Customer Reviews

Getting Personal (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback))

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

 

 

This was a really good book. Some parts of the plot were so obvious,but only occur in the last 5 pages or so. Like others have said,I think that Ruby's adoption was just a way to lengthen the story,because once I got to that part,it went really slow. I didn't really see the relation between that and the whole idea of the book. I would have loved to cut out some of the adoption parts and have seen more of what happens to Lou in the end! There's only about one sentence that refers to her and the guy she ended up with but that's all. Besides that,it is a good read,and I like how it's essentially 3 stories in one (Ruby's,Lou's and Martin's).

Perennial singles and best pals Ruby, Lou, and Martin attend yet another wedding where Ruby commiserates on her lack of love life. When they discuss that the bride and groom met through a personal ad, a brainstorm is born - they'll write ads for each other, weed out the creeps, and find the perfect mate for a friend. Ruby will write for Lou; Lou write for Martin, and Martin will write for Ruby. But no one is good enough for Ruby in Martin's eyes. Nursing a crush on her (and she on him), he vetoes most of the folks that respond to the ad. Fearing that they would spoil their friendship, neither has acted on their feelings. Ruby does her best to find the mysterious person Lou exchanged wayward glances with on the crowded train. Lou knows that the person Ruby picked is not the one from the train, but continues to see him, finding that he is annoying perfect boyfriend material.

Manby's modern dating tale is lacking in many respects. For the most part is it pretty predictable, though Lou's admission at the end was a little bit of a surprise. Ruby's character is too desperate, making the reader wonder what has Martin tied up in knots. It also has some pretty glaring errors, the biggest being Manby's attributing "The Pina Colada Song" to the wrong artist (it was performed by two-hit-wonder Rupert Holmes, not Barry Manilow). Manby missed the boat on this one - it could have been so much better had she injected some humor and less pathos into the story. Other than that, it is just an average read that I recommend you pick up at the library. My copy is headed for the charity bin.

This is one of those books that hooks you from the first sentence and has you turning the pages in a flurry.

Martin, Lou and Ruby are all useless at picking partners so place personal ads for each other with hilarious results.
Martin is a loveable, sweet, very realistic character and you root for him all the way in his quest for love and personal fulfillment. Lou and Ruby have their own complex hang ups - everyone will be able to relate.

There are so many reasons this book is fantastic but the main one is it is madly funny. It made me laugh out loud on the subway, on the bus, in a cafe. It is spot on, well observed, pee in your pants hilarious. Funnier than Marian Keyes and all the other chick lit pretenders. This is the real McCoy.

This novel focuses on three London friends who decide to place personal ads for one another after attending a wedding where the bride and groom met through personals. All three recieve answers that take their lives in new and entertaining directions. I liked that the book wasn't afraid to let its characters be ordinary people that we could relate to, and didn't feel the need to be constanly peppy and upbeat. We got to see the somewhat tough times of the characters' lives, which gave them more depth and humanity.

On the flipside, the plot is kind of predictable, I agee with what a lot of other readers said about loose ends. There are facts that seem to have been included to be followed through in a later plotline, but were never revisited. The editing also leaves something to be desired- incorrectly citing Barry Mannilow as the singer of "Escape (Pina Colada Song)" is like saying Madonna sang "Mickey." I also found that the book dragged in parts, and the writing's focus was often uneven. For example, the author will go into great detail over things like Ruby's family history, but totally gloss over other important parts of the book. I found that kind of odd.

Otherwise, this is an entertaining read and an interesting departure from typical chick-lit stories.

This is Chris Manby's fourth book to be published. I've been meaning to read it for a while, but kept putting it off. I bit the bullet today and sat down to read it.

Lou, Ruby, and Martin are best friends. They meet up once a week for quiz night, and are very close. They're all single and Ruby's coming off a brutal breakup with someone she works with. At a wedding of a distant friend, they find out the married couple met through personal ads and decide to write ads for each other to help sort out the riff-raff. Anything that can go wrong will, and I enjoyed reading it, even though I winced more than I laughed.

While the book could have been completely predictable, it wasn't always and I liked the twists as they came. I felt eager and on edge to find out what was happening next. It could just be me, but even though all three are very good friends, it seemed Ruby got more "air time" than Lou and Martin. All in all, I enjoyed the book, and look forward to reading more of Chris Manby's books.

