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What I Did for Love (Wynette, Texas #5)

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Goodreads Author)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 8,118 ratings · 581 reviews

"How did this happen?" Georgie York, once the costar of America's favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband, her film career has tanked, her father is driving her crazy, and her public image as a spunky heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? "Not" go to Vegas . . . "not" run into her detestable for...more

Hardcover, 401 pages

Published January 27th 2009 by William Morrow & Company

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Feb 10, 2009 Tammy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sep, contemporary-romance, 2009-reads, reunion-romance-theme

This was discussed earlier in Celeste's review, but I think it is fair to say that What I Did for Love is the author's commentary on Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. In fact, it was extremely difficult for me to picture anyone but Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina while reading this book.

The similarities are obvious ... Lance's (Brad Pitt's) interest in architecture. The fact that he leaves his wife while filming a movie with St. Jade (Jolie), a do-gooder that travels worldwide to...more This was discussed earlier in Celeste's review, but I think it is fair to say that What I Did for Love is the author's commentary on Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. In fact, it was extremely difficult for me to picture anyone but Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina while reading this book.

The similarities are obvious ... Lance's (Brad Pitt's) interest in architecture. The fact that he leaves his wife while filming a movie with St. Jade (Jolie), a do-gooder that travels worldwide to help the less fortunate and who has no qualms about stealing another woman's husband. Even the physical description of Jade fits Jolie - tattoos, pouty lips and all. And then there is Georgie (Aniston) who became "America's Sweetheart" on a popular sitcom where she was forced to sign a contract NOT to cut her hair or change her hairstyle. Now she is filming a series of bad romantic comedies.

Sound familiar?

While Georgie is trying to create a public image that she is over Lance and her disastrous marriage, she has the misfortune of running into Bram Shephard (John Mayer?). As a teenager/young adult, Bram co-starred on Georgie's sitcom for several years. There is bad blood between them because Bram was a playboy, a jerk and downright cruel to Georgie. In fact, a sex tape was released of Bram that ultimately ended up being the reason for cancelling Georgie's sitcom.

Bram and Georgie somehow end up in Las Vegas together. End up at a party together. Get drunk. Get married. And when the paparrazi find out and start hounding them for a statement the next morning, Georgie and Bram decided it would boost both of their careers if they stayed married for one year.

I am disappointed to say that I had a very hard time forcing myself to finish this book. I didn't find myself invested in the characters or really caring what happened to them. There were a few scenes that kept my interest - Georgie and Bram visiting a posh erotic boutique with peepholes in the dressing rooms was HOT!

SEP is an auto-buy for me. I love her writing style and enjoy her sassy sense of humor. She is the queen of metaphors. For instance ... "grape lollipop eyes" ... "gumdrop green eyes" ... "caramel brown eyes that slid over her like hot fudge on a sundae" ... all of these are from previous SEP books that I really enjoyed. But in this book ... well ... surfers bobbing on the ocean waters like fetuses in amniotic fluid was just too much for me.

I think I need to go back and re-read Match Me If You Can or This Heart of Mine to remind myself why I love SEP's books.(less)

33 likes · like · see review

Oct 08, 2012 Kajol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, favorite-author, humor

Hehe... I am going to start of with my almost common line, "Oh. My. God! I loved it!!!"

This book was amazing. The beginning was a bit boring, but still interesting enough to keep me reading. The story got deliciously exciting and let me just tell you that even though the lead characters were a bit twisted, I couldn't hep but love them.

Bramwell Shepard, the oh-so-gorgeous actor with those beautiful lavender eyes, amazing body and a mouth that makes you think dirty, he's not only the Hollywood ba...more Hehe... I am going to start of with my almost common line, "Oh. My. God! I loved it!!!"

This book was amazing. The beginning was a bit boring, but still interesting enough to keep me reading. The story got deliciously exciting and let me just tell you that even though the lead characters were a bit twisted, I couldn't hep but love them.

