Book Review: Build a Man by Talli Roland

Weekly Writer's Round-Up… With a BIG ... Blood on the Pen Blog Tour

Book Review: Build a Man by Talli Roland

Blurb:

Slave to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every pitch she sends out disappears like her clients' liposuctioned fat, never to be seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie — the hang-dog man determined to be Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in between — giving Serenity a story no editor could resist.

With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy's life. But when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her dream job.

Purchase links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords

My Review:

First off, quick disclaimer: I do not normally read chick lit, and rarely ever read romance, so I may not know what I'm talking about. Don't judge me: I have some preconceived notions about chick lit (girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back… All finished off with a saccharine sweet sprinkling of happily ever after.) All well and good for some, but not my idea of an entertaining, gripping read.

Then again, a good story is a good story, and it is the potential of a good read that led me to purchase a copy of Build a Man. The idea of a tale about the perils of cosmetic surgery, and the ugly side of tabloid reporting — both highly current topics, piqued my interest. Plus, Talli Roland is a formidable name in e-book circles, with great reviews for her previous books, The Hating Game and Watching Willow Watts. Also, Talli herself is a lovely person and a prominent blogger, so I figured: if I enjoy her blog, surely I'll enjoy her book?

And you know what? I am so glad I cast aside my prejudices! Build a Man surpassed all my expectations and then some! Serenity Holland is a very relate-able heroine. Like all of us, she has dreams and aspirations, and like many of us, she gets lost along the way, becoming blind to what is truly important. Serenity is a girl-next-door who aspires to be something more, and I loved her self-deprecating and snarky voice. Her attraction to Jeremy was clear from the get-go, and at many times through the book, I'd felt like reaching into the pages and smacking her over the head for still not realising that Jeremy was something more than her ticket to tabloid success. But this frustration is a good thing; when Serenity finally comes round, it made reading it all the more satisfying, in an I-told-you-so way!

I loved how Talli infused the story with so much of her personality: from being a non-native Brit to the familiar sights and sounds of London, including the ever-popular shopping scene, it made the story that much more plausible. Her accurate (and sometimes scary) portrayal of the cosmetic surgery industry, the cattiness and backstabbing in the tabloids business, and the otherworldly realm of the insanely rich (Gucci hospital robes? Really?) made for plenty of compulsive reading. As Serenity's worlds collided, I felt drawn into the story in a kinda morbid way, as someone would be drawn to a car crash, but through it all I was rooting for her and Jeremy.

And it wasn't just Serenity: Build a Man's cast of supporting characters are rich and likeable in their own quirky way: the cuddly Jeremy; the stick-in-the-mud Peter; Kirsty, Serenity's driven and successful yet sometimes vulnerable BFF; Leza, her evil editor; manipulative Mia, who I wanted to inject full of something other than Botox…

OK, maybe not all the characters were likeable, but they certainly served their purposes!

I'll avoid any spoilers, but I have to say, I was appalled by the way Talli treated her characters! Poor, poor Jeremy! How could she do that to him!? But what an amazing turn of events, one that made the ending all the more sweeter! Yes, I used the word 'sweet.' So what? Nothing wrong in a happy ending, especially if it was crafted as well as this one!