Customer Reviews

The Ex Files: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking for a light read when I picked this book up, and as such, it was not terrible. It was not very good, either.

The Ex-Files centers on Faye Parker, a model about to be married to her too-good-to-be-true chef fiance. As their wedding approaches, much mayhem is caused by ex-lovers and family and hi-jinx ensue.

The writing is passable -- funny, but never laugh-out-loud -- and the characters are never really developed. But my biggest problem with this book is that the NONE of the other characters truly like Faye and several are trying to stop the wedding!

Faye is described as difficult, selfish, demanding and a wicked witch...by her own friends and family...but we never really see examples of this. We're just supposed to take this author's word for it.

I would still lend this book to a friend looking for an easy beach read, but rather than asking that it be returned to me, I'd happily tell her to keep it.

This book was truly bad. I am generally fairly lenient with chick-lit books; if the characters and plot are endearing, lousy writing can be overlooked. However, there was nothing to like about this book. First of all, there was absolutely no reason to like or even sympathize with the main character, Faye. The author apparently thought that because Faye is a pretty model, readers will think she is great. Instead, she is selfish, bitchy and off-putting. The other characters are so clichéd (like Faye's token gay friend Adam) or poorly drawn (just about every character) that you end up not caring about any of them. The plot is lame, too: Faye and her fiancé Mark invite a bunch of their exes to their wedding and then we have to suffer through the anticlimatic "drama" that ensues. Then there's the matter of the writing, which is so stilted and pretentious that it's hard to get through without laughing derisively. The dialogue is especially ridiculous, as every line seems to be trying desperately to be hilarious and clever, but fails miserably every time. I didn't laugh once, except at how stupid it all was.

My primary complaint with this book was its predictability. Less than halfway through, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I wasn't wrong. So it was just a matter of slogging through the rest to get to the end.

I also wasn't overly amused by most of the so-called witticisms and amusing one-liners of several characters. It wasn't endearing, only annoying.

All in all, pretty disappointing.

It wasn't what I expected. From the blurb at the back I didn't think there'd only be two exes each of the bride and groom (yes, this would have put more of a strain on the author, but I'd been envisioning a whole bunch of bemused exes). I'd blame the blurb though.

The story I liked. I don't read a lot of chick-lit so perhaps that explained why I didn't find the book as predictable as some people described. (Nearly) each character had a bit of their own background explained, by way of the flashbacks, so we were able to learn about them before meeting them at the wedding; not that this really helped. My favourite character was Adam (I especially liked the first time he and Faye met), but then who doesn't like the typical fictional flamboyant gay? I thought Kate and Mark's relationship hadn't been portrayed well enough for me to understand Kate's feelings, or Mark's; Nat and McLaren were an interesting pair, though not given enough face time (and maybe it's better if they weren't); everyone else was mostly boring, including Mark himself.

My biggest complaint was that everyone at the wedding was against Faye and Mark's marriage. It was a recurring perspective that everyone seemed to share, and reveal to the readers, one by one, to the point that it felt painfully repetitive. Mark's brother Tony's arguments especially seemed to untiringly (or tiringly, depending on how you look at it) touch on the topic. Couldn't this have been done better? Also, Mark's relationship with Faye wasn't detailed enough for me to sympathize with them in this predicament. Are they picking on you, dears? I'm sorry... but really I'm not.

And yet I gave 4 stars. As I said, I liked the story, and have read it a few times already. The writing was funny, which helped. Perhaps not up to the standard of many, but a fun read.

As my for my review, forgive me, I don't intend to be helpful. But this is how I saw the book. Now you may make your own decisions. =)

Faye, a successful young model, is about to marry Mark in a beautiful destination wedding. Two of Mark's ex-girlfriends have been invited to the wedding as his friends, so Faye has unearthed two old boyfriends to invite along, and the whole band is staying in the hotel where the ceremony will be held. In the twenty-four hours preceeding the ceremony, Faye must deal with Mark's jealous exes, her own unpredictable friends and past liasons, and Mark's disapproving brother - who happens to know of a past indiscretion that Faye doesn't want aired.