Bramwell Shepard, the oh-so-gorgeous actor with those beautiful lavender eyes, amazing body and a mouth that makes you think dirty, he's not only the Hollywood bad boy but has layers to him that add glamor to his personality. With his snarky comments and a made-up cocky attitude, boy he's walking-talking danger to good women with weak hearts.

Georgie York, once the costar of a favorite television sitcom, has a sweet, smart-mouth, charming and yet funny personality, is now a heartbroken divorcee of that two-timing, spineless jerk of a husband Lance and is suffering from paparazzi attacks into her not-so-personal life. Where Lance is codling up with his new wife Jade, a successful actress who has not only managed to snare Georgie's unfaithful husband behind her back, is also pregnant with his child.

This book kinda seemed to remind me of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's divorce, how Brad met Angelina on a movie set in which they both worked together and after which they got married. Like Brad had an extra marital affair, just like it says happened with Lance and Jade. Anyway, that just might be my imagination running away.

I loved the plot, it made me laugh and scowl, inciting other such emotions and looks with every new page. Lance was one of those characters who I absolutely hated. Like, really.. and couldn't help but think- What a douche?!

It was really nice reading about the improvement of Georgie's relationship with her dad. It was touching how Paul overcame his sorrows and reconciled with is daughter and found his new love. This book is about love, friendship, second chance and trust. A good read, an excellent story and a truly wonderful concept.
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Feb 06, 2009 Celeste rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: s-e-phillips

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, what to say? Well, I'll start by saying, I think she fashioned this book (in the beginning at least) after Brad Pit, Jennifer Aniston, and Angalina Jolie! You'll understand if/when you read it! Trust me! If you follow celebrities even a little you'll see the similarities, no problem.

I only gave three stars because, while I enjoyed the book, it didn't really grip me and make me feel as if I HAD to continue reading. When I read a book, it generally takes me a day to two days t...more

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Feb 19, 2009 ♡KarLynP♡ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: published-2009, read-2009, audiobook, genre-contemporary, steam-warm

I’ve read everything by this author, and will without a doubt be first in line to buy her next book. I think this book would have been better titled ‘Ripped from the Headlines!’ The direct similarities to so many true Hollywood tales were abundant! And as someone who doesn’t follow celebrity BS, I wasn’t that entertained.

While ‘What I Did For Love’ was a decent read, it wasn’t SEP’s typical great read. The core story is about two young Hollywood TV child stars that grew up to hate each other, a...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of SEP who have good patience

Shelves: is-it-just-me-goddammit, fat-kitty-judges-you, the-hate-it-burns, dafuq-did-i-just-read, skimfest, kill-it-with-fire, reviewed-2012, masters-of-snoozeville, i-am-disappoint, lit-for-the-chicks, romance-contemp, zzzzzzz, facepalm

Ooooh this was a disaster!

So I wanted to read something good, ok? I’m in a foul mood – most of the books I’ve read lately were a big disappointment - so I chose something to lift my mood up: SEP. I was having high expectations, of course, but I was sure SEP won’t let me down.

Oh hell… she let me down so badly..

I hated the book (even though the summary sounded very good); I hated the characters, hated the story and hated the non-existent humor. Booohooo but I’m not in the mood for drama when it co...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit

This book wasn't brilliant. while it was characteristic Susan Elizabeth Phillips, it wasn't her best. so why couldn't I put it down? it's almost embarrassing--it's been awhile since I stayed up late finishing a book--why was this the one? I just didn't want to put it down. some of her similes, metaphores, and other descriptions are awkward (like early in the book when she says surfers in the ocean float "like fetuses in amniotic fluid"--so weird!) but somehow the overall book caused me to suspen...more

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Feb 09, 2009 Michelle rated it 1 of 5 stars

