Love: A User's Guide [Paperback]

Clare Naylor (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Coronet (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340685778
• ISBN-13: 978-0340685778
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Entertaining, July 9, 2000

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love: A User's Guide (Paperback)

Have you ever had a crush on a celebrity? How would you feel if the celebrity has a crush on you? That's what happened to Amy, the precocious heroine in this charming love story.

Working for Vogue magazine, Amy spends endless days and nights dressing Euro-trash models. To her disappointment, the job is not as glamorous as she thought it would be. But when she meets Orlando Rock, a famous actor in England, she feels that she has found the jet-set life she has dreamed of. Amy wants to attend movie premieres, cast parties, photo shoots -- in other words, she wants to become a celebrity in her own right. But all Orlando wants is a private life and a relationship with a "normal" woman. Does Amy love Orlando, or is she using him?

This novel vaguely resembles the movie Notting Hill, but the romance in the book is much better. I highly recommend it!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very fun beach read!, May 15, 2000

By 

"lisadiva" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love: A User's Guide (Paperback)

I read this book in two days while laying out in the sun at the beach . . . and did not notice my sunburn until it was too late! It is a delightful, cute, funny, quick read. So the main character isn't completely realistic -- but I think everyone can relate to her on some level. Who hasn't imagined being interviewed by People Magazine or Entertainment Tonight? Who hasn't watched the Oscars and imagined what it would be like to walk down the red carpet? Amy has her ups and downs and takes us along on her hilarious adventures -- it is a vivid and humorous look into a twenty-something's life. If you're looking for something more insightful or with more meaning, this is not the book for you. However, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an easy diversion from everyday life. Only one problem -- after reading this, you start to think that it would be possible for a famous actor to cross your path and fall in love with you and your less-than-glamorous life!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time, August 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Love: A User's Guide (Paperback)

Someone needs to inject a little reality among all the rave reviews on this page. This is a horrible book, a muddled mess. Its biggest problem is Amy, possibly the world's most shallow, unlikeable heroine, who truly doesn't deserve the happy ending she receives. The charming hero (the one saving grace of the book) is so appealing one wonders what he could possibly see in a twit like Amy. Plus, the book sometimes steps back and takes a detached, omniscient-narrator tone that is supremely irritating and simply doesn't work. Worst of all, the book isn't funny at all, although it tries valiantly to be.

I realize that not every piece of literature needs to be deeply meaningful, but it should at least be well written and somewhat convincing. This book fails on both counts, and on many others. Avoid it unless you're in the mood for a less-straightforward version of a Harlequin romance.