Getting Personal is a fun Brit chick-lit about three single Londoners who decide to set each other up on blind dates using the ultimate tool of desperation: personal ads. Ruby wants to find a handsome, rich and intelligent man to show off to her co-worker and ex-boyfriend at a party. Lou wants to find the gorgeous man she ran into on the morning tube to work. And Martin wants to find a woman who is neither psychotic nor clingy. What transpires is a humorous story full of the pitfalls in the dating world that single people know all too well. There are some interesting twists throughout the novel.

Getting Personal is a fun, no-fuss read that I enjoyed on my train ride to visit friends and family for Christmas. I was entertained throughout the dreadful trip. Chris Manby regales us with an addicting story full of British humor. However, there are some areas that should have been better. The characters are a little too neurotic at times. Ruby annoyed me often with her self-pity and desperation. And I sort of saw the developments in her love life coming from the very beginning. And, like another reviewer pointed out, there are some loose ends throughout the story -- some twists that seemed intrusive and out of place. The reader always gets a clue or a foreshadow of something important that will happen ahead in the story. I guess Ms. Manby forgot to do that. There should have been some fact-checking in some areas of the novel as well. Also, the novel is unnecessarily long. It should have been at least one hundred pages shorter. After all, this isn't a deep, literary novel. Other than that, this is a great read. It is not as clever as the Bridget Jones books, but it is entertaining nevertheless. I recommend Getting Personal if you're in the bargain for a British chick-lit.

In London, singles Ruby Taylor, Louisa Capshaw, and Martin Ashcroft attend a wedding where they learn that the bride and groom met through a personal ad at the Telegraph. The three friends wonder why not one of them ever meet their significant other so they form the Lonely Hearts Club and agree to try ads. Lou writes one for Martin; Martin scribes one for Ruby; and Ruby creates one for Lou.

As the ads are answered, Ruby detests anyone going out with Martin. He feels the same way about those blind dates taking out Ruby. While Lou finds her dates lacking, Ruby and Martin become jealous as each one now knows who their significant other is, but will either risk a cherished friendship to become potentially friend and lover or will both hide their heart from the other? As for Lou she tries a different path for her quest for happiness.

Chris Manby allows her readers to get personal with the three musketeers as each seeks love. Though mostly a light romp, the amusing story line contains moments of pathos and weird twists especially concerning Lou and the stranger on the train. Chick lit fans will enjoy this tale because the Lonely Heart Club members provide a peppery plot.

Harriet Klausner

This is a pretty decent premise, and I can ALMOST ignore the fact that the author is so desperately trying to copy Helen Fielding's voice.

But the thing that absolutely KILLED me, the thing that almost made it so that I couldn't finish the book, was the fact that on page 157 the author finally decides to add the fact that one of the characters is adopted! You do not set up this emotionally vulnerable character who is having trouble with establishing meaningful relationships, and then half way into the freaking book go "Oh, yeah? Did I mention she's adopted?"

And that another character's hints that she's possibly a lesbian, never properly followed up on. Either use it, or lose it.

Heard of the saying don't put a gun on the page if you don't plan to use it? Well, the reverse is true as well. If you're going to shoot the gun, you have to put it on the freaking page!!!

I think, given a couple of re-writes, a little personal discovery, and some planning; this could've been a decent novel. As it stands, it seems as though the author had a semi-reasonable idea, and threw in a bunch of half-baked crap to bulk it up. I wouldn't have continued reading it, but I paid $13 for the freaking thing.
KatB

Now, I definitely might be wrong, but I am fairly sure Barry Manilow didn't sing the Pina Colada song, someone named Rupert Somethingorother did, so unless there are TWO pina colada songs, which I just don't see, since the Pina Colada song was about meeting someone (his own wife!! SCANDAL!!) through online dating, maybe someone could have been a little bit more careful about fact checking.

I mean, did he WRITE the song or something? I know he writes that songs that make the whole world sing and whatnot, but I don't believe he penned this one. Sorry.

Oh, other than that, the book is several kinds of awful. Proceed with caution.