If writing this craptastic novel is what Ms. Phillips does 'for love' then I can only hope she is more motivated in the future by hatred.
I am normally a huge fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips but this book was a total bomb. I found myself skipping pages, hoping that the end would be better. She added a couple side plots that were a lot more interesting than the shallow, self-involved main characters, who had lots of unconvincing sex, no chemistry with one another, and nothing to make me intereste...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Lana rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: maybe

Shelves: what-i-did-for-love

I am a very big fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and really love her work. I have read all her books, but this one just doesn't work. It is sort of like buying a pair of shoes and one of them is a half size smaller than the other; so even though you love the shoes...you can't enjoy wearing them. Ok, this is a dumb analogy but that is what came to mind and how it feels reading this book. The characters, Bram and Georgie, just don't work for me. And it is so obviously the story of Anniston/Pit/Joli...more

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Feb 03, 2009 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: february-2009, read-in-2009

The hero and heroine weren't much different than previous SEP h/h's, but the story was well told and kept me glued to the pages. Slightly flawed, but overall good.

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Mar 26, 2009 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I heard about this book via the Unshelved Book Club, it sounded like an intriguing story. The Book Club has, at times, expanded my horizons and helped me sample stories from other genres that would, normally, be outside my typical range of interest. So, I put in to reserve and had NO CLUE it was a romance novel--at least until it came in on hold and I got a funny look from the librarian when it came time to check it out. (Oh, if only for the self-service reserves of other library systems to...more When I heard about this book via the Unshelved Book Club, it sounded like an intriguing story. The Book Club has, at times, expanded my horizons and helped me sample stories from other genres that would, normally, be outside my typical range of interest. So, I put in to reserve and had NO CLUE it was a romance novel--at least until it came in on hold and I got a funny look from the librarian when it came time to check it out. (Oh, if only for the self-service reserves of other library systems to avoid such moments).

Never being one to judge a book by its cover, I decided I'd actually been interested enough in the premise of the story to at least give it a try. Based loosely on the Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie situation, "What I Did For Love" introduced us to former sit-com actress, Georgie York. Georgie is suffering a broken heart after her movie star husband left her for his attractive co-star. To add insult to injury, the two are expecting a child, something that Georgie wanted but never had with the ex.

Back into her life comes former co-star, Bram Shepard. Bram was the reason the sitcom got canned. The network got tired of his party boy excesses. Bram and Georgie have a complicated history togther both on-screen and off. The two eventually end up in Vegas together by a huge coincidence and, stop me if you've guessed, get quickly hitched. The paparazzi catch wind of the marriage and Georgie realizes she can't pull a Britany and annul the wedding quickly. Her reputation and her box-office future depend on it.

The two hatch a plan to stay married a year and then divorce, saying it was a mistake but they're both good friends. Georgie offers to pay off Bram to not give away the marriage was done while both were drunk and not thinking clearly.

At this point, wackiness should ensue. Instead, the novel follows a fairly predictable storyline of Georgie and Bram's false marriage that slowly grows into something more. Their biggest mistake soon becomes something more. Something a bit too predictable.

Which is ironic since I rarely delve into the romance novel genre and even I could predict things pages before they occurred. It would be a bit more enjoyable if the characters were a bit better drawn or realized. Strong, solid characters would help this story immensely, but the most intriguing character is Chaz, Bram's overprotective and outspoken maid. (Think Berta on Two and A Half Men"). There's some potential there, but it's not ever realized as fully as it could be.

Like I said, this book wasn't my cup of tea. It had a few moments that worked but overall I was unsatisfied.

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Jan 31, 2009 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is pretty much a spin-off of Jennifer Aniston's real life story. A funny-face, sitcom-princess marries and then is dumped by the best looking actor in Hollywood. He leaves her for an actress famous for her unusual beauty and dedication to world humanitarian works. The story begins after the divorce, when Georgie (the heroine) accidentally gets drugged by a groupie in LV and wakes up married to her former sitcom costar - a man she detests and who treats her really, really badly.

