Customer Reviews

The Art of French Kissing (Little Black Dress)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love chick lit. And I plow through a lot of it. There are some wonderful, hilarious, touching, and memorable "chick lit" novels on the market, but this just isn't one of them. It's fine, but not brilliant. The characters are relatively likeable, but not thoroughly memorable. Unfortunately, the story is mediocre, with the "surprise" at the end wholly unsurprising. Harmel's descriptions of Paris are well-done, however. I enjoyed all the inside scoop on restaurants, historical points of interest, and vivid settings in which to indulge if I ever visit. But a travel guide does not a novel make. Harmel is almost preachy at the end of the book and doesn't trust the intelligence of her readers to figure out what her main character learns about herself. I was almost insulted by the "About the Author" page at the end in which she has to explain the moral of the story to the reader. I wish I liked this more. There aren't enough fun and funny chick lit novels out there. Maybe Harmel can do better next time.

The story would appeal to anyone who enjoys watching TeenNick. Writing not worthy of a middle school student. Use of repeated phrases (he drove away "without looking back" and crying described as "tears pricking the backs of my eyes" used at least 3 times each) and cliches ("I thought I would die", "I sank to the ground", "she stopped dead in her tracks", "I swallowed hard", "waiting for the other shoe to drop") actually add life to the rest of the mundane writing. The word 'really' creeps into most conversations and descriptions: "I'm really sorry." "I really like working with you," "It was really warm," "it was not really my problem." Lastly, most descriptions are limited to clothes, locations, and name dropping. If you are not familar with Orlando or Paris, do not expect to get any sense of them from this book. Orlando is nothing more than Isleworth, home of Tiger Woods; Thornton Park,a place with a restaurant that is "nicer than Ruth Chris"; and Winter Park. Paris is little more than the Eiffel Tower and the Louve where you can eat crepes, chicken cordon bleu, and other French sounding food while drinking French wine of course.

If you enjoy good writing, do not buy this book.

I bought this book to read on vacation and I couldn't put it down! And when I was done, I wanted to read it a second time! It's a cute story that made me laugh out loud. Definitely a good "girly" read.

THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING Kristin Harmel (Grand Central Publishing ISBN 10-0-446=58143-7) Romance
Public relations person Emma Sullivan is engaged lawyer Brett Landstrom. They have been together three years and are living in a house they bought jointly. He did finesse it so her name isn't on the deed even though she has been paying half of the mortgage. When she asks for his list of names so she can send them out, he tells her he wants to call off the wedding. She knows his wealthy parents aren't thrilled with her but still. He claims he doesn't love her anymore. While she is packing up her stuff from the house, he stays with one of her best friends/bridesmaid. It wasn't a plutonic situation. Her options are limited with whom she can stay. She gets laid off at her job at the same time. She calls her friend Poppy in Paris. Poppy's company is doing special PR for a rock star and needs help for a month. Her partner just left. She begs Emma to come work. Why not go. What does she have to lose? She goes, and what she gains is what she doesn't expect.


If you are a single woman, you'll love Poppy's advice for dating. I found taking that trip to Paris with Emma a nice diversion. If you have been to Paris, you'll love remembering all the sights. If you haven't, you will want to go. Enjoy

The premise of this sounded good but the formula although predictable wasn't executed well. I couldn't root for the main character and the character development of Guillieme wasn't believable.

After being dumped by her fiancé and losing her job as publicist at Boy Bandz Records, Emma Sullivan has nowhere to turn. Out of the blue, her friend Poppy calls from Paris with the opportunity of a lifetime: to come to France and become the publicist for famed rockstar Guillaume Riche. It turns out that Guillaume has a penchant for getting into trouble--including hanging upside down from a rope thirteen stories up in the air. Adding to Emma's trouble is reporter Gabe, who she finds herself attracted to. As an antidote to Emma's dating woes, Poppy suggests going out and dating, not seriously, French men. Hence the title!

At first, the story seems formulaic, but it really picks up when Emma gets to Paris. Harmel really knows Paris well, and it shows in this novel (so much so, that there's a guide to Emma's Paris in the back of the book). It's a light, frothy tale, one that hardly seems realistic at times--but we don't go to chick lit for reality. Some of the characters seem wooden, and Guillaume's antics get old after a while. Harmel had the chance to really infuse this story with humor, which she failed to do at times. Also, the ending was a bit predictable and cheesy. But all in all, reading this book was a fun, non-serious way to spend an afternoon.

The Art of French Kissing starts out just like many other chick lit books I've read. Guy dumps girl and breaks girls heart. Girl then loses job. It seemed so predictable at the beginning, but then it transformed into something unlike other chick lit books. I just sat down and had to finish it without getting up. I needed to see how everything tied up in the end.

Im a big fan of Kristen Harmel's books and I cant wait to read more from her soon!

I read this book on a very long flight from Orlando to LA and got so lost in it that I didn't realize that the flight had lasted about two hours too long due to weather issues! I am a big lover of chick lit, and this is up there with the best! I loved the characters, the story, and the fact that the places and events that are mentioned in Paris are real places (I went to many of them on a trip to France 3 years ago)! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something fun and get lost in another world!

This was also a prompt delivery so I was pleased with that. There was water damage on pages 45-51 which was a bit annoying because they were crinkled but other than that they were still readable and the rest of the book was in fine condition. There was no signature on this one which was disappointing but still, ce la vie :) The back cover was a little worn and the color of the back cover had gone away around the edges but still fine. The binding I was happy with, it looked like no one had even read the book!

Last novembre I was in ny, and I asked a lady at barnes & nobles a book that I could not put down, just wanted to read it all day. She gave me this one! Well since around page 200 I was desperate, so so boring! Then... oh my God, I really coudn't put it down. So the thing is...be patient till then and then you'll love it. Is not the best book I ever red, but it kept me really there till the end. Emma at the end I liked you!