Customer Reviews

By Invitation Only

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ok - that was fun! My wife bought a copy, and I read it first. My only thought was that I should have saved it for the beach. Great summer read... and I have to admit, I am a sucker for books like this. It was quick and lively - and the characters seemed true to the setting (not that I have spent a lot of time at the Hamptons). Escapist? Maybe... but it seems spot on and timely given all that is going on... I recommend it.

No worries if your vacation budget doesn't allow for a trip out to the Hampton's this summer, because authors Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis do it for you. This is a delightful summer read, with the lives of several different people, in the Hampton's for different reasons, intersecting.

Toni Fratelli, her friends, and her family are interesting characters and I devoured this book in a few short days. The authors do a great job showcasing the difference's between the locals who live there all year, and the wealthy people who summer there. They were even able to eventually make Didi, the future mother-in-law of Toni's best friend, Layla, sympathetic. In lesser hands, she would have turned into a caricature of a wealthy socialite of a "certain age" that you automatically hated.

The relationship between Toni and her best friend, Layla, was well drawn out as well. By going back in time every so often to tell a story about the two friends growing up, there was the basis for the believable friendship these two women shared.

This is a great story about love, friendship, and family that is a welcome addition to your travel suitcase as you pack up for the beach, pool, or just sitting in your backyard!

Noreen Riley is the author of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Her Brother's Shotgun Wedding.

This is a light, easy summer read. It is an engaging, humorous story about life, friendship, and romance in the Hamptons for a young caterer. Definitely a book to pass around to your girlfriends!

I honestly didn't think this book was anything great. It was recommended by my library's book club, that it was funny. Well it wasn't.

First, the characters were underdeveloped. The only one character that had any history or motivation was Toni. All we really know about Didi (the mother-in-law) is that she's really scared of getting old. The author stressed again and again about how Didi is scared of the sun or doing anything to make her old. Example p213 Did thinks of herself as "old cheddar." The repetition of Did's age as an issue is overdone. Then there is Chris - Toni's love interest. When the book starts, the author makes a small attempt to describe him and his friends. After those few pages, we really don't get ANY MORE input or ANY understanding into Chris (forget even his friends) until 2/3 of the book - p218. Seriously... all we know is Toni loves him and that Chris is keeping a secret. We also learn that Chris miraculously kisses Toni every time she had an doubts about him. But we don't understand Chris, what he thinks, what motivates him, or WHO he is, his background, etc. Chris, for all we know, could just be any male "boyfriend character" placeholder - Totally attached and devoted to Toni, but devoid of personality. Our picture of Layla - the other important female character- is just as bleak. All we know it's she's gorgeous, about to be married to a very rich family, and she likes to be on the beach getting tan while her friends do all the work.

What I did learn is that this book is NOT about summer love, NOT about best friends, not about Careers or success. Essentially this book is written as a thinly disguised Hamptons tour guide and Vogue designers reference in one. We don't NEED to know every LOCATION that Toni remembers or goes to. WE don't need to know the roads that all the rich people live on or how much traffic there is. We don't NEED to know the names of celebrities who live or have owns homes there. I really don't give a crap about how many people remember Toni as a kid. The author went TOO overboard with all this, it just overtook the entire story. It read less as a look into Toni's past (which was what the author fruitfully tried to achieve) and more like like the Guru Guide to Hamptons that she quoted too often.

I know I'm being harsh, but that's because I can speak from my own experience. I've been to the Hamptons and been stuck in traffic, went to farm stands, and local restaurants. it's really NOT that much of a big deal. No need for all that text.

Finally what bothered me about this book is all the constant brand name throwing and reference to Hamptons luxury. For example: p.207 Jimmy Choos, p215 "It's not that big" referring to a Hamptons house (a pool house mistaken for the mansion). iPhone, Tiffany's, Bagley Mishka, and tons of other luxury brands just busting out. I'm not materialistic, but I love reading Vogue and even have a subscription. Vogue is honest in its intent, in that it's a luxury magazine about luxury brands, and unlike the book, doesn't not pretend to be something it's not. It feels like like the author just stole all the ads and inserted the brands into every which spot in the book she could find - a brand guide pretending to be a novel - very dishonest. Really.... we KNOW they're rich without constantly throwing it out there.

My favorite part of the book is the ending. The bride finally gets the wedding she wanted, Toni gets the customers and the guy (who btw quits his rich job to help Toni was a restaurant - totally unbelievable), and Didi all of a sudden becomes nice to everyone. A miracle ending that everyone saw coming, yet still sweet. Why DID on EARTH did Didi all of a sudden bring herself down to the "ordinary people" level. Jail day alone wouldn't have done that. It just erks me how under developed Didi's character is. The author just flings an ending at us that we all know we''ll love.

There is NOT MOTION, or ACTION throughout this whole book. NOTHING HAPPENS. It's just a lot of names, places, and Toni rushing to get stuff done. A whole lot of NOTHING. If you took out all the shopping, dressing, tour guide text, and poor character development, you'd be left with a 20 page short story. NOT worth reading at all.

So there you have it folks. I've never tore a book apart in this manner before. Nor have I given a book 1 star before. But I guess there is a first time for everything.

A light, funny, touching read. The main character is so lovable and the background of the Hamptons is perfectly rendered. I really rooted for Toni and her friend Layla. Also loved the way the authors portrayed the snooty rich women....funny but w lots of understanding. Hope these writers put out another book!

I don't agree with the 1 star reviews. I thought the book was good. It's a good summer read.

Please don't buy this book, it's a waste of money and time. I was waiting until page 300 until something happened, but it never did. After the first 20 pages you know how it's going to end.

This was a great read, very entertaining. I read a little bit each day after work at the gym and it was a great escape.

This is a summer beach read which gives an insider's view to summers of the rich and famous in the Hampton's since the author, Jodi Della Femina, is a Hampton's Beach regular.

Now to my one big pet peeve with the book. The entire book has this line throughout, whenever somebody was standing in line at a restaurant, at an ice cream stand, at a farm market "They were standing on line." "On line" refers to being on your computer not "in line" standing and waiting to get into a restaurant. I was exasperated by the time I finished the story because since this story takes place in the crowded environs of summertime, everybody is waiting in line. Somebody please tell the editor.

But I digress, the story is about Toni Fratelli, who having suffered a breakup with her lawyer boyfriend and the demise of her restaurant in Manhattan, is returning home to the Hampton's to live with her father and hopefully set up a catering business.

Toni and her best friend, Layla, have grown up together in the Hamptons and are best friends. Layla is marrying "up" to Hudson, the scion to an old and monied Hampton's family. Hudson's mother, Didi, is not very happy with the upcoming nuptials and will try anything to break up the union. Toni unexpectedly finds love but it is not exactly what she expected.

A summer beach wedding perfectly ends the story. I googled Jodi Della Famina, and found that the author's wedding on the beach was described in the New York Times and is the same wedding in "By Invitation Only". Take this to the beach and enjoy.

This book epitomizes to me what chick-lit was several years ago.

Frothy, no real plot that you could see, girl meets boy, somehow boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl meet up again, things are great, stupid misunderstanding, forgiveness, love forever.

The problem is that Sherri McInnis and Jodi Femina did not write this novel very well.

There seemed to be several plotlines going with no flow to chapters, and instead had abrupt endings.

The main character Toni, moves back home to help her father run his restuarant and also see her best friend get married. This would have been fine as the only plot. However, we also have her best friend's soon to be in law who hates her, another caterer that hates Toni, Toni finding love with a surfer that is not who he seems, her parents' divorce, the reason why Toni doesn't like loud noises, etc. etc.

A definite pass on this.