The book...more This book is pretty much a spin-off of Jennifer Aniston's real life story. A funny-face, sitcom-princess marries and then is dumped by the best looking actor in Hollywood. He leaves her for an actress famous for her unusual beauty and dedication to world humanitarian works. The story begins after the divorce, when Georgie (the heroine) accidentally gets drugged by a groupie in LV and wakes up married to her former sitcom costar - a man she detests and who treats her really, really badly.

The book does have all the elements I love about SEP - the quirky characters, funny situations, and witty dialogue. While I did enjoy reading it, at the end of the day it left a bad taste in my mouth.

First - I never liked the hero Bram. For the first half of the book he is just despicable. And while small clues show that perhaps he isn't what he seems, his underlying motivations are still entirely selfish and self-centered. At the end of the book he does redeem himself, but even that seemed like a case of `now that I've really figured out what I want, I really want to get what I want.'

Second - My favorite character in the entire book was Chaz, Bram's housekeeper. She way overshadows either Georgie or Bram.

Third - I kept thinking that I've read this book before. The dialogue especially seemed so similar to other SEP books that sometimes I could even place it. The ending reminded me of `Match me if you can.' While the premise was original, a good lot of the execution felt recycled.

Fourth - One of the reasons I like SEP is because her books are focused on humor and characters and fun. The sex, while present, isn't usually heavy-handed. That didn't seem true in this book. The hero and heroine were married, but absolutely hated each other. Their sexual relationship was like a fling or a recreational event (which they both openly admit), and not an outcome of genuine feelings for each other. Yuck.

So overall why I enjoyed the hilarity and absurdity of this book, too much of it just didn't work for me. (less)

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Apr 02, 2011 Lisa Kay rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-romance-contemporary, auto-buy-author, 2nd-chance-at-♥, reviewed-by-me, authors-e, authors-s, authors-p, zzcover-white

I’ve given 5 stars to most all of SEP’s books. More than one of her books has landed on that shelf entitled "If you could only keep one." This is my first disappointment and it was a big one.

Forget all the Brad/Ang/Jen Hollywood stuff that I could have lived without. Lord knows the Eddie/Liz/Debbie thing was much worse as there were babies involved and Taylor was tragically, really grieving for Mike Todd. (BTW Debbie was baby-sitting Liz’s kids while Liz was being "consoled" by Eddie; how’s tha...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Sara ♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, romance, chick-lit, 2009, 2012

September 19-20, 2012

Oh man.... This book pretty dang good! See my review below...

February 26, 2009

WARNING: This book is a steamy romance novel!!!

It was SO SO SO SO SO SO CUTE though! I REALLY loved it. I couldn't put it down! Like, I tried, but my earphones had fused to my ears!

I don't read a lot of modern romances, but this one was awesome. Okay, so the premise is that Georgie (who was basically Jennifer Aniston, except she was a teen star on a hit sitcom)... recently divorced from her ex-husb...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Cam rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 01, 2009 PastAllReason rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, read-2009

Bought it yesterday; read it yesterday. Liked it quite a bit, and was amused by the fairly obvious Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie spin in the book. I was most amused by the portrayals of the Brad Pitt-like and Angelina Jolie-like characters, who I must admit strike pretty close to what I've thought about them too.

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Feb 13, 2009 Marilyn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of the few romance authors I read, and I usually love her books, but this one? Meh. One of her strong suits is humor. I didn't even smile as I trudged through this story with characters based on Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Even the sex scenes are blah. Only one character, Chaz, was remotely interesting. The book reads like it was written to fulfill a contract obligation rather than from the heart. Phillips can do, and has done, much much better...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Leigh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Maybe it was because I was read this right after a very disappointing book. Maybe it was becaused I recently return to reading her books. . For whatever reason, I thought the book was wonderful. I had many lol episodes with this book.

