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Bodice Rippers Book Reviews: Elizabeth Scott
For more information, check out Elizabeth's website
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Read by Natalie December 2011
Natalie recommends as light, good and better than other books in this category
This is my third book by this author in the last week or so and I have to say, I quite enjoy them. Light and definitely in the chick-lit category, they are still very well written and have believable storylines and characters who are far from perfect. Lauren has a good life, decent grades, good friends and a boyfriend every girl wants to have, but deep down there is something missing, something that is still causing her to be unhappy. When Evan, a boy from her past walks back into her life, things start to change, most of all Lauren. As she spends more and more time with Evan, she starts to realise that the reason she is so unhappy is because she has been denying herself the things that make her happy. Staying with her boyfriend because it’s the right thing to do, hiding her music and past from her friend because it’s easier and not telling her father how she really feels because she’s too afraid, these are all the things that have been holding her back. And when Evan gives her the chance to be herself and she actually likes the person she is when she’s with him, Lauren realises she needs to make a choice, the perfect life that leaves her feeling empty or the secret life that leaves her feeling a million different things. Afraid of being too much like her mother who risked everything and abandoned Lauren years ago, she doesn’t realise she is also becoming like her father when she continues to see Evan without breaking up with Dave. Forced to confront her true feelings and stop hurting those around her, Lauren makes the choice and it’s not hard to work out which one it will be. I really enjoyed this book, although Lauren is a little annoying at times, particularly her inability to break up with Dave when she is so clearly unhappy with him and crazy about Evan. Her excuses to herself are a little pathetic, and Evan almost going along with it is a little bit unbelievable, but still, the book is fun. Evan is adorable and the development of their relationship is very sweet. A nice summer read.
The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
Read by Natalie December 2011
Natalie recommends as ok, the ending is probably the most realistic chick-lit ones I’ve read
This is not your typical chick-lit book in that not everything ends with a happily ever after. In fact the ending is perhaps the best and most realistic part of the whole book. Sarah is in love with Ryan. She has been for years. Then at a party Ryan speaks to her first, but then he saw her best friend Brianna and Brianna smiled and flirted and now Ryan is Brianna’s boyfriend and Sarah has to watch the two of them together. She can’t do anything because everyone knows it’s “the unwritten rule”, you don’t covet your best friend’s boyfriend. Never mind that you liked him first, you spoke to him first and maybe he might actually like you more, you just don’t do it. But then one night, when the two of them are alone, something happens, a kiss, leaving Sarah to wonder if maybe there might be more going on between them than she thought. Even though Sarah feels guilty about kissing her best friend’s boyfriend, she still can’t help but want him. And Ryan wants her too, says he’s always wanted her and he’s been trying to break up with Brianna so he can be with her. Problem is Brianna knows he’s trying to do it, so her solution is to bring Sarah everywhere so that Ryan can’t break up with her. This of course only adds to the tension between Sarah and Ryan until eventually it all becomes too much. Even though Brianna is made to look like a nasty friend, with her constant belittling of Sarah and her cheating on Ryan, it’s still pretty bad what Sarah and Ryan do. Yes, eventually Brianna breaks up with Ryan and that’s when he and Sarah finally get to together, but there are things that go on in the background before that and I just can’t believe that Ryan has no opportunity to break up with Brianna. He says he wants too, he says he wants to be with Sarah, yet for 8 weeks he stays with Brianna trying to find a way out of the relationship. Ok yes she has a crappy homelife and Ryan feels bad for her, but that’s a poor excuse and it just makes Ryan look like a spineless idiot. I wanted to like him and the person he is with Sarah is gorgeous, but the person he is with Brianna, including the so-called reason for being her girlfriend in the first place is just a little pathetic. Still, the fact that the characters are not perfect and do make mistakes and not everything gets wrapped up nicely at the end does give it a more realistic look at what happens when you fall for you best friend’s boyfriend, it just would have been nice to see better character development and behaviour.