Review: Strong Writing and Likeable Characters
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 11, 2014
3.5 starsThere were two big things I liked about this book and one big thing I didn't like about the book.First, good thing #1: the writing. So often in "new adult" we get cliched and terrible writing but that was not the case here. Katie Delahanty really impressed me not only with her actual writing, but also her story telling ability. With a few expectations I thought the pacing was spot on; everything moved along quickly, but throughly.Second, good thing #2: Liv. I thought Liv was a great new adult main character. She's just moved to LA from Pittsburgh for a costume designer job that fell through. She ends up getting a job lingerie company, something that seemed a little farfetched, the company was a little too perfect, but I thought many of the situations she describes were spot on. I have a friend who works as a designer for a pajama/lingerie company in NYC and she's always talking about their showroom things and preparing samples for buyers and so often while I was reading I thought about how what Olivia was doing matched up with the experiences my friend has shared. Liv is also strong, but kind of bumbling around celebrities and unsure of who she is and who she wants to be, things that I found completely reasonable for someone her age in her position.Third, the bad thing: the secondary characters and Liv's relationship with them. Liv has these two friends, Blair and Parker, who live in her apartment complex. Blair (a lady) is an assistant publicist who knows all the ins and outs of Hollywood and Parker (a guy) is a writer on a Bachelor-like reality TV show. My first issue was that I couldn't keep them straight. Maybe this is just me, but I hated that they both have names that could be either for a guy or a girl, at the beginning I kept confusing them. Blair and Parker decide to take Liv under their wing and turn her from Pittsburgh nothing girl to Hollywood it girl. Watching Liv's My Fair Lady-like transformation was fun, but it was kind of over the top and I didn't necessarily buy that they could get into Elton John's Oscar party. What really drove me insane though was how at the beginning these are just two friends Liv makes in LA, but then, after her makeover, she wonders if they really like her or if she was just their project, yet, at the end, she talks about how they're two of the most important people in the world to her. What? A few weeks ago you weren't sure if they really liked you and now they're on the same level as your cousin who's been your BFF since childhood? Really?As a warning there's also some real instalove here. Berkeley, the lead singer of Berkeley and the Brightside who Liv falls for, seems like a good guy, and they do go on a couple dates before they become inseparable, but once they become in separable it's all over; they are seriously in love.Bottom Line: Even though I have some complaints I really enjoyed reading this book, mainly because of the strong writing and the likable, believable main character. This is apparently the first in a series and I'm excited to see how Katie Delahanty's writing evolves and which member of the band (I'm assuming that's where this is going?) she focuses on next.I received an electric review copy from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.