Midwaygray itibaren Sausinė, Litvanya
Boring. Chick lit at its worst. Don't bother.
The ending is a little abrupt but this is a cute colors and counting book of a girl traveling on an elevator with some surprising companions on her way to what turns out to be a surprise birthday party.
Excellent story about 2 actors falling in love. Vince and Alex meet at an audition for a Joss Whedon type Scifi show. They are immediately attracted and spend the night together, never thinking they would see each other again. But they're hired to play opposite each other in the new show. Vince is young and apart from a few walk-on parts he doesn't have much acting experience. He's the type of guy that wants to change the world, open-hearted and idealistic but a little naive. Despite signing a contract not to advertise his orientation, he's out to everyone that needs to know. Alex is a more experienced actor, just starting to get great roles and his star is on the rise. Concerned that being typecast as a gay actor will ruin his career and hurt by a past relationship, he's definitely not out and has no intention of changing that. Although this book is definitely a romance, it's also fairly dramatic and very realistic. The world of acting, including auditions, setting up a new show and dynamics of the cast is a big part of the story. In fact the roles Alex and Vince play on the show strangely mirror what is happening to them in real life. The story even looks at fans and fanfic. At one point Alex is discussing erotic fan fiction and the (predominantly women) who read it and it felt like the camera had been turned around onto me for a minute. Quite an odd feeling but it certainly added to the sense of realism that is the strong point of this book. Vince and Alex's romance is fairly stormy and they have to work hard for their HEA. Different events tear them apart and bring them back together and it's quite a passionate and heart-wrenching journey for the reader. The ending was a bit abrupt and I thought the 8 months they spent apart should have been enlarged upon so that I could really believe Vince's acceptance of his new career and Alex's change of heart. Nonetheless, I couldn't put this book down and I'd recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary romance with a bit more depth than usual.
I read this as insurance, in case I end up going to see the film version, as I'm still gutted I didn't enjoy the book of The Time Traveler's Wife as much as I thought I ought, having stupidly seen the film first. Although I already knew Anne Hathaway was playing Emily and imagining her long, drippy face saying all her lines put me off a bit. However, Emily/Anne quickly became a potential new BFF in comparison to Dexter, who has to be the biggest tosser in all literary history. But it wasn't just that. The style annoyed me; the mix of present and past tense, the self-conscious contemporary cultural references, the inane set pieces (parlour game with girlfriend's posh family, overblown 'themed' wedding, blah, blah). I feel I should give it 3 stars - the 90's were my decade after all and I too have a 'Dexter' in my life (who thankfully isn't an insufferable p***k) - but it's just not worth it. The ultimate betrayal, though, is that Jonathan Coe is quoted on the back cover. Mr Coe, I expect better of you.