Characterization: I found it to be completely believable. Both characters were child stars. One walked the straight and narrow, and the other blow his money, partied, picked the wrong friends, etc. Haven't we seen both types in the news.

Plot. . . I am easy. . I had...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Mel :3 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Siempre me ha encantado la forma en que Susan Elizabeth Phillips escribe. Cualquier libro que tenga a esta gran escritora como autora, yo lo tomo y lo leo y este libro no hizo diferencia en mi opinión sobre ella. Esta mujer, es y será siempre de mis escritoras favoritas, no solo por cómo escribe, sino porque logra captar tantas emociones y matices en su libros que es impresionante. Siempre se muestra constante en sus relaciones, en los sentimientos, no son abruptos, todo es perfectamente control...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars!

Georgie and Bram hated each other, but a few drugged drinks, a marriage certificate, and a sleazy paparazzi forced them to come to terms with each other, literally. Georgie could not endure another scandalous marriage so soon after Lance, so she made a deal with the devil. Bram would stay married to Georgie for a hefty fee and use her to gain respectability.

There are great secondary characters in this book. Georgie’s father, Paul, appears heartless and his slow thaw was a wonderful st...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a young TV star, Georgie's first love was her co-star Bram. Back then he was completely self absorbed and after he took her virginity he walked out on her, leaving her alone and humiliated.

Fast forward 10 years and Georgie's husband has left her for a saint, she's had three box office flops and is looking a little frayed around the edges. She runs away from Hollywood only to run into Bram and after a drunken tryst finds herself wedded to him.

He's still the bad boy she loathes but she's desp...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

We interpret hollywood lives through the glossy pages, but Phillips has gone way beyone that to really get inside the head of a celebrity and tell a story from their point of view. Don't get me wrong it's still a chick-lit, however the characters have real depth and I think we get a genuine impression of the crap celebrities have to face day to day.

I love that the characters don't immediately fall in love, and I love that they sort out their own issues rather than waiting for the other person to...more We interpret hollywood lives through the glossy pages, but Phillips has gone way beyone that to really get inside the head of a celebrity and tell a story from their point of view. Don't get me wrong it's still a chick-lit, however the characters have real depth and I think we get a genuine impression of the crap celebrities have to face day to day.

I love that the characters don't immediately fall in love, and I love that they sort out their own issues rather than waiting for the other person to do it, they support and guide eachother, but ultimately their career epiphanies are their own.

The secondary characters are not the best I've ever seen from Phillips, btu they are still pretty entertaining in their own right. I would definitely like to see more of the gay best friend. Also Georgie's 3 other girlfriends I know have stories of their own, btu in this book I feel they needed either a stronger presence or to be removed all together. If you read the book as a stand alone then it would be very difficult to figure out what purpose they serve to the plot.

Constantly being pushed together through a need to hide from the press should have been enough, but I guess Phillips got sick of empoying the same plot device miltiple times so instead we have an entire house placed under quarantine, this for me was pushing the boundries of believability, however the twist with the ex-husband's new wife definitely made it more acceptable. The reason behind their marriage shoudl have been cheesy too, but I feel that Phillips handled it well and it actually came across as somewhat believable.

Favourite scene is definitely Georgie and Bram in the restaurant, putting on a good face for the paparazzi, but quietly insulting and abusing each other. It sets up the entire book really, having to put on a good face, while at the same time desperately trying to communicate their true feelings.

PS. Reading through other reveiws there's a lot of mention that this plot is a rip off of Brad/Angelina/Jennifer, dont' believe it. The love triangle is everywhere these days, and the characters are so dissimilar that the connection didn't even occur to me until someone pointed it out. Don't go into this book expecting to read about their story or looking for comparison's, cause if you do you're gonna have a bad time.(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, romance, contemporary-romance, divorce, humor, husband-and-wife, fathers-and-daughters, california, hollywood

Philips is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Her characters aren't always very realistic, but I usually can suspend my disbelief and enjoy the story. Philips has a good sense of humor and I like the fact that her characters pop in and out of various books. So when I was looking for a book to take me away from real life, I immediately thought of Susan Elizabeth Philips.

