Customer Reviews

The Goddess Rules

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Clare Naylor's "The Goddess Rules," deals with Kate Disney who paints animals for a living and she lives in a shed own by her late father's friend, Leonard. Kate has a somewhat dysfunctional relationship with Jake who seemed to take advantage of her and who does not treat her well. For some reason, Kate was unable to break it off with Jake, partly because she loved him and partly because she wanted to build a family with him. Kate's life was turned upside down when Mirri, a old actress as well as a sex symbol showed up at Leonard's door step to stay for the summer. Mirri was the exact opposite of Kate and was on Kate's nerve constantly as she was always giving her advice which Kate felt she didn't need. However, Kate realized rather unwillingly that Mirri, in fact, had a thing or two to teach about men.

It was quite a predictable read as there aren't many surprises along the way. The strength of this book comes from the development of the characters. The characters had their faults and weaknesses but by the end of the book, they have come to a realization of what's important and became more mature. It was also interesting to read about the relationship between Kate and Mirri and how they have grown to rely on each other for help. Their friendship, I think, was the highlight of this book. This wasn't the best chick-lit I have ever read but it's still better than average.

I give it three and a half stars. It was so slow to start that I almost gave up, but a few chapters in, the pace picked up. Still not a suspenseful pageturner, but it is a really cute story of "Lessons Learned," in Life and in Love.

At the beginning, twenty-eight year old Kate Disney has very little self confidence. She doesn't really believe in her talent as an artist and a painter, or in herself as a beautiful and desirable woman. And Kate's life is in a bit of a rut -- living in a shed, not making a lot of money, dealing with an absolute PRICK of a boyfriend. She's dated Jake for three years, and he's still taking her for granted. He doesn't call for weeks, then he shows sporadically and makes love to her, but otherwise unwilling to be committed. She can't even say to him that he is her boyfriend without him freaking out and running off into the night.

And then an amazing and famous former screen siren, Mirabelle Moncour, comes into Kate's life. I am not sure what Goddesses had to do with anything. Gratefully, there is no list of Goddess Rules that Kate Disney is asked to follow. Kate just learns a lot from the beautiful and eccentric Mirri Moncour. She doesn't seek to be a duplicate of Mirri, and the two are so different that Kate hates Mirri at first. But Mirri does know some things about life and love, and gives Kate some good advice: be confident in yourself. With Mirri pushing her, Kate learns to believe in her inner "Goddess" -- the beautiful woman within her -- and that she deserves to be treated like a special and beautiful woman, because every woman is special and beautiful in her own way. The more Kate believes in herself, the better things turn out for her. Kate finally gets the kind of love that she deserves.

Of, course, Kate doesn't have perfect judgment, so she still stumbles along the way. And so does Mirri. There are chapters where they both did things that made me cringe. But, overall, their mistakes make them seem more real and human.

Good girl Kate Disney is doing just fine in her life before Mirabelle Concur walks into it. She is dating bad boy Jake (who is one of those hot and cold men) she paints portraits of animals while starting to make a name for herself, and she lives in a shack. A nice shack, actually, in the back of Leonards house, her gay male friend.

Mirabelle Concur is a Tippi Hedren of sorts, raising wild animals in Africa. She was once a very famous actress, who discarded men like tissue. Presently, she still does this, and she is back in civilization to get Kate to paint a picture of her lion cub.

Kate is both irritated and intriqued by Mirri, for this is a 50 something year old woman who has relations with a very famous married actor in the hammock outside of her room. Can Mirri teach Kate how to leave men panting instead of letting them walk all over you? Can Kate teach Mirri that love is not as horrible as she makes it out to be?

Kate will also get to choose between sexy/unpredictable Jake and her sweet artist friend Louis who has recently come back into the picture and needs Kate's help with his project. Kate may never grow up when it comes to relationships, but she will learn a lot about herself.

The ending won't surprise you, but the journey keeps you going.

I have loved reading Clare Naylor's witty novels since Love: A User's Guide. She has a way to write that draws me in and does not let go until its final pages. Yes, her novels are often predictable, but the manner in which her stories are written more than makes up for their banality. The Goddess Rules is about Kate Disney -- a struggling artist who does not know her place in the world. She lives in a shed in a chic house owned by an eccentric gay friend, is in a revolving door relationship with an unreliable man, and makes a pittance painting portraits of rich people's pets. But when legendary Parisian actress Mirabella Moncur moves into the house, her life isn't the same. While Kate paints a portrait of Mirri's lion cub, she reluctantly listens to the sixty-year-old sex kitten's advice on life and love. Kate does not like Mirri's uninhibited and transparent nature at first, but as her life begins to make sense and she encounters several romantic prospects, she realizes that Mirri is not the arrogant, self-absorbed woman she once thought she was, especially when she discovers something that has haunted Mirri for years.

The Goddess Rules was a pleasure to read. I have not read chick-lit this good in a while. Clare Naylor is the only Brit-chick author out of the famous lot of them (Jane Green, Marian Keyes, Helen Fielding) whose work has remained consistent over the years. Her crisp wit and sharp dialogue are terrific. She mixes the usual single-girl-in-London foibles with sweet, heady romance. Naylor's work is not particularly unique per se, but it is nevertheless wonderful. The characters are great. Mirabella is quite a colorful character. The fact that this novel features a beautiful, sexually confident sixty-year-old woman who can make younger men fall madly in love with her makes the book all the more special. The way the character was written makes the aforementioned descriptions quite believable. Kate is the usual dazed and confused twenty-something-going-on-thirty woman going through relationship dilemmas and career woes. However, that is not to say that she is not a terrific character, because she is. I also liked Louis and Jake -- they were very well developed, especially Jake. The one thing I do not like is how the Jake situation was resolved. The aforementioned issue is a loose end that I did not like, especially since the story centered on Kate and Jake for a vast part of the novel. And, like others here have said, the ending is a little too predictable. Then again, I had expected it to be. All in all, The Goddess Rules was a great read and another terrific offering by Ms. Naylor. And I love the book cover. The outside package gives the story justice.

