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Jul 18, 2011

Sari rated it:

I picked this book up at the library book sale yesterday for $0.50 and I have to say I'm sorry I wasted my money. This book is about NYC's "it" girls and their shallow, shallow lives. It's supposed to be an entertaining chicklit read, but I'm finding I'm just not impressed at all. It's juvenile, it's stupid, it's going to be unfinished - I can't even bear to waste any more time reading it, it's going straight to the thrift store donation pile.

The characters don't seem More...

5 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2012

Alkyoni ~ Kingfisher of books rated it:

Once I recover from this... this thing I'll give it a proper review.
REVIEW TIME!
NOTE: This might be a hate review in the end but that's fine by me, because I hated the book.

Alright, I’m going to go right ahead and surprise everyone: I’d rather read Fallen, Silence even freaking Halo than read a book like this again. This book simply takes excrements to a whole new level.

Enter the heroine, what’s-her-name. Seriously I can only think of her as Moi. Be More...

8 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2008

Katie rated it:

To follow Keerthi's review: I also read this book thinking it would be as awesome as Plum Sykes' writing in Vogue, and was cruelly disappointed. In my defense, I was in high school, and therefore much more gullible.

What purports to be a 'peek into the elite' book - think Devil Wears Prada (which is, btws, an even more hateful book that should probably be burned and banned as it is an affront to even those of sub-human intelligence. Hell, single cell organisms probably wouldn't even b More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

This book was nearly offensive in its wanton display of greed, vanity and superficiality. It's almost embarrassing to even admit I read it, but as a follower of Sykes' Vogue pieces, I felt I owed her a bit of literary loyalty. Big mistake.
This book, sadly, confirms all those horror stories you hear about "Park Avenue Princesses," and doesn't even have the decency to laugh at itself at any point. Sykes is a clever wordsmith, but the meat of this book leaves much to be desired More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2008

Brittany rated it:

How I Came To Own This Book: Gillian bought it due to the hype surrounding the novel.

The Plot: The unnamed character (who goes by Moi) is your typical, irritating, self-obsessed upper East Sider in NYC on the hunt for a husband and all the other trivialities that make up 'that' type of woman's life - shopping, being seen, and looking great while doing it. Basically a very very fluffy slice of life from a woman who has been there...

The Good & The Bad: This is one of my lea More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2008

william added it

Rather than a female narrator called, say, Plum, we have a narrator called “Moi,” which is that much more intimate. Moi is quick to point out that she is not blonde, that she has a career, as a fashion magazine writer no less, and that she happens to be a conduit for the lives of the rich and blonde around her.
The tone is curious, more Teen Vogue than proper Vogue. Still, it follows American magazine protocol in being chatty, toothlessly catty and less than fully informed. This suits th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 08, 2008

Michelle rated it:

I'm not sure why I even read this in the first place. I think it may have been because my sister lent it to me when I asked her if I could borrow a book on my trip to Milwaukee last summer. She specifically warned me in advance that it was really stupid, but secretly a fun read in a guilty pleasure sort of way. Most people would probably say at this point, "What were you expecting, Camus?" I don't know, I don't care, I HATED this book. It was basically like Sex and the City but 10,000 More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jordan rated it:

Not my kind of book generally, but I had heard it was good and I bought it ages ago (like in 2004 or something) and figured I ought to read it. It was a fun little fluffy book. It read a lot like I imagine Sex and the City plays on TV. It was about rich snobby girls living in NYC hooking up with different guys, travelling around the world, spending rediculous amounts of money on clothes and getting expensive clothes for free even though they can afford them. Shorter version: anorexic-thin, r More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 21, 2008

Melissa rated it:

Fourth book read in my "gal about town" novels in NYC.

I'm fascinated at how people with such wealth and seemingly sophisticated lives could be, in reality, such trash. Oh sorry, when you reach a certain income level, you are "notorious" or "eccentric." The narrator, referring to herself as "moi" was as irritating as the little girl euphamisms given for such acts as "going to Brazil."

Worse yet, I saw the ending coming fro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 07, 2008

Poppy rated it:

This book came in the mail today and I don't know why. Did I order it from half.com? Or maybe one of Amazon.com's used book sellers? Did I win it in a Bloggy Giveaway? Is it a present? I have no idea.

However, I checked it for drugs, and it came out clean. So I figured what the hell, I'll read it.

However. I'm only a couple of pages into it, and something about rich, vapid women in "good buildings" on Park Avenue seems eerily familiar.