That said, this novel was not my favorite of her books. I could not read this story without thinking of Brad, Ange...more

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Mar 07, 2012 KatiD rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: rntv-reviews

A review by Kati Dancy
Publisher: William Morrow
3 out of 5 stars

Georgie York is having a very bad day. Heck, she’s been having a string of bad days. You see, Georgie is a beloved child star, famous for her sweet nature, and her classic series, Skip and Scooter. She seems to have everything she’d ever want: a successful career, a handsome husband, and many good friends. But her handsome husband, Lance, has very publicly left her for a Hollywood’s latest do-gooder, gorgeous actress, Jade Gentry. (D...more A review by Kati Dancy
Publisher: William Morrow
3 out of 5 stars

Georgie York is having a very bad day. Heck, she’s been having a string of bad days. You see, Georgie is a beloved child star, famous for her sweet nature, and her classic series, Skip and Scooter. She seems to have everything she’d ever want: a successful career, a handsome husband, and many good friends. But her handsome husband, Lance, has very publicly left her for a Hollywood’s latest do-gooder, gorgeous actress, Jade Gentry. (Does this story sound familiar to you? I couldn’t help thinking of the Brad-Angelina-Jennifer triangle). One day, Georgie is accosted by the press who are anxious to tell her that Jade is pregnant. Georgie is devastated and can’t hide her reaction. Watching from the sidelines is her dissipated co-star from Skip and Scooter days, Bramwell Shepard. Bram has a terrible image in Hollywood, and has a distinct lack of jobs to prove it. You see, he ruined his career by his diva behavior on the set of Skip and Scooter. He was occasionally drunk, often belligerent, and generally difficult to deal with. And in the end, the show was cancelled because of his bad behavior.

Georgie flees the scene to her friend Trevor’s house. There, she begs Trevor to consider marrying her for a year — just to help her get her credibility back. The bad news for her is that Trevor is gay, and has absolutely no intention of honoring that request. Unfortunately for Georgie, Trevor is also friends with Bram, who overhears the conversation and can’t resist poking fun at Georgie. Georgie flees the scene and ends up deciding to go with a few friends to Las Vegas for the weekend. As coincidence (as far as Georgie knows) would have it, Bram is in Vegas too. Unsurprisingly, they clash, but end up at the same party, and end up drinking too much. When they wake up in the morning, they are mutually dismayed to find that they have gotten married. Georgie realizes pretty much right off the bat that this could work to her advantage if she can convince Bram to stay married to her. Bram, who is trying desperately to get a movie off the ground, realizes that Georgie’s contacts can help him. Plus, she offers him $50,000 to stay married to her. Bram decides to take her up on her offer. Will they be able to overcome their long-standing feud and fall in love?

Generally Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a sure thing for me. Her books feature wonderfully dimensional characters that have a lot of heart. She’s also very talented at bringing the funny. Not bust a gut funny, but she’s incredibly adept at putting her characters in interesting and challenging situations, while never forcing them to lose their softer side. Unfortunately, this book seemed to be missing the funny. I found both Georgie and Bram to be selfish, single-minded people who were really only out or themselves. They both played some petty tricks on each other, and were generally pretty nasty to each other. When the author finally had them begin to soften, the damage was already done in my mind. The characters had both exposed a nastier, petty side that made them very difficult for me to like, let alone root for.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips remains an auto-buy for me, but for readers who’ve never enjoyed her work before, I’d recommend you start with It Had to Be You, or another of her older books and give this book a pass.

*REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED AT ROMANCE NOVEL TV(less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Janelle Janica Gomez rated it 4 of 5 stars

***Spoiler alert***

4 out of 5 stars

Georgie York is America’s sweetheart. Having starred as Scooter Brown in America’s favorite sitcom ‘Skip and Scooter’ as a child, made her one of Hollywood’s darlings in a young age. Unfortunately, that was years ago.

