Customer Reviews

The Girls Next Door

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an admitted Girls Next Door fan. I have purchased all of the DVD's and I catch the show every week and I love it. So, of course, when this book came out I jumped on it, despite the reservations that I had. For one, I hate it when books are released about a series when the series is in the middle of production. I was also concerned about the fact that past releases (the workout video comes to mind) from the Girls Next Door have felt more like slap-dash quick releases to nab some cash than the real in-depth offerings that you would hope for. This book was pretty much as expected.

The good:
-Fun insight into their world from the girls themselves.
-A map and description of the mansion (who hasn't wondered exactly where the grotto is in comparison to the house?)
-Comments and information from the staff
-Recipes from the show.
-A guide to the pets and the zoo at the mansion.
-A guide to the parties and travel of the Girls.

The bad:
-A majority of this book is recaps of each episode up to the end of Season 3. To make it a little fun, they have added a comment on each episode from ONE of the girls. I would have liked to see a comment from each girl, perhaps, or insight from the staff or crew. As it is, there is a lot of wasted space here that could have been made into a real treasure.
-Addresses and phone numbers to the GND sources (trashy lingerie) and places they have gone (Sunset Ranch, Culver Ice Arena). Some people might appreciate this, but I would rather they save the space for what we really want to know and let me just google the sources that I want to find.
-Lack of information on the questions that the girls get asked all the time (make up tips, health tips and, let's face it, the dirt! - there are a few, but we would all love to see in depth information).

Overall, I would recommend this for any fan, but I would caution them to be aware that the book is light on substances and full of fluff.

If you love "The Girls Next Door" on E! you will enjoy this book. There are a ton of pictures and one of the girl's comments on each episode from seasons 1, 2, and 3. The staff are also interviewed (Mary, J.D., Carlena, Brian, etc) and explain how the show made them recognized on the street. There is a short history on each girl and a Q&A section with each. There are photos from episodes we have seen and some private photos as well as photo shoot pictures. There are photos of the Mansion and all the different areas are described such as the game house, pet cemetery, bath house/gym, etc. There are photos from all the different parties with commentary by all three girls and Hef, and much more. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I wish there was a little more text. Overall, it's great.

The Girls Next Door is filled with all of our favorite loveable characters from the show, but that is about all its filled with. This book is like a refresher of all the episodes of the show, so if you have watched the show all ready, you won't be missing anything in the book. When I heard a GND book was coming out I was excited at the thought that this would show a new outlook and insider secrets in regards to Holly, Bridgett, and Kendra. I did like all the pictures, but I was not pleased with the lack of new information. My hope for the future would be anew GND book with more new and behind the scenes info, but that probably won't happen now that they have all moved out.

There is an interesting story that will be written one day; there is too much material here and so many players, that a good book will be written sooner or later. The Girls Next Door is not that book. This book is essentially a large brochure about the TV series using pictures and a fair amount of dialog from the series. There is advertising talk about the book being "up close and personal" with the girls. "Personal" means the publication of each young lady's sign, favorite color, favorite food, name of childhood pets, etc.

The young ladies that make up "The Girls" are charming in their roles in this series, and they continually show that they are living the life they are living because they have personal determination and a flair for this slice of show business. They have put their personal lives on hold in order to all be Hef's girlfriend,all at the same time. One of the cornerstones of the show is that each of them have been monogamous during their stay at The Mansion while Hef has been free to have his way with each of them. Various forms of serendipity brought them all together, and a genuine hit show has kept them together (until lately). So, there's a story here...all kinds of questions. The only one talking so far, Kendra, gives us occasional outbursts of truth during the show. The book gives us Foo Foo and some pictures that we have already seen.

On a positive side, the book has a number of good pictures of the Playboy Mansion as well as Hugh Hefner in this setting. Mr. Hefner comes across well in the book. He is an important part of the TV series, and is, in fair measure, the glue that pulls many of the episodes together. Whoever had the idea for the TV series (perhaps Mr. Hefner), had a good idea, one that is rejuvenating to some extent the Playboy brand. A book is a good idea as well, it just hasn't been written yet.

There wasn't as much personal info on the girls as I would have liked. The majority of the book was a recap of past episodes. However, there were lots of fabulous photos. All in all - it was just "okay".

I love the girls next door, and I could not wait for this book to come out. I was so excited....then it arrived. What a disappointment. It seemed like it was all just pictures from the show and anything
"tips or tricks" in this book we have already learned on the show anyway. I thought there would be makeup tips, diet tips, and a personal touch from each of the girls. As big of a fan of the girls I am, if I would have seen the book first and flipped through it in the store ..I would have saved my $$$. Great if you can get it used for a few bucks, but other than that don't bother. Really.

I love watching the show, and have all the seasons on DVD. They are so funny! But I really thought the book was just a bunch of "TV guide" style information on each episode. They could have done so much more.

I really enjoyed this book. It went into the details of the Girl's Next Door (Hef, Holly, Bridget, Kendra, mansion staff, mansion pets and animals, girl's families) and had a lot of really nice colorful photos. I read the book before I started watching the DVD's of The Girl's Next Door. Glad I read the book first. It clarified a lot when I watched the series.

Love the Girl's Next Door ... the modern Cinderella's with a twist of craziness. There's a little Holly, Bridget and Kendra in all of us gals. Highly recommend watching the DVD's ... hysterical and entertaining.

I almost didn't buy THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR because of the negative reviews here, so I'm very glad that I did NOT listen to them! I guess a lot of your reaction to the book depends of what you expect it to include, but for me just the hundreds of great pictures alone is reason enough to get it. OK, so the text does not candidly explain all the personal questions that some people wonder about, such as the exact relationships of the girls to each other and to Hef, but maybe they'd like a slight bit of privacy, you know? Even if much of the text is discussed in the TV series, the show is spread out over 5 seasons, whereas the book is a convenient way to look up exactly what you want to read about. Moreover, there are major sections of the text that are not much covered on the TV series, such as the background of the Playboy Mansion. Also, the sections on Bridget, Kendra, and Holly present a lot of new info as well.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the "extras" that the book contains, especially the section showing the locations of parts of the Playboy Mansion and grounds, the pages about each girl's pets, and the info and comments pertaining to the mansion staff, about whom not much is told on the TV series. Some people complain about the large number of pages devoted to the episode guide, but really this is just a convenient way to organize many of the photos (it's too bad that season 5 is not included to make that section complete, though). However, as an animal lover I was disappointed that the mansion zoo was given just 2 pages, so most of the animals who live there are not shown. As I said, I have much enjoyed the photos in the book, although I do wish that more were candid shots, and not so many posed ones. Also, it would often help to have captions with them identifying people and situations. I could note that there are no explicit nude photos in the book, although numerous photos come close to nudity, and a few include girls (other than our main 3) who are body painted.

So, if you're expecting a juicy tell-all then you might be disappointed with THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR, but if you're like me in wanting a nicely laid-out and attractive book with interesting text and many good to great photos, then you'll probably be glad you got it.

I really enjoyed looking through this book. There was more info then I expected. Lots of photos and interesting tid-bits.