I was surprised to see this marketed as a romantic comedy. I didn't laugh once at this. It honestly felt like I was reading a script for a movie.
The only redeaming quality was Sami's career was interesting. Although having to follow a character so blind to people's character was frustrating. I had to keep reminding myself she was 18 with no world experience.
Honestly think the romances in this were forced. Bruce was a creep even before the whole "oh hey we dating. Yeah I just told you we are with no discussion,' thing. Would have been much better to leave him as a colleague who was a copywriting prick.
And love interest number two, once again didn't need to be one. Could have just been a professional relationship without this weird forced romantic interactions. Or even better yet, a one sided interest.
It was obvious who the "forever man" was going to be as soon as they were introduced. Would have been better if they got together sooner and we could see them navigate a relationship, in my opinion.
This book is for those who want an easy read, but aren't after the lusty romance. This was more about career and trying to make it in the fashion world than romance. ( )

Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies are always a fun read. These books are not necessarily the best written novels but the stories are always fun and you know you will get a happy ending. I think some adult romances could take a note from these books b/c they are characterized well which is much of the battle in writing any novel since you want your characters, for the most part, to be endearing and relatable. ( )

Naïve Midwesterner Sami Granger heads to the big city to become a designer armed with a few hundred bucks and her portfolio. Luck (and a bit of unauthorized snooping) help her get her foot in the door - even if it is only as a receptionist, for now...

Fieldnotes:
1 Overly Naïve Aspiring Designer
1 Scary Big City
2 Very Bad Boyfriends (Not Simultaneously)
3 Stolen Designs
1 Well-Placed Punch in the Nose

1 Model Best Friend
1 Very Friendly (Handsome) Neighbor
1 Excellent Boss (Mentor Variety)
1 Lingerie Store
Custom Designing

1 Pregnant Best Friend (Meddling Variety)
1 Disapproving Dad

The plot on this one is predictable, which wouldn't be a problem if it made me smile (couldn't we have her intern for a kooky fashion designer making unreasonable demands or something?). But for a romantic comedy, there wasn't much that was funny about this one, nor was there actually much romance - just the boy next door pining after her, and at times the story took a weirdly preachy tone (such as when Sami "realizes" how "selfish" she's been by focusing on her own budding career instead of calling her pregnant best friend from high school all the time to listen to her insist that she will never be happy unless she has a man, because an unattached 18-year-old is too dreadful to contemplate...). Maybe that last bit of gloss comes from me...

While I certainly don't mind books about teenagers who date around, here, too, the book seemed a bit odd. In a short novel billed as a romance, it was pretty painful to have to watch Sami cycle through two pathetically awful boyfriends (one after her designs and the other after media attention with nary a redeeming quality to explain her naivete to be seen - except I guess sexual attraction as evidenced by the fact that she almost sleeps with him on a conference table at work scene which came out of NOWHERE) while insisting on friend-dating the one decent boy in the whole book.

So - not much romance, not much comedy, a lot of family/friend drama since Sami snuck away from home without bothering to so much as let her father know she was alive because he would disapprove of her going to NYC (which wouldn't have been uncalled for since the first place you moved into housed PROSTITUTES and was the scene of a MURDER). Plus her best friend is having a troubled pregnancy and there's a prolonged guilt trip about how Sami is a terrible friend and makes it all about her rather than discussing her friend's pregnancy (when she is carrying SAMI's BROTHER's BABY, which seems enough reason to be uncomfortable discussing the whole situation).

And to top it all off, we have a small-town-girl-from-the-Midwest-breaks-in-big-on-the-NY-fashion-scene-with-no-contacts-and-no-experience-through-sheer-unexplained-talent. Also because men's button-down shirt inspired nighties are the new craze (which wouldn't be such a bad thing, I could get behind a comfy lingerie movement). Which if the rest of the book had felt more Disney-esque I could have gone along with (it sounds like a Disney Channel movie), but the roller-coaster tone and unclear audience made this one a definite dud for me.

Also posted at A Hoyden's Look at Literature. ( )

A cute little read that follows the journey of young mid-westerner Sami Granger that leaves to New York to follow her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. However, after finding that the "City of dreams" isn't quite what she thought it would be like, adamant Sami is determined to accomplish her dreams. Even taking a job designing clothes at a lingerie shop won't keep her down.

This short read is a perfect beach read, or one to curl up to by a fireplace. ( )

Got this book from a friend and read it when I was in College (Ate Nitz, I think I got this from you?). I think these series are the first ones I've read that exposed me to chick-lits. ( )