LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is the story of Ginger, a woman in her early 40′s who makes jewelry and lives in an apartment above her eccentric parents’ garage. Her primary income seems to come from watching her older sister Geri’s children. Geri is almost 50 and has the great house, diligent husband, super-important job, company-supplied BlackBerry and three precocious (read: annoying) children.

Ginger pushes her cat (named Boyfriend) around in a stroller and is in turn pushed around by her wacky family and emotionally distant somewhat-boyfriend, Noah.

Ginger’s life gets a huge breath of fresh air and a chance to really change its course when Geri’s son Riley becomes an extra on a movie being shot locally. Ginger watches Riley while he’s on the set and meets a bunch of new people.

Will Ginger find a new life at 41? Disappointingly, not really. The plot loses steam halfway through the book and in an attempt to get it rolling again, the characters all become insufferable.

Things that bugged me about this book:

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One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This came highly recommended because I was looking for a fizzy beach-type read. Stephanie Plum is a Jersey girl — a REAL one, not a fake-and-bake poser from New York — who is down on her luck. Looking for some quick cash and some revenge she takes a bounty hunter gig. Her target is the old neighborhood sleazeball-turned-cop, Joey Morelli.

The tone of the book is lighthearted and fun which makes the horrific behavior of the bad guy even more jarring.

Will Stephanie make it through the scary world of bounty hunting? Let’s put it this way — there are 16 sequels. And I’ll definitely go for the first of them.

Recommended for: Scrappy chicks who pull themselves up by the brastraps often and REAL Jersey girls

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