Customer Reviews

The Ex-Factor

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

 

 

While having sex, Martha's boyfriend utters the words no woman wants to hear - least of all in bed - "I've slept with someone else." She calmly dresses and tells him that they are over. It is not until she is on the street that she remembers that they share an apartment... The betrayal is all the more humiliating since Martha makes her living as an advice columnist (or as her editor calls her - a "relationship counselor"), and immediately starts to wonder if it was a one night stand or happened repeatedly.

She moves into a new place with sexual dynamo Jacqui, who introduces her to a whole new set of people and experiences. She also has to make that obligatory call to her childhood nemesis Desdemona, who is now dating Martha's first ex-boyfriend Alex. As she tries to get over Luke, she explores her unresolved feelings for Alex, who seems to still have a soft spot for her. She also must contend with her column, which her editor wants spiced up who she could be out the door.

As she trudges through the letters from her lovelorn readers, she wonders if she shouldn't give Luke another chance. This Brit-Chick-Lit tale has some comical situations, but it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out where she is going with the story - in fact, there are few surprises.

If Microsoft ever comes out with a template for writing a chick-lit novel, they can use "The Ex-Factor" as their guide. Every, and I mean EVERY, stereotype and cliché is here and Semple has put it together in a bored, fill-in-the-blanks tone that leaves no room for plot twists.

Pretty but insecure heroine?
Glamorous job in jeopardy?
Handsome cheating boyfriend?
Gorgeous and catty arch-rival?
Sweet and syrupy best friend?
And most of all, the perfect but unavailable, unattainable man?

Check, check, check, check, check, check. *Yawn*

None of the characters are believable or likeable and the plot drags so much in places that it's a struggle to get through it. Among all this predictability are crude sex scenes and a generous sprinkling of the f-word.

If this had been written when the genre was new, this type of writing would be more acceptable. But this is one of the latest entries in the chick-lit canon and there are dozens and dozens of books that use one or more of Semple's plot points. Readers have moved past such bland and generic stories. I think the droopy toothbrush on the cover is actually asleep.

Calling "The Ex Factor" the Chinese food of Chick Lit is a grave disservice to the cuisine of the Middle Kingdom. Semple's not a bad writer and her sex scenes are quite spicy, but the novel will stay with you only as long as it takes to close the book and put it back on a shelf. None of the characters is remotely believable or likeable, and a bizarre domestic violence interlude just leaves you queasy. "Ex Factor" would be better described, perhaps, as the Yoshinoya of Japanese food--cheap, greasy and a bit stomach-turning.

Meet Martha Seymore - an advice columnist at Gloss Magazine. When she finds out that her boyfriend Luke has been cheating on her, she is devastated. (Having him admit it to her mid-foreplay just adds icing to the cake!) What's a girl to do? Temporarily she moves in with her friend Desdemona, who just happens to be engaged to Alex, one of Martha's ex boyfriends. Thus begins Martha's search to get over Luke. She wonders if she will get over him if she found another man.

Join Martha in her soul-searching in this witty, well-written novel. Martha is the type of heroine whom many can identify with - smart, sassy, funny yet flawed. Overall I enjoyed this book for the most part, although I wished at times that the plot moved along a little more instead of having the character constantly looking back into the past. Not a whole lot seemed to happen. However, the book is definitely worth a read. Andrea Semple has written another book that is so far only published in the UK called The Make-up Girl.

It was an okay read. Slightly sluggish. I had to make myself read through the book to the end just so it wasn't a waste of my money.

This book is a must read! I devoured it in one sitting, it's a little more intelligent than your average chick lit book, with the main character becoming a modern day heroine for the messy 20 somethings out there...Go buy it!

This book had me laughing non-stop with the realisms of the 25 year old, newly single, realistic girl living in a party city! I loved it!!

This book was really boring and I couldn't care about any of the characters.

I haven't had a chance to grab this book at the nearest bookstore in KLCC. But I would definitely recommended another book by Andrea Semple titled: The Make-up Girl. It was simply hilarious and I just wish tall, dark and gorgeous Frank Blake, would be at my doorstep knocking my door at this instant! 5-stars for The Make-up Girl.

ps: I'll be back with Ex-Factor review.