She's All That (Spa Girls Series #1) [Paperback]

Kristin Billerbeck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2005

The first novel in the Spa Girls Collection, She's All That focuses on Lilly Jacobs, a San Francisco fashion designer determined that her "bad hair" is the root source of her problems--but a nagging grandmother, a vixen boss, and well-meaning friends certainly aren't helping matters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Christian chick-lit star Billerbeck has moved on from her popular Ashley Stockingdale trilogy with an engaging new novel that features struggling fashion designer Lilly Jacobs and her two best friends, Morgan and Poppy. The trio met at Stanford, and they couldn't be more different: Morgan's the down-to-earth daughter of a wealthy diamond dealer, while Poppy is a tie-dye-sporting chiropractor who's always prattling on about nutrition and energy. Now in their late 20s, the three are still best friends, and they make periodic trips to a spa when life gets too rough. As the novel opens, Lilly's just been passed over for a promotion, and discovers her boyfriend has been two-timing. She decides it's time to launch her own couture company. Along the way, Morgan gets ensnared in a curious May-December romance, and Lilly falls for a gold-digging Brit she meets at church. As if her plate weren't full enough, Lilly's birth mother, who abandoned her as a baby, turns up out of the blue; what's more, $20,000 of Lilly's start-up money vanishes. But all's well that ends well: Lilly finds true love and is trumpeted as the next Vera Wang. Snappy dialogue and lovable characters make this novel a winner.
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About the Author

KRISTIN BILLERBECK, one of the first chick-lit authors, has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and World Magazine for her work. What a Girl Wants won the American Christian Romance Writers' Contemporary Book of the Year 2004. Kristin makes her home near Sacramento with her husband and their four children. When not writing, she enjoys loud worship music, reading and weekend family trips.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591453283
• ISBN-13: 978-1591453284
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,328,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing and Entertaining, December 20, 2005

By 

Kelly S. "Book Lover" (Phantastic Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She's All That (Spa Girls Series #1) (Paperback)

This was a funny book that had me laughing out loud in the break room at work. It's about a girl who had a master's degree from Stanford but refuses to use it, who has a speech impediment when it comes to talking to attractive men, and whose bad hair ruined her life. Against her Grandmother's constant nagging for her to grow up and find a real job, she listens to her heart and follows her gut. While she may seem like she has no confidence on the surface, when you read further into the book and really start to develop a relationship with her, you realize that she has unbelievable confidence! She doesn't back down when other people tell her that she is wasting her time on fashion. She knows she is good at what she does and isn't afraid to say it. She pushes herself to do her best and doesn't accept anything less. I love books that are told in the first person because it feels like they are telling their story to you. And I think you develop a better relationship with the main character when they tell the story. This book is the first in a series of the "Spa Girls Collection". Basically, it's these three friends whose problems can all be solved (if not, minimized) by going for a "Spa Weekend". I think each book will be about a different girl. I can't wait for the next one to come out!
-recommended

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Felt like I was part of the story., October 9, 2005

By 

Silicon Mom "jycal" (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She's All That (Spa Girls Series #1) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed She's All That. The character development was so good that I felt like they were all my friends. What I love about Ms. Billerbeck's writing is all the twists and turns. I feel like I'm never sure what is going to happen next. How does she get so much on one page?! She really knows her subject and writes so that you understand it too. She's All That is a wonderful glimpse into people and their lives. We all know someone like these characters. Great fun.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A smooth, fun, light read from one of the first Christian Chick Lit authors, November 1, 2005

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She's All That (Spa Girls Series #1) (Paperback)

If you enjoyed Lauren Weisberger's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and Sophie Kinsella's "Shopaholic" series but disliked the profanity and gratuitous sex, then SHE'S ALL THAT is your book. Kristen Billerbeck bills herself as "one of the first Christian Chick Lit authors" and in kicking off her "Spa Girls" series she also proves that she's one of the best.

Lilly Jacobs tries to make a name for herself as a fashion designer in San Francisco (a refreshing change from all the Chick Lit set in New York City). She's just lost a promotion from boss Sarah Lang (yup, rhymes with "Vera Wang") to a man who wears more eyeliner and is less talented. Her sort-of boyfriend Robert has dumped her for another woman, and Lilly is more miffed than heartbroken over the whole thing. When things get tough, Lilly and her two best friends head for the Spa Del Mar, where there's nothing a good pedicure and facial can't cure.

Is this the sort of tale you like? Then read on....

Billerbeck excels at giving her characters little eccentricities that make them appealing and memorable. Lilly, who at twenty-something "has the figure of your standard thirteen-year-old," also has a thing about Lysol and bad smells, going to the point of even smearing a little Vicks Vapo-Rub under her nose whenever she has to take public transportation with the unwashed masses of San Francisco. (No surprise that aromatherapy becomes a part of the novel.) Her two best gal pals are chiropractor Dr. Poppy Clayton, an updated version of a Haight Ashbury beatnik --- complete with gauzy skirts and endless chatter about positive energy fields and toxins --- and Morgan Malliard, a mannequin for her father's diamond jewelry. All three women have issues with their mothers --- or lack of them.

For a Chick Lit novel, the characters --- dare we say it? --- are reasonably complex. Lilly has a degree from Stanford in finance ("I bet you I'm the only MBA from Stanford sleeping on a futon") and a grandmother who wants her to use it. It makes pursuing her fashion design dreams a little dicey. Plus, Lilly has bad taste in men, something her girlfriends try to gently help her understand without a lot of success. Lilly's boss from h-e double hockey sticks seems at first to be one-dimensional, but Billerbeck throws in some surprising twists.

Many Christian Chick Lit novelists struggle with making God-talk a natural part of the novel, and in this, Billerbeck does a good job. The Christian characters are not cookie-cutter women spouting scripture verses, nor are the non-Christians stereotyped as the bad guys. And thank goodness, there's no conversion scenes. Thank you, Kristen.

However, readers may find the numerous references to Lilly's unmanageable hair humorous at first but then increasingly tiresome. Come on, even for a Chick Lit heroine, hair isn't that all-consuming. Neither is Johnny Depp, who, although definitely a hunk, is referenced a bit much. If you're a forty-something like I am who dips into Chick Lit now and then, you'll also be confused by some of the references aimed at younger, hipper female readers (I had to ask my teen who "Green Day" is...for those of you in my age range, it's a punk band.) I also found the whole subplot of Morgan's engagement a bit difficult to swallow.

But these are minor bumps in what is a smooth, fun, light read. There are plenty of loose ends dangling for the next installment, A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND, which presumably will pick up where this book leaves off. Chick Lit fans may find it difficult to wait.


--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at (...)