I avoided this book during dozens of trips to the bookstore. The title and the cover seemed too cheesy. However, I finally saw it at Target one day and gave it a chance. I'm glad I did.

The Goddess Rules is a nice beach read. The characters are all interesting and the plot is pretty predictable, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. If you are looking for a fun distraction, this is it.

Kate Disney has her life all figured out--a job that she loves (well, painting pet portraits isn't exactly her passion); a loving boyfriend (well, Jake's unfaithful ways leave a bit to be desired); and a fabulous home (well, technically she lives in the shed behind her friend's lavish home).

Kate is content to move blindly through life, that is, until Mirabelle Moncur, a larger-than-life cinema diva, breezes into her life and opens her eyes to a whole new world. Mirri is elegant and brash and says exactly what is on her mind. She introduces Kate to the goddess lifestyle. Everyone has a lot of growing pains in store when Kate walks the line between goddess and plebeian.

The Goddess Rules is a fun romp with some truly hilarious scenes. Mirri's fabulous over-the-top life provides most of the humor in the book. The most engrossing part of the book, though, is seeing the surprising relationship develop between two very unlikely friends.

Though Kate and Mirri couldn't be more different, they have much to teach each other and much to discover is truly the same between them.

Armchair Interviews says: As is typical for chick lit, The Goddess Rules provides a lighthearted look at finding love and discovering yourself. Truly empowering!

Somehow I seemed to have missed Clare Naylors past books but took notice to The Goddess Rules. The story started off a bit slow for me but once I hit about page 40 it started to pick up at a nice pace.

Kate thought she was in love with long time on again, off again boyfriend Jake until Mirabelle Moncour comes into her life. Mirabelle, who always has men falling at her feet, begins to teach Kate the rules of love and sex and most importantly makes Kate believe in herself and that she is worthy of true love.

Since this is chick lit, the ending will be no surprise for you but it was fun getting there. Mirri, my favorite character is a hoot and Kate is very endearing. Enjoy!

Kate is a painter specializing in animal portraits. After giving up her apartment so that she can move in with on-again/off-again musician boyfriend Jake, she now lives in her pal Leonard's shed (okay, it is more like a garage).

Meeting 60's icon/sex kitten, Mirri Moncur changes Kate's life. Mirri, who has a penchant for rescuing big game animals, is still able to entice men half her age into her bed. Under Mirri's tutelage, Kate makes some dramatic changes in her appearance, tries not to let Jake take advantage of her, and works on finding her inner-goddess. She even starts a new romance with her college pal, Louis. It turns out that Louis has had the hots for Kate for sometime. Just as she is willing to take a chance on love, Jake comes back into the picture, and proposes. Figuring Jake is a sure thing, and Louis is not, she chooses Jake, much to Louis' heartbreak.

What follows is the aftermath and consequences of her decision. The relationship between Mirri and Kate is engaging - the two are separated by several decades but manage to forge a loving mentor/mentee relationship. Mirri will do anything she has to in order for her new friend to find her happily ever after.

Though predictable at times, Naylor has written another charming melodrama with a great cast of characters and charisma galore.

I loved this book! Having read all of Clare Naylor's novels, I think this is one of her best. She has created wholly unique characters in Kate(plain, no-frills painter) and Mirabella(sex goddess celebrity and animal savior) and the chronicle of their growing friendship was a delight to savor. Then there's Louis, the unkempt, adorably rugged, introvert and Leonard, Kate's gay friend and neighbor who's known Mirri since his wilder younger days. All in all, a great beach read!!

It's a plot that has been done many, many, times: sweet, caring girl has boyfriend who treats her like dirt. Girl keeps intending to leave boyfriend but is too weak. On the sidelines is an old guy friend who is cute and nice who you know girl will end up with. Girl doesn't realize she has feelings for nice guy until nearly the end of the story. Then jerk boyfriend comes back for one more go-round. Girl realizes her mistake almost too late but ends up with nice guy in end.

Sound familiar?

"The Goddess Rules" by Clare Naylor features a slight variation of the above story. Meet Kate Disney. She lives in a shed, she paints animals for a living, and is unhappy with her life. Yes, the requisite gay best friend is around. But this time there is another character, the fascinating Mirri. Mirri is an old-time movie star who drinks, smokes, has sex with men any old time she pleases, and knows the ins and outs of love, men, and how to make a man fall in love with you. After a somewhat rough introduction to her (walking in on Kate and her jerk boyfriend in the middle of them... getting busy), Kate decides she doesn't much like Mirri. Mirri seems to think Kate is dowdy, lets men run all over her, and doesn't know anything about keeping a man interested.

But when Kate's jerk boyfriend Jake doesn't show up for her birthday party, she begins to realize that maybe Mirri might be on to something. And thus begins an unlikely friendship... and Kate begins to learn about life, love and happiness. And perhaps find a true love that has been there all along.

I enjoyed The Goddess Rules. It was a nice blend of romance, comedy, and fascinating characters. Despite the much-recycled plot, it managed to throw in some surprising plot twists and turns. The writing style was addictive and the story flowed well.

The downfall to this book was just the predictability of the overall story. Also, Kate let herself be treated so badly by her boyfriend that it got pretty annoying. She needed a good slap in the face (not literally of course) to wake her up. Thankfully the brash and enigmatic Mirri was around to do it.

Overall, this was another great read from Clare Naylor. I definitely recommend it to all chick lit fans, and anyone who enjoys a great book!