Customer Reviews

Inappropriate Men (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback))

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

While it takes a long time to get used to the writing style (a combination of narrative, "sidebars" for background, poetry, e-mails, and dialog from screenplays), "Inappropriate Men," turns out to be an interesting and quick read (especially if you skip all that pedestrian poetry like I did).

Sidney Stein is a sensual and plump 30-something free spirit currently teaching at a Chicago college and clearly unhappy in her marriage to her college sweetheart. She begins an affair with Geoffrey, her father's married law partner, a man 23 years her senior who unleashes her long-buried passion. Before her marriage to Mark, she managed to bed down lovers in the double digits.

After she and her husband part amicably, she continues to see Geoffrey, and he continues to remain with his wife, with no intention of ever divorcing or leaving her. Despite knowing there is no future with him, she continues to take whatever morsels of his time he is willing to give her, as she begins to fall in love with him. Of course, they are lucky to spend more than 8 hours together in a single month.

After confessing her relationship to her brother and best friends, she follows their advice and puts a personal ad in a local paper and jumps into the dating pool. Her dating escapades are hysterical, as is a painfully bad sexual encounter with her first lover since Geoffrey. But unfortunately, there are too few of them.

I was disconcerted with the book's description - it gave you the impression that after dumping her married lover, her blind dates from hell would constitute a large portion of the book, instead, just more drivel and whining about Geoffrey, who she finally does dump almost 3/4 of the way through the book. A former flame and unrequited love also come into the fold with unexpected results. I loved the bantering relationship between Sid and her brother; I liked that a woman can be a sexual being despite her size; and I also liked the ambiguous ending. But overall, the story was lacking and thus a disappointment. Without the hideous poetry, it is a solid 3 star read.

I blame buying this book on rushing through Barnes & Nobles during my 1 hour lunch; looking for something to ease the boredom of work.

This book is HORRIBLE. With a capital SUCKS. I'm sorry, but this book was just not well written.

While I am not against people with an elaborate vocabulary (and actually welcome it), but in a chick lit that is suppose to be relaxing.. well, her vocabulary is way too extensive. She uses 30 adjectives per sentence.

Going back to the way the book is written, it appears that Ballis wrote the book first and then went around making additions everywhere. Side bar this, side bar that. It's really hard to get into the story when every few pages, there is a side bar. A book that needs THAT much explaining isn't worth reading.

And my goodness, the poetry that just goes on and on and on. I'm a huge fan of poetry, and write some of my own.. but this just litters the book.

The character, Sidney, tells the story likes she is talking to you face to face. I don't mind that, actually liked that; and usually prefer that with chick lits I read. However, "Sidney" is constantly apologizing for herself, with holds information, and just draws on and on. I understand that going into explict detail of your first sexual encounter with someone maybe too much, BUT YOU ARE A FREAKING CHARACTER IN A BOOK FOR PETE'S SAKE. That's why I bought the book, to divulge in another's life - fictional or not.

I skimmed through this book after thoroughly reading the first chapter, but only because I spent $13 on the stupid thing.

Don't bother paying for it.. and if you still want to read it, borrow it. Heck, e-mail me - I'll GIVE you my copy. Bah.

At long long last, someone finally wrote a 'chick lit' book with not just a heart and soul, but a BRAIN. The usual cliche's are pleasantly absent...this girl doesn't live in NY, work for a magazine, or obsess about Manolo Blahnik. The things we love about chick lit, however, are here in abundance. Sidney Stein is as real a character as I have read in a long time. She is intelligent, but still falls prey to less-than-smart human mistakes. She is confident, but not without normal insecurities. She makes you feel like you have met a new friend, someone willing to be totally open and honest with you, someone who makes you laugh, but also makes you think.

Sidney's relationships comprise the Good the Bad and the Ugly, and the way Ballis writes about them, you get the sense that this is an author with a profound observation of life. She has watched and listened, and now has taken the time to share her insights with the rest of us.

Yes, the book may pose some problems for the chick litters who lean towards the fluffier stuff. Ballis doesn't care about challenging you, she sets the literary bar very high for her readers. This isn't dumbed down, pre-chewed stuff. This is meaty writing, and requires a decent attention span. For all the possible twenty-something readers, tackle this one with the head of a pupil, thirty-something Sidney has many lessons to give you. For the thirty- and forty-something readers, you will be pleasantly surprised to find a book in this genre that speaks to you and your lives so eloquently.

Lucky for us, in spite of the occasional foray into serious stuff, Ballis never loses her sense of humor. This book is laugh till you wet your pants funny.

Whatever your summer plans, include Inappropriate Men on your list of must-reads.

I'm normally a huge fan of the Red Dress Ink books, but I must say that they had it wrong this time.

I picked up the book because of the description of an "unapologetically" plus-sized heroine. That peaked my interest and got me to purchase the book, but for everything else I can't comment too much, because I never read that far.

The main thing that I found was that the story seemed very jumpy and it was hard to get into. Then, the heroine, wrote these HUGE poetic jumbles that I found myself skipping over, just to get back to the story. It seemed to me like they were just inserted to take up space, because they didn't add to the story any.

Anyway. I didn't like this book. I abandoned it rather quickly.

so hard to finish this book.

I have read between 50 and 60 Red Dress Ink books and can't put them down. But I have started this book about 3 times, and can't get through it. There is way too much detail, and the poetry really detracts from the story at times. I am sure that I will try to get through it again (it bothers me that it sits on my shelf unread). Maybe her other book "Sleeping Over" is better...

Heroine: Abundant

What's crazier than a married woman having a little something on the side? When the little something is her father's business partner!

