Customer Reviews

Bundle Of Joy? (Red Dress Ink Novels)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another entree into the Red Dress Ink chick lit. I LOVED IT!

The story of two friends - Voula and Jaimie. Jaimie has always been the wild one, but now she is settled down and wants a child - badly. This really rocks Voula's world as she is pretty sure that relationships and children are not in her future. Can their friendship survive?

While this book is written with an eye towards fun, it is actually a grown up read about sticking by your friends even if you don't see their point of view. Its about loving the people in your life and its about figuring out how to be the best that you can be.

While this may sound a little dramatic for a chick lit book, Papa manages to introduce all of these important issues in the storyline while conveying some of the funnier moments (and not so funny) about wanting to have a child.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was an intelligent and "feel good" read.

Buy it.

When her best friend nee Jamie Jacobs married and became Jamie Jacobs-Sarakanti, she and Voula Pavlopolous remained best friends. However, now Jamie seems always busy when Voula needs her, but though the spouse is intimately involved he is not the cause. The married couple is attempting to become pregnant and that has caused the pause in their friendship.

Voula is stunned but will do anything for Jamie because her best bud has always been their for her especially when she procrastinates as she always does whether it is paying bills, finding a new roommate or a new Manhattan pad, or writing the magazine article that is past due. When Jamie tells her that she is a Lamaze student, Voula is happy and depressed, but the joy of her pal makes her wake up that it is time to live life starting with dumping mom and finding a man who would appreciate Voula, neurosis's and all.

BUNDLE OF JOY? Is an enjoyable insightful look at friendship through the eyes of the one left behind while the other moves on with marriage and children. The story line drifts a bit with all that Voula must confront, but puts off as is her nature; however though that makes it more difficult to follow her chick lit revelations, the wandering adds depth to the lead protagonist as she struggles to modify her behavior ever since her best friend announced the "pregnant pause".

Harriet Klausner

I read this book as soon as I got my hands on it, since I really like Ariella Papa's writing style and previous books. This book might look like a mommy lit type of novel, but it's really more of a "singleton's best friend gets pregnant" book, and so much more.

The main heroine Voula is a character that really stands out from the norm. She had a turbulent and somewhat tragic childhood; she has a stubborn Greak mother who believes Voula should be living at home until she is married; she likes to be alone and has only had 2 1/2 boyfriends (technically) in her life so far. She lives with a beautiful Italian man with a large libido and has a freelance writing career that is satisfying, but just paying the bills.

Voula isn't sure if she wants kids one day, but suddenly it seems like everyone around her is getting pregnant: her best friend Jamie, for one. Suddenly the close friend Voula has known since childhood is one of them. At the same time, Voula's long-estranged sister shows up again, toting two kids and a husband. Still further, Voula must find a third roommate, but at the same time is wondering if she should find her own place somewhere. The problem is, how can she afford it? Everyone has heard of the difficulties involved with finding a place to live in Manhattan. Is it really that difficult? Join Voula on her house-hunting adventures and see for yourself!

This book explores a litany of interesting topics: the ups and downs having a newly pregnant best friend; the friend's joy and struggles of pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing; the uncertain yet exciting new relationship that Voula finds; her struggle to open up to others yet learn to be true to herself. And of course her frustrating yet irresistable hunt for a place to live.

I absolutely LOVED this novel. Ariella Papa, whose previous two books ("On the Verge" and "Up and Out") I also loved, has outdone herself this time around. Voula is an outstanding main heroine, and she is dealing with realistic and difficult situations. The overall story line kept me reading straight through until the end. Very highly recommended.

I absolutely related to the main character of this book! While other people my age are having babies, thinking about having babies, or trying, I just sit on the sidelines and nod & smile and think "whatever" just like Voula! I laughed & nodded throughout this whole book and loved it! If you're in your thirties and have no desire to have a baby, you should read this book and get a good laugh! Worth every penny!

Unlike most married people, Jamie never ditched her girlfriends when she married, yet she still wrecks havoc on her friendship with Voula when she announces that she is trying to have a baby. Somehow, this becomes one of the most prepossessing facts of Voula's life, one more bump in the hilly road of her her life. Between that, finding a new roommate who won't have a noisy affair with her other roommate, facing her issues that haunt the past, and falling in love, again, Voula has a good bit to handle. To simpify her various issues, she thinks, Voula decides to get her own place, and eliminate the roommate problem, but that has its own set of hassles. Through it all, she must be a supportive friend for Jamie, down to listening to the debate over circumsisions pros and cons. Though this story rambles quite a bit, it does have an air of realism and moments of humor that will engage certain segments of the reading public adequately.

This book is great! I started it on a Sunday night and was so involved that I finished it Tuesday morning. The characters are real and interesting, with a storyline that goes beyond the usual chick lit girl meets boy plot. A must read....

This was my second Ariella Papa book and my fifth or sixth Red Dress Ink book. I really haven't been that impressed with this publisher, or most of its authors, but so far Papa is the most promising in terms of writing style and humor. I'm not her biggest fan, but I think she has potential.

My main problem with Papa is that, judging from the two books of hers I've read so far (this one and On the Verge), she tends to recycle her characters-- Voula is basically a Greek version of Eve in OTV (who was Italian-American, a writer, and slightly socially awkward), and Jamie seems like a thinner, married version of Tabitha. I'm willing to guess that in real life, Papa (a writer of obvious Mediterannian descent) thinks of herself somewhat of a dork, and has a blonde, outgoing, wild and crazy best friend.

The story itself is fairly engaging, and not completely predictable (she didn't end up with the guy I initially thought she would, so she gets points for pulling one over on me), with much more depth than On the Verge.

I counted five grammatical and punctuation errors, but that seems to be about the average for RDI books.

Overall, not a bad book. It held my interest and gave me something to read for three consecutive lunch breaks.

I think that more and more, authors are trying to find more original ideas for their books, instead of girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back again at the end of the third act. With so many chick lits out there, it takes more to grab us and pull their book off of the shelves.

Voula is a 30 something woman in Manhattan who has no need for a baby. She is somewhat happy, aside from the constant changing roommate situation, her mom making her feel bad every 20 minutes, and with the recent news: Her best friend is trying to have a baby.

Voula doesn't even really feel comfortable around children, and knowing her best friend will change into one of "those women" doesn't really help her sleep at night. She sucks it up, is supportive of her friend and her "choices," and realizes that she may have some growing up to do as well.

After a fire starts in her apartment by overly amorous Armando and his plethora of women, Voula finds that this may be the right time to find a place for herself. So, she starts to play the real estate game and also balances her new boyfriend on the side.

I like books that keep me wanting to read them. At the beginning, this book had me because I felt that I had some things in common with the character. She had a lot of things going on that weren't all "date" related, which was interesting, but something lost me in the middle. I kept it going until the end and I liked it, but I had to push myself a little.

I still would like to try Ariella Papa's other books.