Customer Reviews

See Jane Date (Red Dress Ink)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Ever since Bridget Jones, I have been consumed by Chick Lit -- I can't get enough! I am so pleased that the publishers at Red Dress Ink have made this genre their trademark. I now know who to go to for my next fix....

It's not easy being the last single person in the family. Jane Gregg feels terribly alone and small, especially in the glare of her younger (and engaged) cousin, Dana Dreer's, limelight. And with everyone always asking her if she's got a boyfriend, Jane does what any single, 28-year-old, red-blooded American woman would do -- she lies. Thus catapults Jane into a blind-dating frenzy in order to find a suitable boyfriend in time for Dana's wedding.

See Jane Date is -- yes -- your typical "single girl from the City who wonders why she can't get a man" novel. But this time, there is something different in the mix: Author Melissa Senate has managed to make our heroine, Jane Gregg, likeable and capable of evoking real sympathy from readers. I was Jane Gregg's one-woman pep squad, rooting for her as she embarks on a frantic search for the "one." Concluding with a nice moral to the story, See Jane Date is a perfect example of one single girl's struggle to be accepted and loved.

I shall be the first to admit that I hadn't anticipated an original novel in this one. After all, I must've read hundreds of single-in-the-twenties/thirties-living-in-NYC/London chick novels! I also shall be the first to admit that I happen to love said novels. So I shall spare the potential reader of this book from comments like "unoriginal" or "Bridget Jones wannabe." (Okay, fine! That was my first impression when I started reading this novel.) However, See Jane Date turned out to be one fun book!

Jane Gregg is an underappreciated assistant editor at a Publishing House who chain-smokes and has had it with her chronic single status (Sound familiar?). She also endures having to edit the pretentious memoir of the Nicole Kidman look-alike named Natasha, the woman Jane's always envied. To make matters worse, she will be the bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding. Add insult to injury, the wedding will be held at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Having led everyone to believe that she's got a fabulous boyfriend, Jane embarks on a hilarious and at times poignant journey to find a boyfriend for the wedding by way of blind dates. Jane becomes a serial dater.

I am pleased to announce that there are some twists and turns that lead to a surprising ending.

This novel was slow at first. The plot seemed too familiar and I almost gave up on it. I am glad that I continued to read it. It's got wit and warmth and vibrant characters. However, I was annoyed with the fact that almost every character in the novel resembled a celebrity.

Yes, See Jane Date is a typical chick novel. It is a cross between Bridget Jones's Diary and The Trials of Tiffany Trott and TV's Sex and the City and Ally McBeal. I know I said I wouldn't compare it to other reads, but I just couldn't resist! :-)

See Jane Date is very funny, very real, and even made me tear up twice. I'm single, in my 20s, and live in New York City, and I really related to Jane and her adventures (and misadventures) in dating, at work, with her family, and her friends. If you like tv shows like Ally McBeal and Sex in the City, you'll LOVE this book. Jane's younger cousin is getting married at the Plaza Hotel in 2 months, and her relatives want to set her up on a blind date for the wedding with the dweeb who lives next door to Jane's grandmother (been there!). To avoid the date, Jane fibs that she's "sort of" seeing someone, then gets caught in the fib and has to find a boyfriend to bring to the wedding. So, her friends set her up on five blind dates (that are hilarious!!). Meanwhile, all Jane really wants is a promotion at work (she's an editor at a publishing house), but to get the promotion, she has to get her star author's memoir on the New York Times bestseller list. And the star author is her high school nemesis, a faux celebrity writing about her sex life. Very funny stuff! I definitely recommend this book, even if you're not single.

This is yet another book in the Bridget Jones tradition: bumbling but endearing city girl seeks self-improvement and searches for love in all the wrong places. The similarities are remarkable: the main character, Jane, is a lowly editor at a minor publishing firm; she has a longstanding crush on her gorgeous yet unattainable boss; she continually resists fix-up attempts by her relatives. The difference is largely in tone: where Bridget (following in the footsteps of her own model, "Pride and Prejudice"'s Elizabeth) makes us laugh at every page and leaves the final lesson of the novel almost as an exercise to the reader, Jane is more serious - and more preachy.

"See Jane Date" is not great literature. The quality of the writing is mediocre and the plot, for anyone who's read Bridget or her successors, is predictable. But it's a quick and highly entertaining read, perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon or the beach or an airport.

People have given this book bad reviews because it's Chick Lit at its most typical: light, girl-oriented, focused on the dual single-girl-in-the-city topics of finally outgrowing high school and braving the singles scene. They're right about these attributes, but I think they're limitations rather than flaws. You probably won't identify with anything in this book unless you're a woman between the ages of 18 and 40. But if you *are* a woman between the ages of 18 and 40, there's a good chance you'll identify with every word.

