Review: Fun Chick Lit
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 9, 2013
Good girl Emily thinks that taking a job as a 900 number operator is the most daring thing she's ever done.  Then one of her clients ends up dead, and she thinks its up to her to find the killer.I'd rather give this book 3 1/2 stars than four, but no way could I give it only three stars.  The book was fun, silly, and totally girly.  In fact, it reminded me of Caprice Crane and other of my favorite chick lit authors.  Emily, the main character, was immensely likeable and easy to relate to, and her friends were also well written.  The prose was smooth and the plot moved at just the right pace - not too slow, not too fast.  I also loved the Florida setting.  I know that a few FL natives mentioned some nits with the location, but for me (a native Michigander), it was very convincing.  And considering this is a story about a phone sex operator, the author managed to keep everything to a PG-13 rating.  All of these things made the book a cute, easy read.Unfortunately, there were some things that troubled me quite a bit.  The first was the romance.  The love interest was just too perfect.  Too cute, too understanding, and way too forgiving considering what Emily puts him through.  The leading man lacked depth and personality.  Another thing that bothered me was that there were too many coincidences, especially at the beginning and end of the story.  I found myself thinking, "Really??" when Emily just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.  Finally, although I understand that these kinds of books need to be zany, a lot of Emily's antics were too outrageous to be believed.  She poses as a number of people in order to dig up information on the murder, yet no one ever questions her credentials, nor does she get into trouble for impeding an ongoing investigation.  This really bothered me.Phone Kitten did have its flaws, but it was enough of a good read for me to enjoy it from start to end.  I think this is the author's first novel.  If so, I hope she'll put out others.