Now despite her still-glamorous life as a Hollywood icon, her life is in shambles. Her career is a flop, and worse, her husband, whom she had worshipped, had left her for a more sophisticated woman. To save her face and image from the vicious pap...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Iris Blobel rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 07, 2012 Michelle Robinson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook-listened

I don't know what I think about this book. I thought I would give this author another chance after hating the last book of hers that I had read.

I hated Bram for so long that it was hard to get myself to a place of trying to understand who he was.

I am not really familiar with the author, so I did not realize that this book was part of a series, and I have to say, that it does amazingly well as a stand alone. It is it's own book and I did not feel like I was playing catch up at all.

I found Georg...more

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Nov 24, 2011 sarcastic added it

This book is pretty much a spin-off of Jennifer Aniston's real life story. A funny-face, sitcom-princess marries and then is dumped by the best looking actor in Hollywood. He leaves her for an actress famous for her unusual beauty and dedication to world humanitarian works. The story begins after the divorce, when Georgie (the heroine) accidentally gets drugged by a groupie in LV and wakes up married to her former sitcom costar - a man she detests and who treats her really, really badly.

The boo...more This book is pretty much a spin-off of Jennifer Aniston's real life story. A funny-face, sitcom-princess marries and then is dumped by the best looking actor in Hollywood. He leaves her for an actress famous for her unusual beauty and dedication to world humanitarian works. The story begins after the divorce, when Georgie (the heroine) accidentally gets drugged by a groupie in LV and wakes up married to her former sitcom costar - a man she detests and who treats her really, really badly.

The book does have all the elements I love about SEP - the quirky characters, funny situations, and witty dialogue. While I did enjoy reading it, at the end of the day it left a bad taste in my mouth.

First - I never liked the hero Bram. For the first half of the book he is just despicable. And while small clues show that perhaps he isn't what he seems, his underlying motivations are still entirely selfish and self-centered. At the end of the book he does redeem himself, but even that seemed like a case of `now that I've really figured out what I want, I really want to get what I want.'

Second - My favorite character in the entire book was Chaz, Bram's housekeeper. She way overshadows either Georgie or Bram.

Third - I kept thinking that I've read this book before. The dialogue especially seemed so similar to other SEP books that sometimes I could even place it. The ending reminded me of `Match me if you can.' While the premise was original, a good lot of the execution felt recycled.

Fourth - One of the reasons I like SEP is because her books are focused on humor and characters and fun. The sex, while present, isn't usually heavy-handed. That didn't seem true in this book. The hero and heroine were married, but absolutely hated each other. Their sexual relationship was like a fling or a recreational event (which they both openly admit), and not an outcome of genuine feelings for each other. Yuck.

So overall why I enjoyed the hilarity and absurdity of this book, too much of it just didn't work for me. (less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Mareli rated it 4 of 5 stars

After Glitter Baby I was a bit worried. I thought that that book was a problem of era, being written some time ago but this one began in the same old glamourous way. I hated it at first. But then, as we're talking about SEP, it began growing on me. And in the end I liked it very much. It's not at the same level of those that made me love SEP, like "Nobody's baby but mine" or "This heart of mine" but here and there I find those special lines that make me feel like "Oh yes, this has to be one of S...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-cravings, audiobooks, read-in-2011

Ok I liked Bram, especially in the beginning when he interacts with Georgie, how bad he was (that's Bram as an adult, not a young adult – I hated him then, he was awful). It was good to see that he recognized how bad he was in the past and was trying to fix it. I liked how he took her to the house to introduce her to his girlfriend. That part made me laugh out loud. And him with his sweet teas. He really didn't care what people thought about him.

