Just your average chick-lit

This was a heavily clichéd novel, but there were parts which pleasantly surprised me. For one thing, Erin's boyfriend Tyson doesn't call off the wedding because he has cheated on her (commonly it would have been with Erin's best friend), rather he stops the wedding because he is unwilling to settle down. I understood that Erin was distraught by his refusal to marry her, and of course that was within good reason but it quickly became unbelievable. Surely, because she was willing to marry this man we can safely assume that she loved him. Why, then, did she not try to win him back? Why did she not dismiss his words as a nonsensical case of cold feet, and convince him as such?

Instead, she gave up and it was her friend, Bex, and her mother, Delia, who took action. I suppose, you could say that Erin became depressed and so was incapable of doing anything. But, we know for a fact that she started online dating. This just goes to suggest that she never loved Tyson, as much as she had believed, and that she relied too much on her friend and her mother. Her mother, for the most part, picked up the pieces. Even, when she had her own problems- breast cancer-she looked after her daughter. And, of course, Erin didn't appreciate it. Needless to say, I didn't fancy Erin, for all I cared she could have died of heartbreak.

So, now, I suppose you're wondering why I carried on reading the book...Believe me, it wasn't in hope of Erin's death, this is supposed to be a chick-lit after all. No, I read it because of the stories, both Bex and Erin have had their fair share of dates with losers, and as you can imagine, they were ridiculously stupid men. And, then of course Delia's delirious antics were enough to keep me entertained, from how she embarrasses her daughter to how she celebrated her breast cancer. Who would've thought? It was Delia and Bex who kept the tone light and kept me reading.

And since I can't avoid talking about Joe, Erin's new boyfriend, I'll cut it short: Joe was an arrogant fool, he didn't hide his wealth from the woman he meets online- extravagantly, he arranged their first date to be at a rich restaurant even though, he claimed to be seeking a down to earth woman, someone different from the shallow women he worked with. He was a living cliché, Childs doesn't write of his flaws- he is perfect, whilst Erin is just the pathetic woman who falls at his feet. Though, she has a hard time dating him - fitting into his celebrity lifestyle, which damages her self esteem and exposes her trust issues. I feel that Delia and Joe would have made a better couple.

I received this title through NetGalley.

NB: I would say this novel is suited at the 16-20 range. I can't imagine someone older enjoying it.