Customer Reviews

Simply Divine

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Pity Evergirl Jane. Her soon to be ex-boyfriend is vile. Her job does not exactly require life or death decisions. Her best friend Tally is stuck in the back of beyond trying to hold together the family manor with stacks of books and sheer will. What could add to Jane's fun?

Try ghostwriting a magazine column for London It girl of the moment, Champagne D'Vyne. Oh no, that name was not a typo. Champagne D'Vyne is a lean, long-legged, drop dead blonde stunner with breasts that would make Pamela Anderson and Jayne Mansfield look flat-chested. Champagne comes complete with a huge trust fund and demon doggie named Gucci.

Before Jane can throw herself onto her editing pencil, Champagne invades her life. Poor Tally isn't any help, having to deal with the return of her New Age mum and missing brother. Not even a romp with the stud upstairs can lift Jane's spirits.

Champagne's column is a stunning success and Jane escapes from her magazine to one with better circulation. And guess who re-enters her life?

It's doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out the plot twists but getting to the end is a blast.

Anyone who snaps up Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella should give Wendy Holden a try!

Wendy Holden's writing kept my attention throughout every bit of Simply Divine. For a quick and easy read thats a lot of fun, try this book. The book flows very smoothly with it's plot, introdcing several aspects (professional, realationship, friendship, etc..) of the main character, Jane's, twenty-something semi-chaotic life. Throughout the entire read, Holden has you rooting for all of the right characters and she never side-tracks or goes in circles around the main plot. It stays right on line, is full of humor and has a perfect ending... though you wouldn't imagine this ending until maybe the last ten pages. If you like the twenty-something single girl books, then you need to read this one.

For her first novel I thought that Wendy Holden did an absolutely wonderful job writing Simply Divine. It is an extremely clever book. She had such great characters. Each character supported a different element of the novel. I found that the main character, Jane, was easy to relate to. She was going through many common issues, like boyfriend troubles, weight and job issues,which are things lots of people deal with. Then there was Champagne, the snotty superstar, Jane is hired to follow around. Champagne had so many different elements to her. She has a new boyfriend each week, a dog named Gucci, and very little intelligence, which makes for very interesting situations. Then there is Tally, Jane's bestfriend. Tally is extremely vulnerable and is willing to trust anyone, which makes her an easy target. There are many more incredibly unbelievable characters in this novel. I highly recommend it. It has a different tone to it than a lot of the novels that are out these days. Simply Divine is a comedic romance. The comedy lies within the ironic situations that arise throughout the story. It's not depressing, it's actually very uplifting and enjoyable to read.

If you're in the mood to escape to the world of turn-of-the-millenium London, full of large-breasted socialites, trashy magazines, designer clothes, anorexic ex-debs, crumbling country manors, and just enough sex to keep things interesting, then you may want to check out Wendy Holden's "Simply Divine." Holden apparently drew on her own experiences working for a Brit tabloid-ish magazine; the novel features Jane, a hard-working, not-terribly-glam journalist assigned to ghost-write columns for the fabulous blonde bombshell socialite, Champagne D'Vyne (only one of the ridiculous character names in the book). The book is a quick read (though not short), full of entertaining one-liners, more puns than any writer ought to cram in a single book, and humorous scenes. Holden skewers many of the "types" found in British society, although her satire is too often heavy-handed. I found the book best consumed in small bites; otherwise, the unfailingly flip tone tends to grate.

Simply Divine possesses many of the qualities necessary for an excellent beach read: fun characters, generous amorous involvement and an engaging premise. Jane, the appealing heroine, resonates with loopy sweetness. She is dedicedly imperfect and confident enough to state as much. As a journalist, she is sent by her fussy boss to document the day to day events of the gorgeous Champagne D'Vyne. Champagne is no Moet to Jane who must base her columns on the sketchy details provided by the ultimately cranky size 2. But Jane turns in stellar columns as she attempts to settle her relationship issue with the emotionally unavailable Nick. She is also dealing with a dangerous lust for Tom, a writer who jetted off to New York, and a desire to help her friend, Tally, find a viable way to keep her family's estate in tact. Ms. Holden's command of sharp description and quick moving dialogue is evident from the first page. She breathes life into most of the characters. The flow is interrupted at certain times; this creates an uneven read. but the ending satisfies.

