Singletini by Amanda Trimble Review (Book #22 of 2010)

Singletini by Amanda Trimble
Published by Little Black Dress
Sometimes Flying Solo Means You Just Have to Wing It

sin•gle•ti•ni: A curious type of female typically found living in urban settings; possessing an unusual, some would say deathly, fear of growing up and getting married.

Meet Victoria Hart. She’s sassy, sparkling, and taking the Chicago dating scene by storm as a professional “wingwoman”—a modern-day matchmaker hired to help clueless guys find Miss Right. With nights on the town, drinks on the house, and clothes on the credit card, Vic is loving her glam singletini lifestyle. There’s just one little problem . . . okay, maybe two. She needs to keep her new career a secret, and the first of her friends just got engaged—ENGAGED!

Vic isn’t sure she’s ready to be that grown up yet—she likes her life the way it is. Not that being a wingwoman is all wine and roses. With clients ranging from cowboys and would-be porn stars to her best friend’s boss, Vic quickly discovers this late-night Cupid gig is trickier than she anticipated. To make matters worse, she somehow agrees to help plan her friend’s swanky wedding, complicated by a never-ending to-do list and a very shady groom.

With too many wingwoman gigs, bridezilla demands, and more and more friends eyeing the altar, Vic is starting to feel a little lost, a lot confused, and completely bombarded by love connections. Does she really want to stay solo . . . or use those wingwoman skills for herself? 

 I do enjoy the Chick-Lit genre from time to time, especially in the summer when it's so hot that I feel like my eyes are evaporating. But this one was not a good choice.

The protagonist, Victoria Hart (who's also the narrator) is a 20-something woman living in the city, scared of growing up and getting married while her friends seem to do just that. I must admit that the whole wing woman thing was promising, but it didn't live up to its potential. Victoria sounds and acts way too immature, and reading the story from her mouth feels like the little sister chattering over your shoulder while you're on the phone-- too many eeks and acks, and way too much baby talk for my taste. If you're in your 20s and you're gonna curse, curse like sailor, woman!

All in all, I did not enjoy this at all, but a lot of people seem to have given it 5 stars, so maybe I'm missing something.

Mothers' Day

My mother is the #1 person behind my growing up a big bookworm. Ever since I was little, I've always seen her with a book in her hand, and I remember wanting so badly to be able to dive into those books and discover the new worlds at her reach. She's the one who got me my first copies of the classics such as Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Around the World in 80 Days... The most special gift she's ever given me is her copy of Little Women, which instantly became one of my favorites as soon as I got done reading it.

For the past few years, she's been preferring books that are "easy" to read, which are mostly chick-lit. In this genre, one of her favorite authors is Jane Green.

Of course, being the nosy daughter I am, I'd dived into her Jane Green pile as well. All her books are easy and quick to read, and they especially make fun, enjoyable beach-reads. I've pretty much stopped reading her when she started writing about married or engaged couples because all that talk about marriage just makes me sick, but I do still like and sometimes re-read her earlier works. My three favorites, in no particular order, are as follows:

Mr. Maybe by Jane Green (Published in 2001)

To Libby Mason, Mr. Right has always meant Mr. Rich. A twenty-seven-year-old publicist, she’s barely able to afford her fashionable and fabulous lifestyle, and often has to foot the bill for dates with Struggling Writer Nick, a sexy but perpetually strapped-for-cash guy she’s dating (no commitments — really). So when Ed, Britain’s wealthiest but stodgiest bachelor, enters the picture, her idea of the fairy-tale romance is turned on its head. Libby soon finds herself weighing the advantages of Nick’s sexual prowess and tender heart against Ed’s luxurious lifestyle and unlimited retail therapy. But when the diamond shopping commences, Libby is forced to realize that the time for “maybe” is up.
Taking romantic comedy to a hip, sparkling new level, Mr. Maybe is a classic tale of what happens to one girl when her heart and her head aren’t looking for the same thing. With a laugh a minute and a heroine whose struggles in the dating jungle will remind you of your own, Mr. Maybe is a story that will leave you smitten.

Bookends by Jane Green (Published in 2002)
Catherine Warner and Simon Nelson are best friends: total opposites, always together, and both unlucky in love. Cath is scatterbrained, messy, and - since she had her heart broken a few years back - emotionally closed off. Si is impossibly tidy, bitchy, and desperate for a man of his own. They live in London's West Hampstead along with their lifelong friends Josh and Lucy, who are happily married with a devil-spawn child and a terrifying Swedish nanny, Ingrid." All's well (sort of) until the sudden arrival of a college friend - the stunningly beautiful Portia, who's known for breaking hearts. Though they've grown up and grown apart from Portia, the four friends welcome her back into the fold. But does Portia have a hidden agenda or is she merely looking to reconnect with old friends? Her reappearance soon unleashes a rollicking series of events that tests the foursome's friendships to the limit and leaves them wondering if a happy ending is in store.

Straight Talking by Jane Green (Published in 2003)

Meet Tasha — single and still searching. A producer for Britain’s most popular morning show working under a nightmare boss, Tash is well-versed in the trials and tribulations of twenty-first century dating. She and her three best friends certainly haven’t lived the fairy tale they thought they would: there’s Andy, who’s hooked on passion, but too much of a tomboy to have moved much beyond the beer-drinking contest stage; Mel, stuck in a steady but loveless relationship; and Emma, endlessly waiting for her other half to propose. Their love lives are only complicated by the sort of men who seem to drift in and out: Andrew — suave, good-looking and head over heels in love . . . with himself; Simon, who is allergic to commitment but has a bad-boy nature that’s impossible to resist; and Adam — perfectly attractive, but too sweet to be sexy.
The bestselling first novel that launched Jane Green, one of the brightest stars in contemporary women’s fiction, Straight Talking sets the record straight regarding the real world of dating, and follows the adventures of Tash and her friends as they search for fulfillment and the right kind of love. Funny, flirty, and ultimately tender, Straight Talking gets at the heart of modern romance.

To find out about more of her books and read excerpts, you can visit author's website.