Thirty three year old Sidney Stein is stuck in a marriage that has fizzled out, with no chance at having its former sizzle rekindled. So sassy Sidney latches onto the nearest opportunity for spice in her life, an attentive older man from her father's firm. At first she has no trouble with playing it cool in public, pulling the wool over her husband's eyes, and dodging Geoff's wife at social events. But is sneaking her lover in and out of her house in the dead of night any life for a self-respecting modern gal? When she breaks her own "how to have an affair" rule about not letting her heart get involved, Sidney becomes convinced that it is not.

Making a clean break from her husband, Sid is nudged by her pal Parker into dating others, as he points out that it is only fair since her "bit on the side" is juggling two women of his own: her and wifey. Yet despite posting a clever personal ad, Sid despairs of finding the man who could make dumping her secret lover seem worthwhile, or even a single guy who could qualify as "normal". Instead, she seems to attract every misfit, jerk, and creep in the greater Chicago area.

And when Prince Charming finally does appear on her doorstep, Sidney is completely unprepared for him. What was Fate thinking?

What worked for me:

I am not generally a fan of bed hopping or affair stories, I think because I am a wife and I take that sort of thing a bit personally. However, I found that it worked in this novel because Sid is just so real. We suffer right along with her when she realizes the mess she has gotten herself into.

The book's format can be a bit dizzying until you get used to it: what's happening now, flashbacks, and asides all mingled with some fabulous poetry. But everything comes together to make for a really rich storytelling.

The recipes included in this book look like they are out of this world. If only I was a competent cook! (And kudos to the author for mentioning Nigella when bringing up the culinary arts. Is there a lovelier chef to be found anywhere on TV?)

I never knew that particular fact about pineapple juice, though I did hear the opposite about coffee. (And no, I won't explain this further, but I bet you will remember this note when you read about it in the book.)

Size-wise Sid was short and fat--a very round and sexy size 24 and unapologetic about it. She certainly had no trouble securing dates.

What didn't work for me:

Oh, I admit it. I am terrible about skimming forward in books to find out what happens, so I didn't take the time to savor much of the poetry.

There is a nightmare of a sex scene in this book. I mean, oh man am I glad I've got my guy good and trained!

Overall:
             "Inappropriate Men" is wickedly funny, fresh, and real.

Warning: there are some coarse words and sexual scenarios in this book.

If you liked "Inappropriate Men" you might also enjoy "The Way It Is", "Having it and Eating It", "The Fat Friend", "The High Price of a Good Man", "Good in Bed", "Etta Mae's Little Theory", or the "Odelia Grey" series.

I read a lot of books. Mostly fiction. I rarely give up on a book - some have bad stories, some topics are boring, sometimes the writing isn't so great, but I still see it to the end. I couldn't finish this book it was so bad.

First, let me tell you something that the jacket does not mention - pages and pages of really bad poetry. Yes, the main character of this book is a writer (how convenient) and has published poetry. Her experiences inspire her to write, and she shares the poetry with you. Bad poetry. Lame and trite.

The rest of the book reads like someone's boring blog. The character (Sidney) writes to the reader - and boy is she self-indulgent and arrogant. She tells you what a beauty she is, how she is a gormet cook, a great lover, etc. How convenient. The sex/romance in this book (as far as I read - and I got over half way through because I was on vacation, and couldn't get to a book store soon enough) read like romance novels - each encounter with her lover is great, passionate, fabulous sex.

Just wait until she subjects you to her email correspondence with another friend. It's like watching paint dry. Just think - as clever as you may think your email is - would you really want to publish it? I didn't think so.

This is not writing. It's someone's bad diary. I do not care about Sidney, I only feel embarrased for her.

Don't waste your time on this book.

Best read I have had in a long time. I couldn't wait to pass it on to my girlfriend so she could read also.
Sidney's story kept me wrapped up in this book until I hit the last page... I just couldn't put it down.
Stacey Ballis is a great writer & I can't wait until her next book comes out.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that calling me a white knuckled flier is an understatement. I picked up Stacey Ballis's book "Inappropriate Men" before a flight from Boston to Michigan, expecting that I would reread the first paragraph over and over again while waiting for my plane to plummet into a death spiral. I was so pulled in by the book that I totally forgot that I hate to fly.

It's refreshing to read a hip, chick lit book around a character that I can identify with. Sidney is a well educated, witty, sensual girl who doesn't always know where her life is going to take her, but just hangs on for the ride. And to boot, she's not another stereotypical, cookie cutter size 6 blonde, either. She's a real women, who although at times struggles with the idea of being a full figured women, has not submitted her self to the ideal that larger women can't be sexy.

"Inappropriate Men" is a wonderfully written book. It is funny and witty, yet poignant at times. I enjoyed this book so much that I immediate sent it off to a friend, who is now sending it off to another friend. In fact, because I was laughing so hard at a particulary hilarious bedroom scene gone wrong, my husband read the book just to see "what all the fun was about."

Buy the book and find out why American women are falling in love with "Inappropriate Men"!

Stacey Ballis' depiction of Sidney's life kept me entertained from start to finish. I identified with her on many levels. Her writing style flowed and was very easy to read. I enjoyed her poems, because it felt like they didn't come from the author...but rather Sidney. It's hard to explain, so buy the book & you'll see what I mean! For those of you who didn't like the poems, Stacey gave you an out. You were forewarned.

I, like many other reviewers, LOVED the scene with John. I laughed out loud, as that one hit home!

I immediately recommended the book to my girlfriends.

As an aside, I e-mailed the author to let her know how much I enjoyed the book. To my surprise, she e-mailed me right back! I felt great energy from her, and I am sure she will keep us entertained on the next book.

BUY THE BOOK!