So I'm wondering More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 27, 2008

Anne rated it:

I'm not against chick lit. In fact, I indulge in them a lot of times --but this book was as stupid as stupid gets. It was predictable and not even funny in the smallest bit. The writing style is less than mediocre and it was a total waste of the 3 hours (that seemed more like an eternity) that i spent reading it.

If I didn't have the obsessive compulsive NEED to finish books I've started, I would never have finished this one. don't waste your time on this book. There are much more bo More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2009

Mina rated it:

I felt my IQ dropping a few points with every few pages.

This book was worse than "Bridget Jones' Diary" and on the same order as "The Devil Wears Prada". Unfortunately, the characters are much less likeable than the characters in those other books because they are shallow, shallow, shallow.

The only redeeming aspect of the book was that it gave some insight on life as a "Park Ave. Princess", of which Plum Sykes, the author, has perhaps some kn More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 30, 2008

Jenn rated it:

this is like a cotton candy book.. totally something easy to read and engaging, and really funny in a social-commentary-on-the-rich kind of way. i flew through most of the book when i was keeping a bedridden noah company yesterday night, and then finished it off this morning when i took a coffee break at a starbucks near my office. i was totally in the mood for something fun and light, and this was the perfect meringue of a book for the occasion...

i often find it so much easier to sin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 03, 2011

Harmonybites rated it:

This is chicklit with a Capital "C" no question. Froth of no redeeming value or character development and definitely not to be taken seriously. Chicklit is a genre I've been sampling by reading from a recommendation list and finding by and large I don't like. This one though, which happened to be on the list, was actually listed by a friend as one of three chicklit books that didn't "suck" and was "fun." (For the record, her other two picks were Carol Wolper's The C More...

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May 12, 2011

Esther added it

Ok so, Plum Sykes was one of the reasons I cancelled my subscription to American Vogue a few years ago. One of those digusting Brits who come over to the US, put on a posh accent and pretend to be royalty (hello Liz Hurley!) She once wrote a multi page article about buttons. Ab Fab calling...

So at a library book sale recently it was $5 per bag. Mine was pretty well stuffed and I was about to leave when I spotted Bergdorf Blondes and plonked it on top (so I can convince myself that I More...

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Aug 23, 2009

Diana rated it:

This book is the literary equivalent of empty calories. Plum Sykes puts the life of the New York socialite on a platter and serves it with a bottle of Veuve snuggled in its very own ice jacket.

I don't really want to discuss this book's merits (or lack thereof). What I want to discuss is the Alpha-Beta peel. All the characters in the book are obssessed with it and, having a bit of an obsession with skincare myself, I was intrigued. After some minor investigation, I d More...

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Apr 17, 2009

Jan rated it:

Bergdorf Blondes is the tale of ueber-rich young ladies in New York City trying to snag suitable mates.

This is the kind of book that I consider "a light bit of confection." Not much to it, not the most complex story line, but enjoyable enough and fulfilling as a "time waster."

I was surprised, while reading some of the reviews on Goodreads, to see how much vitriole people had towards this book. I can see where people with more reasonable lifestyles and More...

1 comment like

Dec 28, 2011

Anna rated it:

4 stars. Okay so going into this book, I didn't have many expectations, mainly that I wanted a nice and fluffy, funny feel good story. Sometimes it's nice for things (like this book) to meet your expectations.

Before I read this book, I had looked at other reviews and people complained that it wasn't written well or didn't have much substance to it. But in my point of view, if you had those expectations for this book in the first place you really shouldn't have read it. It was meant More...

0 comments like

Apr 13, 2010

Trixie rated it:

I loved this book because it is a very whimsical piece. It was a fun, light read about a high society girl living in New York. It talks a lot about fashion and friendship (that revolves around everything material: parties, shoes, clothes, private jets, etc.)

On the contrary, I don't really think it is an appealing book to everyone. I find it sort of Sex And the City / Legally Blonde / Paris Hilton / Shopaholic type of story, which at first I did not find appealing, but as I get to rea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 19, 2011

Alexa Loves Books rated it:

Bergdorf Blondes was a pleasant chick lit read that combined three of my favorite things - New York City, traveling to various exotic locations (including England) and a relatable protagonist who enjoyed shopping, beauty rituals and writing.

Though it took a while for me to actually get into the book, somewhere in between the fourth and fifth chapter, I was hooked. I think, surprisingly, what had me riveted was the way the book was written. The author is a writer for a few major pub More...

