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Dec 09, 2008

Sarah rated it:

I expected this to be a fun, light-hearted, feel good seasonal story. And, for the most part, it was. Until... an unexpected twist! Lorna Landvik comes through yet again in this tale of the human spirit and the importance of looking beyond the perceived. At times hilarious this chronicles the escapades and aftermath of an heiress's attempt to reconcile her ways through her correspondence via e-mail with two people from her past. Additionally, a tabloid gossip column gives the reader the public's More...

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Jun 04, 2010

Rachel rated it:

I randomly picked this up from the library bookshelf when looking for a new book to check out. I had loved her two previous novels I've read -- Oh My Stars and The View from Mount Joy -- and thought that a novel based entirely of emails and letters would be intriguing to read.

This was definitely a fast read, but unfortunately nowhere near as good as Landvik's other novels. Unlike the other novels I've read, this one didn't delve much into character development like I'm used to. As a More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Justin rated it:

The cover of this book caught my eye so I read the summary and thought it sounded like a good Christmas read. When I got it home I read the summary again and flipped through the pages only to realize the story is told through a series of emails to and from the various characters. That's a little different and didn't appeal to me really so I put the book to the side and pretty much decided NOT to read it. A few days later I needed something to read and this book was the only thing handy so I f More...

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Jan 07, 2010

Joanne rated it:

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book, because when I first opened it I noticed that it was compiled of letters, emails, magazine articles, and invitations only. This is my first experience with this type of book, and maybe it is just the madness of the holiday season, but I found that I really enjoyed it. I am also pleased to share that my entire book club liked this book also.

Caro Dixon is a young starlett, who like so many of her peers finds herself living the party lifesty More...

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May 05, 2009

Jeffrey rated it:

So, I did not like this book at all. The premise of using letters, e-mails and other correspondence as forms of putting a book together can either work really really well, or it is a complete disaster. This is the latter.

I really don't know who the book was about, or what it was about. The correspondence was just way too random, and with no back story, who knows what is going on.

Don't get me wrong, I am usually the type of person that skips the first few chapters becau More...

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Mar 27, 2009

JoAnn/QuAppelle rated it:

All right --- I must admit that I really like Landvik, but will she ever again write a book that I like as much as I liked "Patty Jane's House of Curl"? I don't think so!

That being said, her newest book filled a few hours. I really like epistolary novels, so that was not a problem for me. I guess what was a problem is the the entire time I was reading it I was thinking that a soon as I finished it, I would forget it.

Even though Landvik tried to make Caro a sym More...

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Nov 24, 2008

Jenn rated it:

I have enjoyed Lorna Landvik's other novels (Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons and the View from Mount Joy). So my mom lent this one to me to read on vacation. It did not disappoint. It took me about a day to read, mainly because the story is in letter/e-mail format. The characters are lovable(though not super realistic) and like all her books had a cockle-warming ending. The story is about a young heiress, who in an effort to dry herself out, contacts two important people from her past who help h More...

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Dec 03, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

If someone was new to reading Lorna Landvik's writing, I would not advise starting with this one. It was an extremely fast read (2 hours max one night), but I didn't feel the depth of character development and the emotional connection to the characters that I usually get in her novels. This reads more like one of those "holiday themed" genre fiction titles trotted out periodically by well-know writers -- like it was written quickly to capitalize on a market, not to tell a great story More...

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Dec 03, 2008

Beth rated it:

2.5 stars. This quick book is a pleasant enough holiday story. Told completely through letters (emails, newspaper columns, phone messages) this is the story of a poor little rich girl who, although a super beeyotch at the beginning, learns to be a better person. Meaningful Christmas message, blah, blah, blah.

I like to read a holiday book or two this time of year, to get in a tinsel and gaudy ribbon mood. This one did it for me.

And Lorna Landvik hails from Minnesota, so More...

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Dec 03, 2008

Natalie rated it:

This was our December book club read. I felt the email format was horrible and left me empty and not caring about any of the characters. I think it was a lazy way to write a book! This book absolutely has nothing good about it! It was slow to start, boring in the middle, and the ending wrapped in a "pretty" little way but it was AWFUL and completely predicible. Ultimately, I just couldn't connect or care about any of the characters and the plot was incredibly thin and weak and dull More...

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Jun 28, 2009

Melissa rated it:

I was in a jam in the library because I didn't have any books to pick up and I needed something to read. I chose this book because I knew Lorna Landvik was an author that I really liked. I wasn't feeling very confident about this book, though, because it was a holiday book (and it's June) and it's written entirely in e-mail format (which is a style that I don't like). While I still don't like this format, I do like her writing. I thought the book had a little substance and it was a quick rea More...

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Mar 02, 2009

Terri rated it:

I love Minnesota author, Lorna Landvik! I have read all of her books. This book is a refreshing departure for her - a multi-genre novel done entirely through correspondence and magazine "articles." Each character writes in his or her own font and voice. There is light-hearted humor and warmth here - a simple story about second chances. Landvik is not a great writer, but she is a good one. I like the local sound and feel of her work. This was a fast, nice, entertaining read.

