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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brooke's Back as a Bride for Jack, November 1, 2008
This review is from: Jack With A Twist (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)
This is a fun story written by the talented Brenda Janowitz. She has a knack for storytelling in a way that makes reading like listening to a funny girlfriend go on and on about her trials and tribulations. As in her first novel with these characters, Scot On The Rocks (Red Dress Ink Novels), she takes time out to have her narrator address the reader with regular comments like, "oh come on now . . . like you wouldn't do the same thing in my situation."
Well, in most cases I probably wouldn't, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of Brooke Miller's farcical tale of a neurotic New York attorney planning her wedding, while at the same time preparing a super-secret, tabloid-worthy partner dissolution case with her fiancé, Jack Solomon, as opposing counsel.
I recommend reading Scot on the Rocks prior to this sequel because the main characters, Brooke, Jack and Brooke's best friend, Vanessa--all likeable characters--will definitely feel more developed through this next phase of their lives together. The secondary characters in Jack With a Twist are necessary, but borderline cliché--the mother who never met a glass of champagne she didn't drink; Brooke's loving, kosher butcher father; the snobby, lobster-loving mother-in-law-to-be and her equally-snobby daughters with their matching husbands; the big-to-do Judge father-in-law-to-be; the southern belle villain attorney assisting Jack on the case . . . even the French fashion designer, all fell a little flat for me. Much of the story was predictable; however, the writing style and the voice of Brooke overcame these weaknesses and made this an overall fun, light, and quick reading experience.
Brenda Janowitz has a fan here and will, I'm sure, develop many additional fans with this style and these characters. I won't be surprised to see the third book in this series . . . first comes love--then comes marriage--then comes . . . ? Looking forward to it.
Michele Cozzens is the author of It's Not Your Mother's Bridge Club.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and Entertaining, May 25, 2009
This review is from: Jack With A Twist (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)
Charming voice, fun characters, crazy scenarios...exactly what I want in my chick-lit.
Brooke takes on her fiancé and his parents, her parents and a few assorted other characters in an attempt to dominate in a legal battle, get what she wants for her wedding gala, and still appear to be a sweet, glowing and enviable bride.
Is that too much to ask? Surely you don't know Brooke if you think it is.
Reads a bit like a blend of fashion magazine, Idiot's Guide to a Trial, gossip rag, young Jewish New Yorker's guide to wedding kosherosity and angsty diary. Fun. Fun. Fun.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny if a bit over the top, December 29, 2008
This review is from: Jack With A Twist (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)
Attorney Brooke Miller has her hands filled planning her wedding - she's busy trying to find the perfect dress, the perfect menu, and the perfect hall, as well as accommodating the wishes of two sets of parents. But when she lands her first big case, she can't turn it down, even when she finds out the opposing attorney is her fiancé Jack. She thinks dealing with Jack will be a piece of cake, but he starts playing dirty and she starts fuming. Add in Jack's sexy assistant Miranda Foxley and Brooke begins to wonder if there will be a wedding at all.
"Jack with a Twist" (the sequel to Scot On The Rocks (Red Dress Ink Novels)) is a very funny novel about a couple stressing out not only about their wedding but their respective careers. The book is written in the first person from Brooke's point of view so she is often the more sympathetic character. Her search for the perfect wedding dress is very realistic, as are the conflicts with her future in-laws (who are very unsympathetic to what is acceptable for food at a Jewish wedding), trying to find the perfect location for the wedding, the right flowers, and all the other various components of a wedding (author Brenda Janowitz no doubt used some of her own wedding experiences - she got married while writing the book). Brooke's worries about Jack's relationship with the not so subtly named Miranda Foxley are also very realistic - especially for a stressed out soon-to-be bride. Jack is a bit on the clueless side - he never seems to have actual discussions with anyone about any topic.
There is a nice sense of humor throughout the entire book. Some of it is very realistic - Jack's behavior while registering at Tiffany's is typically male - and at other times the humor is a bit too over-the-top - Brooke is a bit too casual in her search for a wedding dress. The Brooke vs. Jack in the courtroom plot is funny but again over the top at times. Too often Brooke and Jack just seem to let things happen without questioning them or discussing things with each other. If this was non-fiction rather than fiction, I wouldn't give their marriage a chance of lasting. Finally, while the ending of the novel is very cute, it too is over the top.
"Jack with a Twist" is a very funny, sometimes over the top romance.
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