Review: Surprising and Original
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2013
First let me say, the writing is superb and I thought the plot was incredibly original and intriguing. So many areas of the book had me laughing out loud and saying, "What the...?" I also really thought that Tilly was going to turn into a full blown switch hitter - she may yet I suppose. All in all, this was a fun and fresh story that I enjoyed very much.Why only three stars, you ask? Allow me to explain.Where the story grabbed me was with the characters. I love them. They are so fresh and unexpected. The humor was very good and the writing was amazing. Also, the plot was unlike anything I have ever read - the overall plot that is. I love the idea of turning the worst time in your life, into the best time of your life, in such an unexpected way. Tilly's naivety was also quite endearing for most of the story.Where the story really lost me was the idea that every single woman that Tilly comes across has secret dreams of taking topless photos, fondling/showering/making out with other women and demanding to have topless photos of themselves on stranger's phones. It made it seem like it was more of some old man's fantasy than a novel that's supposed to be heartfelt and funny.I was also quite irritated and bored with the constant repetitiveness. I was at the point where I wanted to skip over the phone calls between Tilly and Anka because it was the same conversation over and over and over and over - literally. It was always Anka asking Tilly if she was going to sleep with Johnny, and that it would make her happy if she did - all in broken English. It was funny the first few times but after that, it became annoying as it seemed to happen at least two or three times a chapter.The other major repeat offender was Johnny telling Tilly she was a bad woman and Tilly telling Johnny that he was a bad man and demanding kisses from each other. I mean Jesus - if you want to kiss, just kiss. It was charming at first because they were working through the awkwardness of wanting to do it, but after a while, it seemed like they were saying it every few pages through the entire book. It definitely lost that charm.Another point that I found irritating was that I was forced to read the entire play-by-play of a foreign film that they were watching in the story. Was that truly necessary? It went on and on to the point where I finally just started skimming through it until I could get past that part. There was no reason to do it, it had no relevance later. A quick synopsis would have been just fine.While these things took away some of the enjoyment of the story for me, it's definitely worth the read. I don't want deter anyone from reading this book, I truly liked it and am happy that I read it. I just didn't love it - though I could with some minor editing. The characters are so enjoyable and fun, they make me want to run out and find a Welshman, a Russian and some English women to pal around with - sans lesbian fantasy picture-taking sessions and make-out fests. Potts should truly feel proud of this accomplishment. It was a pleasure.