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Jan 13, 2009

Margaret rated it:

My favorite book of Ms. Landvik is "Angry Housewives eating Bon-bons"
this book is not in that caliber. An easy read. the format is in e-mails and some gossip columns. It's easy to see what is going to happen but it's still touching how people from her past reach out to help her as she becomes sober and responsible. the ending was a pat happy ending and even a Jew learned what Christmas means.

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Mar 16, 2009

Mary rated it:

Story in a series of email exchanges. Main character is heiress Caroline Dixon who alienates nearly everyone with her alcohol-fueled antics. She begins to atone for past misdeed by reaching out to her Norwegian nanny, Astrid Brevald, and Arizona dud ranch owner, Cyril Dale. Indirectly, the tabloid writer becomes involved.....and everyone lives HAPPILY EVER AFTER. A quick read.

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Nov 16, 2008

Julia rated it:

A swift read as we are propelled through the story by a series of emails, interspersed with gossip items from Star Gazer magazine. Heiress Caro Dixon finally hits rock bottom from her drinking and carousing when most folks RSVP "no" to her annual Halloween bash. As part of her sobriety work, she emails notes of forgiveness to her former nanny/companion, and the owner of a dude ranch she stayed at when her father was dying. Correspondence ensues, with a holiday stay at the dude ranch More...

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Nov 09, 2009

Kate rated it:

Very quick easy read. Feel good ending, not a deep story at all, and not a lot of tension. Most interesting thing about it is the literary device in which the whole story is told via emails and letters between the main characters and some secondary ones. That part was well done. You get a sense of the characters but it's pretty simplistic.

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Dec 09, 2009

Susanhayeshotmail.com rated it:

Poor little rich girl recovers from alcohol addiction and finds herself, old friends, forgiveness with perhaps a soupcon of romance through the exchange of emails and letters? Light weight holiday kick off reading for me .... hmm, I seem to be reading a lot of light stuff this season... will need to really nourish my brain soon.

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Apr 16, 2011

Kim rated it:

I really loved the author's book "Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons"...so was excited to see this one on the library shelf...but I didn't make it through the first twenty pages. It is completely in written-letter format and there were too many characters to get a grasp on, with the complete absence of narration.

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Dec 10, 2008

Brandie rated it:

I just read this book in 2.5 hours. I believe I have set a new record for myself. This was a really cute, festive book, that I'm glad I picked up. It's written as a series of letters and emails, which I am finding lately that I love in books! So that's why it was such a quick read. Very entertaining and charming!

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Jan 29, 2009

Terry rated it:

A nice little book to read by the fire on a cold winter's evening.
The book is a series of letters from an assortment of characters. The author makes it easy to get involved in the lives of her characters, but it is also easy to predict where this book is going.

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Jan 05, 2011

Jackie rated it:

A cute little story about a "famous" girl finding herself. It was a little weird reading because the entire book was written as letters/emails back and forth between people. I do have to admit that I enjoyed it though. I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone.

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Dec 16, 2008

Lanette rated it:

This is not one of Lorna's finest... it was entirely predictable. And having recently read "Guernsey" and "Charing Cross", the whole letter-style paled in comparison to those two books. I'm a fan of "Patty Jane's House of Curl" and will continue to read Landvik's books, but this was a disappointment.

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Nov 22, 2011

Joan 2 rated it:

Another good Christmas read. This epistolary novel involves emails of several different folks. The format took a bit for me to get used to, but I found myself totally invested in these characters. It was fun to figure out how they were all connected!

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Dec 25, 2008

Nikki rated it:

Let me start by saying that I am a pretty big fan of of this author, so I was excited to see that she had a holiday book. That being said I have to admit that initially I found the lay out of the book confusing. It wasn't until almost the end of the book that I finally understood who all of the characters were. I found myself frustrated trying to figure out who some of the people were and how they related to the main characters.

Once I was able to figure out who they were I felt it ne More...

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Dec 28, 2011

Sandy rated it:

This book started out fairly slow, but was still easy to read as it is written in the format of letters. The author did a fine job of bringing it all together and I found myself struggling to put it down as I wanted to see how things ended up! A recommended read!

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Nov 22, 2009

Kennerae rated it:

Lorna Landvik is one of my favorite authors, each of her books has a little different style in how they are structured. This book is made up of letters and emails that tell a story. Her books are always fun to read and have a great message.

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Jul 14, 2010

Traci rated it:

So predictable. A few pages into this book, I knew what was going to happen... and I was right. It's not that I'm some kind of genius, anyone who's read a book before will be able to figure it out. Actually, the book jacket gives it all away. The jacket tells you what is going to happen from beginning to end. I am giving it two stars just because I liked that the character you were supposed to dislike the most turned out to be one who really had a heart after all (of course) Nothing really C More...

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Jan 11, 2009

Mindee rated it:

This was a good easy read book. I read it in a few hours and it has a good ending. The book is all e-mails and letters, so if that bothers you don't read it. But if your looking for something easy, fun, and cute, this is it.

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Mar 11, 2010

Jane rated it:

I really enjoyed this piece of fluff. With her usual humor, this children's book for adults (fast read, light, happy ending where everyone shows visible improvement, even the bad guy, kept me up a little too late last night.

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May 17, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

Fun, delightful and heartwarming. A light and girly read. It is written in as series of letters and emails so it is kind of reminiscent of Guernsey Literary, although it doesn't quite have that depth. Still very enjoyable.

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