This book is an amusing romp, a British piece of chick-fluff. The cast of characters is fairly broad: Faye's mother, Mark, and a few of the other characters are well-sketched through flashbacks as well as the main action of the book. However, the main character, Faye, is unsympathetic. The writing is inconsistent, funny and light in places, callow and dragging in others. The beginning in particular is difficult to read, and some of the story is implausible. However, the book is on the whole a not-unpleasant read.

I love the chick-lit genre, but I usually steer clear of ones that are based around weddings (i.e. "Clearing the Aisle" and "I Do (But I Don't)"). I picked this one up at the airport for two reasons. First, I wanted to get over my fear of books-on-marriage (being only 20 years old, I prefer the novels that revolve more around an independent, successful heroine) and also because the back cover was quite intriguing in the book description. Well, the story itself wasn't too awful. The main character, Faye, although a ridiculously self-centered model, is still tolerable (and is even justified in her conceitedness) and her fiance, Mark, is absolutely lovely. At their wedding the couple decides to invite their exes as the only other guests accompanying them at their hotel besides immediate family (not even grandparents or cousins are staying at the hotel). Mark invites his exes for the righteous reason of still being on friendly terms with them. Faye, on the other hand, only invites her's to even the score with her fiance. If that doesn't show insecurity, I sure as hell don't know what does!

The whole gathering of exes reminded me constantly of high school. It mirrored the cattiness of teenage girls and the perverted and disgustingly childish boys. I could not believe that these people were in their late twenties! That behavior would be considered immature to any of my twenty year old friends who have more common sense in knowing that even at our maturity (which far surpasses those of Faye, Mark and the gang) are not yet ready for anything that resembles the seriousness of marriage.

Since this was my first "wedding-chick-lit" book, I was relieved to see how they don't necessarily involve the commitment and "til death do us part" aspect that I once thought went hand-in-hand with marriage. I am sure that anyone who treats a relationship as one of respect and equality will find this book horrendous. For those who enjoy the fickleness and game-playing aspect of relationships, then this book just might be your ticket. The writing was decent and the book was a short read so it didn't waste too much of my time. Nonetheless, I would not recommend it.

I wanted to read this book as lighthearted summer fun. Instead, I found a rather dreary tale of some seriously mixed up people. Most infuriating was the character of Tony, possibly the most arrogant, pompous, self-righteous ass who has ever graced modern literature. And the author condones him and his behavior! He's right, don't you see? He's a macho guy, the omni present voice of reason and knowing what's right for everyone. The other infuriating part of this novel is the author's treatment of Faye, the heroine. Because she's "fiesty, independent and outspoken", she is repeatedly referred to as "difficult to HANDLE" and "a real handful". Excuse me, but is Ms. Moore saying that women need to be "handled"? Apparently so, since we're told that Faye has really "met her match" in this Tony loser. I think that a man with those same characteristics would be praised as a real go-getter, aggressive and accomplished. Why the author has strong-willed Faye succumb to Tony's blackmail and bullying is WAY beyond me. And the way the novel ended? COME ON! She has made the smart, strong willed man the hero (though she tries to discuss his "faults" to make things appear even), and the woman very introspective and sorry for the way she is... and trying ever so hard to change. If any man tried to bully and blackmail any smart woman into ruining her own wedding day, I'm pretty sure she'd tell him to shove it far, far up where the sun don't shine - and I can't believe that Faye didn't. A novel for the 21st century? I don't think so. If you love chick-lit, read the Shopaholic books or the Nanny Diaries; at least they're well written and FUNNY.

I was surprised to see some lower rated reviews because I thought this book was very, very funny! It's not a mind numbing chick lit story nor is it a mind boosting story, but it will make you laugh! This was the first book I picked up from this author and I am now reading another one and it is also a funny twist on a difficult situation. If you're looking for something to escape with and get a laugh, this is the book for you!

Girly book,fake drama. I read it 3 weeks ago and i can hardly remember it already. If you have nothing else to read go for it.

If you're looking for some fun chick-lit, this definitely falls into that category. There's an unexpected twist and even though (to me) the ending was a tad predictable, it was still a fun read with a couple of giggle-out-loud moments. I highly recommend it.