My Girlfriend's Boyfriend [Paperback]

Elodia Strain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2011

Jesse is looking for the "right guy." When she bumps into Ethan, a despairing writer who she inspires, she thinks she's found him. But only moments later she meets Troy, a successful advertising executive who makes almost every moment romantic. Both seem perfect, but things are not always what they seem. My Girlfriend's Boyfriend is a fun romance that blends warm sincerity with fresh storytelling.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.; Mti edition (August 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599559056
• ISBN-13: 978-1599559056
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,396,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Super Fun Story, Confusing Ending, September 29, 2011

By 

Lisa "Casual Reader" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (Paperback)

Jesse has been unlucky in love, so imagine her surprise when she meets two dream guys in the same day. One is a sweet and sensitive writer. The other is a smart and successful businessman. Now Jesse has to pick which one is for her, but that's proving to be much more difficult than she thought it would be. Can Jesse decide between what her heart and her head want?

I was so in love with this book. Jesse was smart and funny. She was a little kooky, but not so crazy you didn't like her. Her boss was hilarious. Her family was insane (in a good way). I found Troy to be nice, but a little bland perhaps. Ethan was dreamy and everything you look for in an imaginary dream guy. There were interesting plot pieces, especially the parts where Jesse was dealing with her ex-husband. I sped through this book because I was enjoying it so much.

Then I got to the end, and suddenly I was so confused. I had to go back and read a couple times to really figure things out. It wasn't a horrible ending by any means, I just found it to sort of stop the story dead in it's tracks. Once I figured out what was going on, I enjoyed the ending too. I just felt like some of the momentum had been lost for me. Overall though, I still loved this book and enjoyed it greatly. It's a fun, breezy read for when you just want to feel good.

Galley provided for review.

4.0 out of 5 stars Witty and Fun With a Twist, September 9, 2011

By 

B. BELLON "SQA Man" (SLC, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (Paperback)

This book made me smile from the get-go. We meet Jesse who is looking for the right guy and has a well-meaning boss at the coffee shop where she waitresses trying to help her do it. Jesse's quirky personality, yet real emotional issues, instantly made me like her. She lives with her brother, loves musicals to the nth degree, and blurts out too much information whenever she gets in trouble. Which gets her into more trouble. Some of the scenes, including her "Yogainting" class made me laugh out loud. And as a generally conservative reader, belly laughing while reading was a new experience. Elodia Strain is a quick and witty writer and I loved her style.

The premise of the story is that Jesse meets two guys at the coffee shop. One is a regular guy, an aspiring writer, and she impulsively gives him her phone number. The other guy is a totally fabulous ad exec who has everything going for him--money, looks and a caring personality. As she dates both of them and really sees the good in each, I found myself totally drawn into the romantic triangle, wondering who she would pick because she really seemed to like both men, albeit for different reasons.

Just to illustrate, one of the funniest scenes in the book is when Jesse's cousin blackmails her for expensive toiletries and "mud" from a luxuriouus spa that the ad exec, Troy, is taking her to on a date. It is also a sweet scene because Troy remembers her quirk of celebrating obscure holidays and plays a board game with her in a romantic tucked away spot at the spa. But then, on the other hand, you have the regular guy, Ethan, who gives her a plant, and takes her to meet his sister and her two kids, and he shows her how normal his life is, while showing us what a sweetheart he is to her. So, she's sort of stuck between incredible and wonderful, you know? Both are great and I couldn't wait to find out who she chose and how it would end.

I read this book in one day, and when I got to the end, I was shocked. There was a twist I wasn't expecting at all, and while it was definitely an original ending, I felt a little cheated. There was closure, but the ending left me a bit confused. Without giving anything away, I just felt like I needed to go back and read it again so I could truly understand the ending.

Anyway, if you are looking for a fun romance with a great heroine, this is the book for you. (It's also based on the movie, starring Alyssa Milano.) I think Elodia Strain has a fresh, original storytelling style, especially with her hilarious internal dialogue and I enjoyed her sense of humor immensely.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sugary sweet!, August 20, 2011

By 

Leah Graham "Chick Lit Reviews and News" (Tenerife) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (Paperback)

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend is a rare book indeed: It was made into a movie before the novel was written! Oh yes, it's a movie-to-book adaptation so when I saw on Netgalley what it was and I read the synopsis, I figured I'd give it a shot. I started the novel and got about halfway through when I decided to watch the movie before I continued with the book (whenever possible, I like to read the book before seeing the movie as usually the book comes first so in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend's case, I wanted to see the movie before completing the book). I watched the movie - it was really cute - and it was time to finish the novel!

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend is one of the cutest books I think I've ever read. Honestly, it's a super-quick, super-cute read that I finished in two days on my Kindle. From the synopsis above, you can see what it's about: On the day Jesse meets Ethan at the coffee-shop where she works, she also meets Troy. And ends up dating them both. Although that might seem predictable - and be a plot line to millions of other Chick Lit novels, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend has a big, massive, out-of-the-blue twist that really does set it apart from other novels (and movies). Honestly, usually I see book (and movie) twists coming but I was totally surprised at how My Girlfriend's Boyfriend was resolved. I don't think you'll find a more surprising end to a novel, it was hugely satisfying and it definitely got my vote.

Obviously, the book lends heavily from the movie. I'm talking whole quotes and conversations lifted right out, which I liked. It was turned into a book from the movie, so I can see why it happened. I found myself smiling at the words on the page as I remembered them being said in the movie. There are a few differences though - nothing that really affects the plot of the book or the movie, but in the book Jesse works for a family friend whereas she works for a no-name coffee shop in the movie and in the book we're introduced to Laurel, her best friend and she runs an art class whereas Laurel and the art class aren't in the movie. In the book Troy's business partner is a woman, in the movie Troy's business partner is a man. Small changes, nothing major like I said, but it did make it feel a teensy bit different.

For me, I liked both the book and the movie. The book was more believable it has to be said as it tends to be way over-romantic as apposed to how most books/movies go, but I thought the movie was sweet nevertheless and it makes a change for the romance to go on throughout rather than only happen in the final, dying seconds. Despite preferring the book, I'd still say watch the movie first because it came first. And it stars Chris Gorham (Henry in Ugly Betty, though you knew that, right?). The book is a nice companion to the movie. It compliments the movie and I think Elodia Strain has done a nice job of making it translate well. It made me laugh, it made me swoon and mostly, it made me happy. I like a book that makes me happy. It's honestly one of the sweetest books I've ever read. It's syrupy sweet and although that's not to everyone's taste, I liked it.