This book had a fair chance to be engaging - the plot centered on a young-ish woman tackling career and love in modern London. Unfortunately, though, the book never engages the reader because of uneven transitions and a flat plot line. The main characters fail to evoke sympathy of any kind, and all attempts at wit are awkwardly contrived. My pain-staking effort to reach the last page left me with that sick feeling of eating too much cotton candy. In other words, I want those hours of my life back.

Bridget...er...ah...Jane is a 20-something Londoner looking for a man and success as a journalist. If you liked the Bridget Jones books, odds are you'll like this one, too. The only problem was that at times, the satire was a little bit too obvious.

Twenty-something Jane Bentley has a boyfriend, a job at Gorgeous magazine and like all British chick lit personas, is having trouble staying in control of her life, is dissatisfied with her boyfriend, job, etc. Enter C.O.W. D'Vyne (I kid you not!), a busty, empty-headed-but-posh model - complete with a "honking" voice to make sure you don't ever like or emphathize with her. Of course, Jane's life is turned upside down and inside out. Her best friend Tally, an upper-class-but-poor girl from a dysfunctional family, is also having problems of her own - so Jane gets occasional bouts of guilt when they don't talk on the phone as often, or when she discovers that the man-friend she introduced to Tally is *still* around and is trying to keep them apart. And then there's Tom... the only character I might have liked if Ms Holden were to develop him more. Jane's the most developed character there, probably the only one because even Champagne D'Vyne is just there as an irritating "she's-the-bane-of-my-existence" prop. Pity, I might have been able to like Jane or relate with her if only she had _real_ faults and didn't somehow seem to look just-perfect, somehow attract all the eligible guys in the book, somehow get all the favours she needs done... The book is nowhere near other chick lits - it gets draggy, and the author's trying too hard with the analogies and witticisms. When things start to fall into place and life starts getting better for Jane and Tally, well, let's just say it's unbelievable and way too simplistic (especially with Tally's mom, the I-never-speak-guy and the house). After so many bags of surprises, the twist at the end was... not surprising. Was feeling tired by then, and somehow knew how the "misunderstanding" would be resolved. Wished Ms. Holden would shed more light into the world of magazine publishing, instead of settling for a patronising who's who and what's what in movie productions.

Jane is a writer that gets stuck writing a column for a party girl named Champagne D'Vyne. Champagne's name appears on the column, but Jane is forced to gather all the information and write the column for Champagne. Jane is living with a guy who doesn't really love her any more and treats her like [garbage] for not keeping up on all the world news. When she has a one-night stand with the upstairs neighbor her who life changes. This story takes you on an adventure that will have you wishing it were longer. The characters are excellent, fun and a blast to befriend. A great book for the beach or over a bowl of hot soup!

Having read Gossip Hound, I wanted to get my hands on Wendy Holden's debut novel. Simply Divine is a modern fairy tale with Holden's signature style of wicked romance and satire.

Jane is a young journalist who's been given the challenging job of ghostwriting the adventures and exploits of faux celebrity and fashionista Champagne D'Vyne. Which means that her dream of taking creative control of a glossy magazine has just as well shattered. To make matters worse, she couldn't make her personal life more pathetic if she'd tried. She is in a dead-end relationship with the unpleasant Nick while desiring her gorgeous upstairs neighbor. Will she be able to upgrade her career? Will she find a suitable mate? And, more importantly, will she survive the outrageous excursions with the insubordinate Champagne D'Vyne? There are some fun twists in the novel.

Simply Divine is a rather entertaining and enlightening novel. Holden's take on the glamorous world of socialites and fashionistas is witty and insightful. Hers is the brand of ironic humor that I look for in women's fiction. The characterization in her novels is just wonderful. I flinched every time Champagne D'Vyne made an appearance. I was able to get better acquainted with the aforementioned character in Gossip Hound. She has the sort of deluded arrogance that would make Madonna seem humble in comparison. All of the characters in the novel are entertaining and compelling. Are you in the bargain for original chick lit? I couldn't recommend Wendy Holden's work enough. She's one of the best British writers to come out since Helen Fielding. Enjoy!