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Dec 23, 2010

Amanda rated it:

Bergdorf Blondes, by Plum Sykes, is about a young adult who always wants love. She is writing her so called "bible" about her life. She is the one of the number one "it girl." Her friends are going through tough times, and they are always looking up to her and always asking her for advice.

While I was reading this book, I made a text-to-world connection. These characters remind me of a show called "The Realhouse Wifes of New York City." They are always comp More...

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Sep 08, 2009

Marta added it

This novel is written about Plum Skye and talks about the New York "it" girl.This book talks about the perfect society where girls get their hair done everyday at the famous Bergdorf mall and do not wear the same clothes twice. the main character is Moi. she is a journalist in the most elite magazine and her best friend is Julia Bergdorf the heir of the Bergdorf mall. Together they rule New York City and are invited to the best parties ever. But they both go through their fair shares o More...

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Nov 15, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I hate myself for loving you. I wanted to hate this shallow, self-absorbed story about Park Ave. Princesses, but couldn't. I also couldn't stop reading it and I was sad when it ended. Not because it had a sad ending, but because I wanted more. Then I recommended it to a friend (my aunt actually gave me the book because I assume she loved it). Yes, I saw the ending coming from a hundred pages away, but that's okay. It wasn't a mystery, it was...something else. The heroine didn't grow much, but ma More...

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Apr 24, 2009

Purplycookie rated it:

Blissfully self-interested and flush with the cheeriness of a New York socialite on a quest to snag the perfect P.H. (Potential Husband): "Have you any idea how awesome your skin looks if you are engaged?"

It's impossible not to be entertained by a woman who refers euphemistically to oral sex as "going to Rio" in memory of the first man who suggested she get a Brazilian bikini wax, considers vodka a food group and is always embroiled in a nervous breakdown one afte More...

0 comments like

Feb 20, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I was hoping this book was going to be entertaining, but alas, I was disappointed. There was no real protagonist/antagonist conflict other than the boring "me against the world" complex, which I find frightfully boring. The main character was not one that I could really connect with and I really didn't feel bad for her through any of her drama (it would be literary blasphemy to call them conflicts) which made reading this book relativly taxing. The main character got on my nerves with More...

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Jul 31, 2011

Louise rated it:

I know this is one of those books you're not supposed to like because it's so girly and fashion here shooes there. But I absolutely loved it! While reading it one got a feeling 'Bergdorf Blondes' was a mix of Lauren Weisberger meets Candace Bushnell. I had pretty low expectations on Plum Sykes, after reading some of the more well-known fashion-chick-lit books, but this was probably the best one I've read so far. Not only did I find myself laughing out loud at quite a few times, but this novel wa More...

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Oct 16, 2010

Jaimie rated it:

This is a witty tale of a young, shallow, rich girl in NYC. I chuckled a few times and thought it was a fairly good book, but being stuck in the mind of a person like this was starting to make me want to jab a pen into my eyes. I can't even remember her name! This book was told in first person and I don't recall if the narrator's name was ever used! (I even spent a few minutes flipping through the book to try and find it and couldn't) It could have been Samantha, but not sure. So, basically I More...

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Dec 27, 2011

Ozma rated it:

Was totally fun to read all about the world of the Bergdorf Blondes, heiresses who have NYC as their playground and are in search of the perfect husband. Very funny, insider references and lots of fun for a fashionista to read. Men don't come off looking that great, two-timing their wives and so on. Plum Sykes is a cute and good writer. I like reading her work in VOGUE. So I enjoyed her fictional take on the world she reports on and is a part of. I will say that after page 200, I did get a tad t More...

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Jul 27, 2009

Debbie rated it:

Loved this book and the New York world of Park Avenue gals it spotlighted.

The book was fun, whimsical, and knew well enough not to take itself seriously more than skin deep!

The twist at the end was a good one and the author seemed to understand the need for a beginning, middle, and end of a book. Nothing was too rushed (but again it was her first book!) but it was just sweet enough to make me smile and want to pass a good review of it on.

I don't think that More...

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Nov 25, 2008

Carrie rated it:

If you like the girly books, you'll like this. It's about a group of NYC socialites and their life. They are all pretty air-headed, but they don't pretend to not be, so they are pretty entertaining. They are all on the search for their PH (potential husband) and the book is from the POV of one in particular. There are some pretty predictable plot points - I knew how the book would end as soon as a particular character was introduced, but it was still very entertaining to get to the end. Plum Syk More...

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