I didn't like the end. It didn't really go with t...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Marie Ealing rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really love Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s novels, every time that I need a fix of something really good to read I go and blindly pick up any of her novels and read it because usually they are excellent. So when I started reading What I did for Love I was expecting something completely different, or at least more genuine. What I found in this novel made me think that Susan ran out of ideas for a novel and took a much publicized celebrity story and made a novel out of it.

This is the story of Ameri...more I really love Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s novels, every time that I need a fix of something really good to read I go and blindly pick up any of her novels and read it because usually they are excellent. So when I started reading What I did for Love I was expecting something completely different, or at least more genuine. What I found in this novel made me think that Susan ran out of ideas for a novel and took a much publicized celebrity story and made a novel out of it.

This is the story of America’s Sweetheart Georgie York, better known for her work as Scooter on the TV series “Skip and Scooter”, a TV series that ended a long time ago but everybody still remembers. The book starts when paparazzi are chasing Georgie to show her the picture of the sonogram of the baby that her ex-husband and his new wife are expecting (they are both actors too). It has been a year since her divorce but she is still hurt by all the publicity; what happened was that she was married to this super handsome and famous actor, they were both rich and famous, but then while Lance, the ex, was filming a movie abroad he fell in love with the gorgeous and humanitarian actress Jade. Long story short, he asked Georgie for a divorce, moved in with Jade and started a new life travelling to save the world.

On the other hand we have Bramwell, he is the Skip of “Skip and Scooter”; unlike Georgie he made a mess out of his career: he did drugs and alcohol and his wild behaviour led to the end of “Skip and Scooter”, needless to say he has a bad boy reputation in Hollywood. However, a decade has passed and he has grown up a lot and is trying to build a new reputation and a new career.

This is the point where those two reunite, of course they can’t stand each other but they are in a situation –they end up married a la Britney Spears, or better yet a la Ross and Rachel -that forces them to act and live as a couple in love if they want to save their careers. The thing that they did to feed the paparazzi is crazy. You may disagree with me on this, but this part of the story made difficult for me to connect with them, there was a point when I just wanted too stop reading because they acted like they didn’t have personalities especially Georgie, whose relationship with her father got on my nerves.

I don’t have to tell you which celebrities this story resembles, do I? The whole Jen-Brad-Angelina thing in annoying and I don’t even want to start with all the monologues about “poor little rich and famous girl”. I get that in must be hard to live with the pressure of everybody knowing what goes on in your life but she is incredible rich, she has a successful career and spent the whole book complaining and heartbroken, and let me tell you this Lance, the ex, in a complete jerk.

I do have to say that there are several parts of the book that I enjoyed, Chaz is amazing and her story is heartbreaking; the interaction between Georgie and Bram is sometimes nice; they reach a point when they get to know each other pretty well and finally separate themselves from Skip and Scooter’s characters, the way that Georgie takes control of her life and her career in also a good thing, and even when the plot is not particularly original the writing is top notch and the story is fairly enjoyable. This is a book for people that already know Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ work, if you have never read any of her books I recommend you to star reading the Chicago Star Series or Ain’t She Sweet, because this book is definitely not good first impression material.

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About Susan Elizabeth Phillips

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

The Huffington Post says the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips provide a “gateway drug to the whole [romance] genre,” which she assumes is a good thing. Bookpage magazine calls her “the crown jewel of romantic comedy writers,” which is definitely a good thing. Since she wrote her first novel on a typewriter in her kitchen, her books have been published in over 30 languages...more

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Natural Born Charmer (Chicago Stars, #7)

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“She loved Bram in a clear-eyed way she’d never loved her ex-husband, no rose-colored glasses or mindless giddiness, no Cinderella fantasies or false certainty that he’d put her life in order. What she felt for Bram was messy, honest, and soul-deep. He felt like…part of her, the best and the worst. Like someone she wanted to struggle through life with; share triumphs and catastrophes; share holidays, birthdays, every days” — 19 people liked it

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