were paying back Angie's ex-husband. Jada's story was the most engaging until the ending, which was completely unrealistic to the point of stupid. Michelle's story wasn't interesting and her naivete was terrible. Did she really think that her felon husband would spend the rest of his life hunting her down knowing it was she that put him behind bars? Did she really think she could be around for Angie's baby AND be in witness protection?I read this as a "beach" read so I wasn't expecting much in the use of brain power. But "chick" lit doesn't have to be so insulting.
—Meghan