SEE JANE DATE takes a comedic look at the life of a 'swinging single' in New York City. Jane lives in a small closet of an apartment, works at a job where her much deserved promotion depends on the success of her nemesis from high school, and hasn't had sex in two years. And on top of it all her cousin is marrying a millionare. In order to avoid being hooked up with Grandma's next door neighbor, and to impress Natasha, her high school arch enemy, Jane says that she has a boyfriend.

Now just what does a girl do when she needs to make a man who doesn't exist appear? Jane's friends help her on her mission to not only find the perfect man, but the one that she described. Read as Jane experiences the good, the bad, and the ugly, in a series of blind dates that are riotously hilarious.

While Jane is trying to find her dream man, she is also, despite herself, getting to know Natasha better, and starting to see that what's on the surface is not always what it seems. This book is not just about romance, or comedy, it is about relationships. As the book goes on, Jane grows and her relationships with those around her change, for the better and for the worse. And in the end, Jane is a person whom she might never have thought that she would would be.

SEE JANE DATE is a hilarious book that will keep you reading until the very end. If you're looking for a read that will keep you laughing, leave you feeling fulfilled, and maybe even inspire you to change your life, be sure not to miss SEE JANE DATE!

(...)

This book should have been called "See Jane try to get a life, exagerate her life and find true love at the end".

Don't get me wrong, I like "See Jane Date", it just is interesting that Senate spent a lot of time deconstructing Jane's life than actually allowing her to have one.

"See Jane Date" is your formulaic chick-lit book. You will find no suprises and no real guesses work to what is going to happen. The reason I am giving this four stars is because Senate, like Jennifer Weiner, seems to have a firm grasp of writing a coherent sentance, just too bad she couldn't come up with a more original plot.

Senate is a decent writer, and this books is a nice fun read, it just is not original nor does the main character really striker a chord within you. The publisher, Red Dress Ink, has put up a few chapters of her next book on their website and that should be interesting on how it turns out.

I really enjoyed _See Jane Date_. I related to the heroine on many levels, and I loved her friends, especially Natasha and Eloise. The book was a real page turner as well; I finished it in one day because I just couldn't put it down!

I thought _See Jane Date_ was hilarious and quite witty, and certainly not "dumbed down" as another reviewer put it. Okay, so it wasn't _Infinite Jest_. Does every novel have to be? _See Jane Date_ was meant to be light and funny -- a fast read -- and it was. The author suceeded in her goal to entertain the reader.

I also think it's unfair to criticize the book because it is similar in some ways to _Bridget Jones's Diary_. Both books are in the "chick lit" genre so there _will_ be some similarities.

Also, the situations that are alike are things that happen to everyone. I mean, who hasn't had a crush on a cute boss at one time or another? And I know a lot of women (myself included) who get together weekly for drink/gossip nights. Melissa Senate is only identifying a situation that most of her readers can relate to.

_See Jane Date_ is an engaging, "guilty pleasure" read. I hope to see more novels from Melissa Senate in the future (and perhaps a sequel, though my vote's for Natasha).

Jane is an assistant editor for a boutique publishing company. In order to secure a promotion, she is forced to edit the memoirs of her childhood nemesis, Natasha, whose only claim to fame is that she bedded a celebrity.

Currently single and not too happy about it, she suddenly finds herself in need of a date for her cousins wedding, since she has been lying about having a boyfriend to escape set ups by her Aunt Ina. She has he friends set her up on a series of blind dates, most ending in disaster. Until she meets Dr. Timothy Rommelly. He meets all her criteria, has the perfect pedigree (and brownstone near the park), and knows that her family will be really impressed with him. But is Tim all that he is cracked up to be?

Along the way toward her own voyage of self-discovery, she manages to bury the hatchet with Natasha, and be there at a time when Natasha really needs a girlfriend. And who knows, she just might find Mr. Right here she least expects it.

It is a humorous and wry look at the current dating pool. It was made into a TV-movie on the Family channel, and translated really well to the screen.

This book has the perfect balance of friendship, romance, trauma, work issues, and humor. Jane is so easy to relate to and completely vulnerable, which makes her a perfect heroine. The way her relationships transform through the story is one of the most interesting components. The only gripe I have with this author - and it's a minor one - is her constant use of the past perfect tense. Saying "I had gone" instead of "I went" is an example. At least she was consistant though, instead of switching back and forth. I got over that minor glitch by the 2nd chapter.

This is a must read for 20-something single women.

Don't miss out on Melissa Senate's novel SEE JANE DATE! Join Jane Gregg in New York City as she brilliantly dodges the daily set backs she faces a thiry-year-old singleton, and assisstant editor at Posh Publishing company. Desperately seeking a date to her cousin's wedding after lying to the "Ms.Popularity" of her high school about haveing the perfect boyfriend, Jane finds herself in quite a few sticky situations on the road to happiness. Battling a bad smoking habit, striving for a much earned job promation, and having her heart broken one too many times, you can't help but feel as if you know the scenario all to well. Of course, one thing she does have to help along the way are a few good friends. Think Bridgett Jones' Diary meets Sex and the City-I must say not a bad combination-nor book.