6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, edgy read!, January 27, 2004
British chick lit tends to be edgier, sharper with satirical elements, whereas American chick lit is often lighter and more earnest. My Lurid Past is the former, and I couldn't put it down! Lauren Henderson writes about the pitfalls of today's single woman with irresistible irony. Juliet's wild one-night stands have gotten monotonous. A self-proclaimed commitmentphobic, she's begun to wonder if she'd ever get married. After all, her friend Gill seems much happier. But when Gill admits that she and her husband haven't done the deed since they married, Juliet tries to figure out if one could have a balance between living in the fast lane and having committed bliss. Perhaps she's better off joining her friend Mel in becoming a dominatrix at a fetish club...
I enjoyed the dark humor and unique characters. Lauren Henderson has joined the chick lit genre with a bang. I loved the Sam Jones mystery series, but Henderson is up to a great start writing chick lit. This is a great Downtown Press offering. Highly recommended to all chick-lit fanatics...
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed bag, April 12, 2005
I had mixed feelings about this book. It's about three female friends and their fear of commitment.
The problem is, the characters are not entirely believable. Juliet, the protagonist, is a successful businesswoman who is nonetheless almost entirely cowed by her shrewish mother and taken advantage of by her brother on welfare, who is trying to become a musician. Juliet is hung up on her ex-boyfriend, Bart. To avoid a repeat of the hurt caused by their breakup, she embarks on a series of one-night stands. Suddenly, this routine starts to feel old.
Juliet's overweight friend Gill is trapped in a sexless marriage. Then she leaves her husband for another man. Juliet's other friend, Mel, is a rubber-corset-wearing dominatrix who works in a fetish club.
These characters felt like caricatures to me...Mel's consistent coldness to her "slaves" is hard to believe, and Gill in reality would have tried to discuss her problems with her husband, especially since they had such a nice relationship otherwise.
In Henderson's favor, she knows how to manipulate a plot. Although it was clear that she was making up the plot as she went along (she admits it in the back of the book), you couldn't predict with certainty whom any of the women would end up with in the end. There are some fun twists along the way.
Overall, if you are a Henderson fan, you may want to check out this book. But I have a feeling her next novel - "Don't Even Think About It" - is better.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Another Fun Read, January 12, 2004
My Lurid Past is a change from Sam Jones. There are no dead bodies to be found, and our leading lady, Jul isn't as sure footed as Sam. This stories centers around the lack of commitment that most people feel and a fear of the unknown. Jul is plagued by an ex-boyfriend that has created a sense of insecurity in her. She has basically been whoring her way though London when the book begins. We watch as Jul tries to settle up with her demons and move on with her life. This is a very true to real life story that creates yet another set of captivating characters.
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