Life A La Mode

by Linda Lenhoff

After her mother rediscovers sex and her sister gets engaged for the sixth time, editor Holly Phillips decides to change her life by taking such risks as standing up to her boss, reuniting with her long-lost father, and going out on a date. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary

282 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book bored me to tears. I only gave it a two star because she didn’t start dating her sister‘s ex fiancé, but I managed to get it read because I don’t like to give up. I don’t recommend this book.

[Steen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this book. Not a lot of things really happen. I think I kept reading till the end to see if anything did....and then it ended. I guess there was sort of an ending per se but it is really left to the imagination. I also thought it would be a quick read but I found myself slugging through it.

Basically it is about Holly the eldest in her family, with a younger sister Janie and a deceased brother. Her mother and father are seperated because at a family reunion her father met Sophie who may or may not be a cousin. Her mother eventually meets someone else. Janie has been engaged a million times and Holly was married but is divorced now. She is in her early 30s and works as a book editor. She is still sort of friends with her ex who sometimes pops over unexpectedly for booty calls and apparently she does the same. She begins something with a coworker and I hesitate to say relationship because it doesn't go anywhere.

It's almost like a month in the life of...whoever.

meh. I guess I like some more meat to my stories. We also never really learn to much about her younger brother who was killed or killed himself (I can't remember exactly since he is only mentioned like once) so I don't really know why he was even mentioned?

[Jennifer Larrabee]

Meh.

[Mel Pemberton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice, easy read...but absolutely nothing happens in this book.

[Renee Nash (formerly Bastet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a friend of mine, very talented!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misleading cute cover art, for a book that is way too thin in the way of plot and character development. There was a revolving door of love interests (??) and different dramatic plot lines but they were only given 1-4 pages of attention total, with filler in between! Fairly pointless read, which had potential if the author had filled out a few of the plot lines (a death, 2 engagements and a wedding, a shooting incident in the news...). Bizarrely underwritten.

[Shari · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is evident that this book was published because of her connections in the literary field. I have never complained about a book so much after reading it. The only reason I finished it was because I was on a Cuban beach with nothing else to read. This book was one that was left on a shelf in the hotel lobby. I put it back where I found it. Boring as watching paint drying. Wish I could have given it zero stars!

[Amy Pipala · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were bland, the story line wasn't interesting... I read it to get it foo my TBR as once I buy a book I can't not read it, but man, it was a snooze and waste of time. Glad it's off my shelves and I don't have to move it around anymore.

[Barbara Leuthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun entertaining story.You really got a sense of the characters and wanted to be part of their lives.

[Poojasheth18hotmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

another stinkeroo. I seem to be on a roll of reading crap books lately. This one was boring. Nothing happens. There is no character development. No plot. No nothing. B-O-R-I-N-G

[Kourtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you think your life is boring? Do you read books to escape your everyday humdrum life? Then DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! I was bored to tears by page 60 so I started skimming the book. I cannot believe a book was published without a plot! It felt like being stuck at a party you don't want to be at listening to stories you could care less about and all you want to do is go somewhere, anywhere, else to escape. Thankfully I could shut the book and pick up something much more worthy. I had hoped that maybe the story would start later in the book, like maybe the last chapter - nope. Characters you could not relate to, storylines that just seemed to go nowhere and serve no purpose, and no spark or energy in Holly? NEXT!

[Shea Paukovics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books can do a lot of things. They can take you to mystical lands far, far away... they can transport you back in time... they can challenge the way you view yourself, others, and the world... they can educate, enlighten, and excite. Often I end up appreciating the books I read for the way they make me feel, just as much (or possibly more so) than the content they contain. When I finished this book, I felt warm and cozy. I felt hopeful. I saw some negative reviews for this book, and although a lot of people have made valid points, I don't think every work of fiction has to reach the heights of adventure, intrigue, and romance. Sometimes you just want to feel cozy and hopeful.

This book made me laugh. It was clever. And it was real. I really enjoyed it.

[Karen]

I wonder, sometimes, how some books ever get published. Maybe the author's editorial background gave her connections. Anyhow, virtually nothing happens in this book. The main character is given an interesting family set-up, but it's never explained or developed. Almost none of the relationships in the book change, and the "heroine" doesn't seem to learn anything. I'll give it a few points for some cute dialogue and an interesting set up, though.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't quite know how to rate this book. I've read books before (or seen movies in similar styles), and I just don't like them, even though I can recognize what they are meant to be.

This book is very stream-of-conscious. It's a book without any point at the end.

I hate myself for needing a point.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of the quirky style of the main characters dialogue. There seemed to be a little something lacking, kind of like the main character's life, which may have been intentional. I would have like to seen a little more with the sister's ex and potential romance. Mainly because I like books wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end :).

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holly doesn't lead the most exciting life. Her sister is engaged yet again, her editing job isn't very exciting, her ex-husband starts showing up and her shy co-worker makes her origami and asks her out...
Kind of a slow story, but cute.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that it was a VERY slow moving book. It read almost like someone's diary and thats great if you like that kind of thing but it got old very quickly for me. I couldn't even finish it because it just bore me to death. Not horrible but just not me either.

[Stephanie Holladay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this before I even got to Hilton Head. Fun book, good ending, a brief relief from the analytical reading I love so much ;) I feel like I can't rate books like these with more than 3 stars because they lack depth. But I really did like it.

[Nicole Schafer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, quick read!

[Kristin R · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say this was not very good. I hate to write bad reviews, but it was really a waste of time. This was just a very dull character and nothing exciting happened over the course of the book.

[Dmnous · Rating 1 out of 5]

TOTALLY BORING!!

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was more of a narrative about the main character's life. Was not captivating as I thought it might be.

[Manon Klaassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy breasy, quick and nice read.