Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're welcoming the month of June (yep, it's already June...can you believe it?!) with the first of a series of book reviews highlighting the Click trilogy. Perhaps you've heard of it? Well, if not, prepare to be dazzled (and if so, just be glad you're already in the know ^-^) as we meet a memorable cast of characters looking for love in all the wrong places with...mixed results to say the least. Ready to get in on this trip through the e-universe of love? Today's ebook of choice is...
An Online Love Story
by
Lisa Becker
1460922638
Createspace
About the book...
Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds entirely through emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night,” to the egotistical “B” celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee wades into the shallow end of the dating (cess)pool and endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC’s, FWD’s and inadvertent Reply to All’s, readers will cheer, laugh, cry and cringe following the email exploits of Renee and friends. And ultimately, they will root for Renee to “click” with the right man
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alrighty then. First things first...the format.
I've read a few books similar to this one with its grand plan to divulge everything one needs to know purely through electronic communications and it didn't work. Here? It TOTALLY did! How come? Well, in my humble opinion, I do believe it has to do with how the story line follows through; that is to say that neither too much nor too little is shared in each email and the timeline of events and last conversations is not interrupted to the point of confusing the reader. Do we have a transcription of every moment of these character's lives? No. Who would honestly want to read ALL of that?! Here, when a day is skipped over or hours pass, the email chain is still intact. The characters are still responding to the last logical thing discussed or event that transpired. The email headers merely act as an anchor to be certain who is "talking" to whom, lest you get so wrapped up in the situation unfolding that you forget. My question is though, how COULD you forget? On to those characters...
Renee, Shelley, Ashley, and Mark are our four main players, though technically the only "player" of the bunch would be Shelley and she'd GLADLY own up to it if accused. Renee is what I'd call an every woman's type of gal. She's a little sassy, a little sweet, and has enough gumption when the going gets tough to pull things off with as little hitch as possible. Does that mean she's perfect? Heck to the no! We'll leave that job up to Ashley. *snicker snicker* Of the three ladies, she is the most poised and prim with a slightly holier-than-though attitude that gets knocked down a few notches by book's end (Whew! She needed it though!). Despite all of that, she means well and really cares about her friends, even if one of them is more of a frenemy to start with. That one would be Shelley.
Now, Shelley is her exact opposite, probably the reason for their constant clashing. Where she is shy, Shelley is brash. When she might take the more conservative road, Shelley tends to make one of her own liking. When it comes to members of the opposite sex, Ashley mainly sticks to one guy (again...and again...and again...) while Shelley's little black book is probably about 3 inches thick. So why would they even be in the same circle of friendship? The common denominator is Renee and that's how this circle keeps on turning. They're a crazy, fun, and fabulous group (especially when group emailing each other and then they break off to send one just to Renee and gripe about the other)...and that's not even taking into account their silent partner, Mark. Okay, so Mark is their group guy friend, the one that drags our gal Renee into the online dating pool, but he's a sweetheart and given the right gal, he'll be a mighty fine catch (one of them can PERSONALLY vouch for him as well...).
Story wise, I admit...I did see it unfolding another way and even made a mistake in one of my GoodReads updates about things happening the way I imagined them. Oopsie. I had mixed up my characters for a brief moment. It happens. Getting back to the actual story...I loved how it presented online dating in its many colors with additional "entertainment" provided by Shelley's escapades. Though not a dabbler myself (no time!), it seemed realistic to me with all the pitfalls, heartbreak, and triumphs following suit. The fact that the story of each potential match meet up was recollected after the fact didn't draw away from the situation in the least while still providing plenty of exasperated gasps at the stories some of the suitors sowed (and their reactions...my word!).
Overall, it was a grand adventure through the inboxes of four friends trying to find love in their own ways. I bet given the chance, you'll find a bit of yourself in one of them, while Shelley has probably had...okay, I'm not going there. (< - seriously, that was the dark side taunting me with a ready made joke) But seriously, or as seriously as you can get with this Romantic Comedy of a book, there are smiles to be had, tears to be dried, frustrations to be vented, and hoorahs to be yelled from the highest virtual mountains you can find...all available with the CLICK of a button...
Recommended read for older teens through adults; fans of Women's Fiction, Chick Lit, and Contemporary Romance will especially be attracted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
Lisa had endured her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates, many of which inspired Click: An Online Love Story, Double Click and Right Click. The books, about a young woman’s search for love online in Los Angeles, have been called, “a fast read that will keep you entertained,” “a fun, quick read for fans of Sex and the City,” and “hard to put down.” The first in the series has now been optioned for a major motion picture.
She’s written bylined articles about online dating and has been featured in Cupid’s Pulse, Garmental.com, TV Grapevine, GalTime.com, Single Edition, Career 2.0, The Perfect Soulmate, Chick Lit Central and numerous other book blogs and websites.
A former public relations professional, Lisa has worked with some of the biggest consumer companies in the world including McDonald’s, Ford, Sony and Gatorade. She’s also a former college professor, teaching public relations and communications classes at University of Southern California and Oglethorpe University.
As Lisa’s grandmother used to say, “for every chair, there’s a tush.” Lisa is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for anyone!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to author Lisa Becker for the ebook copies for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or future installments, please feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or online retailer of your choosing and STAY TUNED as the second and third installments will be appearing RIGHT HERE very soon!
Until next time...happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment