Customer Reviews

Mr. Maybe

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

It's been awhile since I've had this much fun reading a British Chick Lit novel. I was expecting a fairly exciting but predictable read regarding the dating and mating plights of a twentysomething singleton. However, Mr. Maybe surprised me with its genuine storyline, pleasant humor, and characters that you care about.

Mr. Maybe begins in a typical fashion -- single and searching Libby Mason has a great job in Public Relations (natch!), wonderful and supportive friends, and an overwhelming desire to find the man of her dreams, preferably with a very large bank account. So, yes, I was bumbling along, enjoying myself, reveling in the familiarity, when suddenly this book turned serious (but in a lighthearted, fun sort of way....)!

First there comes Nick -- gorgeous, sexy, and unemployed. Lots of great chemistry happening here, but since Nick is trying to devote more time on getting his novel published, the relationship hits a dead end. But then Ed happens. And while he isn't much to look at, he's loaded, and that's what's most important anyway -- right? Well, figuring this one out is one heck of a journey....

Mr. Maybe is great fun. Jane Green writes sincerely about Libby's emotions. I recognized many of Libby's thoughts and trials as aspects in my own past struggles with relationships and commitment. The style of prose is very upbeat and easy to read. Ms. Green has created an exceptional character in Libby, a true heroine of British Chick fame and one I will always feel a kinship with. Mr. Maybe is an explicit detail of one single woman's process of deciding what counts in life -- love or money.

This is a PERFECT summer read ~~ light, fluffy and funny. When I read out excerpts of this book to my boyfriend, he laughed over it. It is such a dishy read!

Libby is an aspiring woman who dreams of living in a fancy house, wearing designer duds, lunching at the coolest places in London, wining and dining, hobnobbing with the rich and famous ~~ but in her job as a public relations gal, it doesn't seem likely that her dreams would come true. Till she meets Ed, a successful financial investor ~~ and shows her a glimpse of the enticing world she has always dreamed of. Only to get cold feet as the day to start shopping for an engagement ring nears. Also, she cannot forget Nick, the last boyfriend she had before Ed ~~ the guy who is just perfect for her.

This book is hilarious in some takes and a fast read. I highly recommend taking this book to the beach (or a camping trip like I did) and prepare for a fun afternoon enjoying a light-hearted read!!

This book was a riot. I read it while on the stairmaster at 6AM when nothing is funny. But I was laughing out loud as people looked at me thinking I was clearly insane. There are so many funny lines in this book, I found myself trying to explain them to people. The main character is great -- from her relationship with family, to friends, and of course, men, she is a real, genuine, fun and funny person. I will miss reading about her!

There is nothing original or unpredictable about this book, except that the main character is not trying to improve her looks or lose weight. She does, however, struggle with her true identity. Is she a socialite type? Sophisticated, slique? Or all of the above. But this book is a blast.

Surely anyone who loves the new genre of Brit books will love this. Libby, a PR exec, loyal friend, and all around great girl decides to have a "fling" with the gorgeous, but not quite succesful, Nick. He agrees, as they both love spending time together but neither, allegedly, want a relationship. Nick falls for Libby (and she for him though she doesn't want to admit it) and so he breaks things off.
Libby then finds rich and eligable Ed, but is he the one? She certainly isn't attracted to him, but he does have everything she wants. And Libby's is not the only story that draws you in. Her best friend Jules is also an icredibly likeable character, with her own marriage issues to sort through.
This book is one to read, and this author is definitely on my list of must buys! Read it and have some fun!

poor libby, she's a career girl who wants to be rich but is too lazy and lacks ambition to make a fortune on her own, so what does she do? she decides to marry rich. but not before she has a fling with a broke writer who's a hunk, whch makes you wonder if he's so fine, shouldn't he be a gap model instead of a writer? you have to give ms. green credit, lots of beautiful people in the story. even the poor boy is beautiful. of course the rich guy is an ugly fuddy duddy, but he treats her well, which libby can't handle, which makes me wonder if women really do want a nice guy or do they show love more when they are crapped on..plus libby is sooooooo shallow and self centered, it makes the story toxic. she uses the rich guy even though she know it's wrong only for her own selfish interests, and even when she comes to her "senses," it's not convincing. and what's ironic about it is. there are porbably many women out there like libby who have no morals or scruples who marry for money, who have mothers who put them up to it, cos they want them to have the best... my nominee for the golden shovel award of the worst book i ever read...

I was mildly entertained by the first few pages, but after chapters of her lengthy roundabout thoughts on men, clothes and her dream house, the book began to sound more like a superficial teenager's diary. There's also something about her writing that makes reading this book tedious. It's fun to read about someone's honest inner thoughts, but when they sound like, oh, I don't know, something like this, the reader grows weary, know what I mean? It gets 2 gilded 24 karat stars.

This book was a huge disappointment. After reading Jemima J, which I loved, I looked forward to reading this book. It was a big let-down. The heroine, Libby, is a shallow, superficial, self-absorbed human being and it's really difficult to care whether she lives happily-ever-after, or not. The other characters are wooden and the plot is predictable. Even the soft-porn sex couldn't spice this novel up. This book is 344 pages long and you could cut 200 of the pages and not miss a thing. Green is obviously a very talented writer; I hope her next effort (if there is one) is better.

Selfish- Her best friend is going through a real marriage crisis, the same girl who is there for all of Libby's ridiculous, childish drama, and she feels she HAS to be there for her friend, although she is having her own boy trouble and really wants to get through the "how are you doing" so they can talk about what's really important, Libby and her boy problems. The epitome of "with friends like that, who needs enemies".

Needy and Pathetic-keeps talking about not falling in love with a boy who is all wrong for her, by saving every other sentence, not that I'm in love with him, making it obvious, she is in love with him, but doesn't want to be because he's poor. Bringing us to...

Gold Digging B-The man she does "love" and does end up saying "YES" to a marriage proposal, she practically can't stand the sight, sound, or anything of. But, hey he's rich so how can she say no.

UGH, she is pathetic, whinney, needy, annoying, and incredibly shallow. There seems to be no character growth, just a personality of someone you would NEVER want in your life.

Sorry, but I prefer reading about people I can cheer for, someone with some redeeming qualities, or at least grows into that.

HOW, JUST HOW, so many people enjoyed this is truly a mystery to me.

I haven't read too many of Jane Green's books - only a few. The ones I have had the chance to pick up were awesome, and MR. MAYBE moved its way up to number one.

Twenty-seven year old Libby Mason is in pursuit of an ideal man. In her eyes, this means rich, distinguished and successful, a man who can ultimately cater to her coveted uber-fabulous lifestyle. In the past, her interactions with men turned into confirmed disasters, but she is determined to find "The One".

When the benevolent and extremely handsome Nick comes along, Libby is convinced that she will not fall hard this time around, particularly since he is broke as a joke. Nick is to only satisfy her sexual needs, and to provide fun companionship. So why can't she stop thinking about him?

As she rapidly grows fonder of Nick, he cuts her off when he realizes that she is in too deep. Libby turns to her best friend Jules for comfort and advice - the solution? Girl's Night!! On their night out on the town, Libby meets Ed McMahon, a loaded and very eligible bachelor.

Ed is the complete opposite of Nick. He's older, cornier and snobbier - not to mention the worst sex of her life. But, he heavily dotes on her, making Libby feel like the ultimate princess for a change. When he proposes to her, she finally sees herself living in a lap of luxury, dreams of being the wife of a successful businessman finally coming to fruition. But as expected, she comes to learn that social status isn't all its cracked up to be, especially when there is no love.

The ending is sort of predictable, but overall the story is a great one. Humorously written, MR. MAYBE is charming novel perfect for the beach.

Since I had my baby 4 months ago, I have discovered I no longer have the ability to sit and read books that require a lot of thought-feels too much like work. I've never been a fluff reader before, but I missed reading so much that I let a friend talk me into reading The Nanny Diaries and since then have become addicted to fun books, though I'm slightly embarrassed to tell people what I'm reading these days!!!

Eventually I discovered Jane Green, who is a British Author of the "Bridget Jones" Genre. Eventually I made it to Mr. Maybe.

I will try not to totally spoil the book for anyone who may want to read it after my review...

The Plot
This book is about a woman by the name of Libby Mason. Libby is a 27 year-old Public Relations Professional-successful but not amazingly so. She is deeply committed to shopping. And her friends. And her job-as it provides the funds for shopping and going out with her friends. And finding a rich husband - so she would no longer need her job to go shopping and would always have a friend around.

In the beginning of the book Libby meets Nick, through a mutual friend. He is handsome, sexy, and an unpublished writer on "on the dole" (welfare for Americans). There is an instant attraction and Libby begins a "purely sexual" (as he is not rich or "smart"-British for stylish-enough for Libby) relationship with him. The first quarter of the book or so follows the sexual exploits of the couple, and Libby's attempts to not fall in love with the oh-so-sweet-and-sexy Nick---I bet you know what happens there!!!

To get over Nick , Libby gets back to her partying ways, and before she knows it is in a relationship with Financial Wiz Ed McMann (isn't this a similar name to the old guy from that Blooper's show???). Ed is a little older, very rich, not awful looking-except for his moustache, nice enough-though boring, and head-over-heels-in-love with Libby. Libby convinces herself she could love and marry Ed, in-spite of his moustache and personality and bedroom deficiencies.

Libby eventually needs to decide if she will settle for Ed, or look for someone with all of Nick's qualities and Ed's money.

I wont tell you what happens next...

Why I enjoyed this book
I simply couldn't put it down. It was one of those books where I couldn't wait to see what happened-even though it was predictable and I knew along what would happen I needed to know how it happened. I read this book in 2 days and actually looked forward to early morning nursing sessions just to get back to it. I started fights with my husband so he'd leave me alone and let me read...

It was a quick, fun, easy book. It did not feel like work.

In spite of being quick and easy, it had some depth and the characters were well developed. Green explores Libby's history and relationships with detail, so that she is a real person and not just a shallow chick that wants someone with money. Libby's conversation with her friends and family reveal a lot about who she is.

The characters were all likeable. I didn't even always know what guy I was routing for-neither of them were jerks they were just very different.

I enjoy these "single-girl-looking-for-love" books. Though I am married, I was single for years and went through a lot of yucky relationships. I can relate to these women. And I can live vicariously through them and go back to my partying, hard-drinking, serial dating days!!! I read for escapism, and these kinds of books let me escape from mommy-wifedom for a while (Not that I'd really want to give it up ever!!)

What I didn't like so much
Green's books are all very formula. If this is the first one you read it will not be a problem-but I have read 4 of her books in the last couple months so they are all starting to feel the same. I've got one left to read, and I think I'm gonna wait a while. I won't tell you so much about the formula-as it may spoil the plot for you. Suffice to say there were several occurrences in this book (particularly with the sub-plots) that found themselves in every one of Green's books.

The women in the book were all thin, pretty and nice. That always annoys me-can't they be normal women who still manage to find love?? Libby, her best friend Jules, her co-worker pal Jo, her client/friend Amanda and her friend Sal are all perfect. Not a witch in the bunch. Not a fat chick. All different types, but all pretty and relatively nice-even the one who seems like she'll be witchy isn't really. Barf.

Obviously, it was not a brilliant literary masterpiece. But I didn't expect it to be, that is why I read it-I am saving those for when my daughter is about 20-then I'll be back at the Giller and Booker lists.

Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez

After having this book in my pile for so long I finally decided to give it a go. I was very happy to have read this book. The characters were a riot and Libby had me laughing alot.

Libby Mason is 27 years old working in PR and of course looking for someone that she date and hopefully fall in love with. Well she meets Nick the guy who rocks her world, but just isn't the type Libby normally goes for. He doesn't work, he doesn't have a lot of money and Libby just can't stand his friends and of course his flat is just what she thought it would be a pigsty, but Libby can't ignore the fact that Nick is gorgeous and satisfys her in bed. With all that what more could a girl like Libby want.

Well Libby has always wanted a man who could care for her finacally, and who loves her and wants her around. Then Libby meets Ed. Ed is what she would call her dream man, well aside the fact that he has a ugly mustache, snotty friends, and is way to straight for her and of course he can't satisfy her like Nick could (not even after speed reading the Joy Of Sex). But he does take care of Libby and show her what she has always wanted. As time goes on and more time Libby spends with Ed she realizes that he might not just be the one for her, but what is it that Libby wants.

Libby at times I felt was a bit snobbish herself, but that made her just a bit more loveable. I loved her best friend Jules and how she was always there to help Libby out. The friends Libby had were a great group always there to show Libby things. Libbys mum was a riot, just wanting her daughter to marry Ed so that she could say that her daughter had bagged the most eligiable man in London, but as time goes on she realizes that her daughter knows what she wants.

Jane Green's writing is wonderful her books always make me laugh and they are a quick read.

Overall Mr. Maybe was a quick read and I love the genre of books like this. Single girl, meets guy, great set of friends. I can't get enough of them even if after a while they become very predictiable.