Customer Reviews

Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book mostly because of the connection to Bruce Springsteen ... and was really pleasantly surprised about how much I liked it. It's very well written and I think other long-time fans of Bruce will enjoy it, and how the Springsteen connection is treated. If you look at the author's website (beverlybartlett.com), she is clearly a devoted fan of Springsteen music, and it shows in this book. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Good read. Nice use of narrative style, tongue in cheek humor. Great creative ability. It was a fun read and lots of references and commentary that relate to today's world.

I thought this book looked like it would be amusing, but it really surprised me. I laughed out loud at the way it made fun of modern royal watching, but it did so without disrepecting those of us who enjoy it. And the Springsteen angle was inspired. Anyone who has made a decision based on a song will appreciate that. The thing I wasn't expecting was the page-turning intrique that surrounds the princess -- once the plane crashes, I couldn't WAIT to find out what really happened.
It's also a lot of fun trying to guess who the narrator is -- all in all, a fun read!

I don't normally read this kind of book but with the interesting premise, I had to grab this. Lots of twists, and it should launch some discussions among Springsteen fans.

Lady Isabella is not one of the upper-most members of Bisbania's titled families but she had been deemed a safe playmate for Raphael, the Prince of Gallagher, when they were young. As they grew older they also became closer friends; therefore, it seemed natural that the day would come when Rafie would propose marriage.

The royal family wasn't highly enthused with this engagement. Isabella was a plain Jane and pitifully ungraceful and unfashionable besides.

Even worse, she had attended Yale and adopted Americanisms that the royals considered inappropriate. Rafie, however, knew that if he must marry without love he must also at least enjoy the companionship of his spouse. Isabella fit the bill.

While in America, Isabella had also gained something a little less desirable for many involved--a crush on her auto mechanic, Geoffrey. They had shared many lengthy conversations and just one kiss but it was enough to prompt Izzy to move Geoffrey and his wife to the castle after her own marriage.

Geoffrey and his lyrical Bruce Springsteen quotes became Isabella's world and transformed her into an international symbol. The two couples spent enormous amounts of time together.

Rafie and Mae exchanged sympathetic looks as Geoffrey and Izzy discussed, ad nauseum, everything from political policies to proper accessories. Isabella could not make a move without her new royal adviser's help.

Most biographers will tell of Isabella's outward claims to fame and her struggles to become such. Their stories will reiterate what so many already know; information that could easily be gleaned from the snapshots of her life. What this narrator shares, however, goes much deeper and boldly uncovers secrets about Izzy that very few people could possibly be privy to. What will the world think now?

While Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle is a work of fiction, Beverly Bartlett's first-person narration is so engrossing one forgets it's not real. Periodic references to a certain unnamed royal British family aid in making this novel seem truly biographical.

Readers will require a solid chunk of time to devour Izzy's entire story as nearly every chapter holds a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. It's as delightfully unpredictable and entertaining as the adorably approachable princess herself.

Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle is one heck of a fun read. On one level, it's a lighter-than-air, melt-in-your mouth confection. But this tasty treat offers up surprising substance as well. Like best-selling British author Anna Maxted, Bartlett writes chick lit with an intelligent voice that ever so deftly delivers a commentary on contemporary culture. It's this ability to surprise as well as delight, to deliver insights while dishing up a fun escapist read, that gives a satisfying heft to this confection of a book. This is one you'll remember long after you've finished the last page.

Great Book!!!
Once I picked up Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle, I didn't want to put it down until it was finished, and then I wished that it was longer. There are a number of mysteries in this book such as who is telling the story, how does she know so much and what really happened in the plane crash. Answers to these and other questions sometimes appear to be revealed by accident and then some leave you to sort through all that has been told and you decide what the answer is. Once you start you won't put it down either.

Isabella Cordage is your typical Yale University student except perhaps bit clumsier than most and has a childhood friend who happens to be royalty. That royal, Prince Raphael of Bisbania, proposes to Isabella, who accepts, which turns her into fish bait for the media sharks especially the tabloids. When she trips on a stairwell, they dub her "Princess Dizzy Izzy".

Bella becomes sick of royal life, which is so formal she cannot breathe yet so under the microscope she feels like a pinned butterfly yearning for freedom. She needs to escape so Isabella decides to return to her carefree Connecticut college roots, but running away is not an option; besides knowing how much that would hurt her husband because royals don't leave. Instead she invites a friend from her college days, Geoffrey Whitehall-Wright, an American car mechanic, and his wife Mac to relocate to Bisbania. Geoffrey and Mac agree, but rather quickly the gossips believe the princess and the mechanic had an affair at one time and that they have reignited with a tryst as they seem more than just old friends while he just innocently sings her advice via Springsteen.

This is an amusing chick lit look at being a royal in a media world that wants to expose everyone's mistakes, transgressions, and innocent encounters, all to titillate a buying public. Though at times inane with pratfalls that seem just silly, the story line overall is exciting, dizzying and fun as Isabella struggles with her role as a person of interest. Beverly Bartlett provides a regal tale that feels as if Princess Di in the earlier years of her marriage landed in a chick lit palace.

Harriet Klausner

This story keeps you guessing about one thing or another and slaps you up side the head with surprises when you least expect new bits of data.
I totally enjoyed Princess Izzy. She will seem familiar to you, and you will miss her after you close the book.

Bartlett keeps the readers reading with plenty of plot twists and mystery, but the Springsteen plot feels a bit forced at times and readers may occasionally hear the nagging question at the back of their head, "why am I reading this?" Overall an entertaining book, but nothing more than that.