Sleeping Over [Paperback]

Stacey Ballis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ballis follows her debut, Inappropriate Men [BKL Ap 1 04], with this tale of five friends searching for love and purpose in Chicago. Everything is blissful at first for the five thirtysomethings, who are all balancing new love interests. Fresh from a stint in the Peace Corps in Kenya, Jess is staying with her cousin's friend, Harrison, a sexy doctor, until she can find a place of her own, and she's finding the handsome physician irresistible. Robin is nursing a crush on her good friend and boss, Michael, while Lilith is carrying a torch for a friendly but married actor. Shy Anne has won her dream guy, while her sister Beth has reconnected with an old college rival, who turns out to provide an enticing romantic diversion. Inevitably, bumps in the road appear as Ballis presents a refreshingly realistic approach to relationships and the things that test (and often break) them. Ballis' sophomore effort will please readers who want something more than fairy-tale romance. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A snappy tale of true friendship through thick and thin. Don’t let this entertaining tale pass you by. -- Romance Reviews Today

Four stars. An excellent story of love and friendship, this is one author we need to hear from again. -- The Romance Readers Connection

One of the most entertaining novels...engaging story delivers everything: you laugh, you cry, you feel... gets my highest recommendation. -- Romance Divas

Sleeping Over is not your average chick-lit novel. Four Stars. -- A Romance Review

The characters were real, unique and quirky. Each woman's story drew me in and made me want to keep reading. -- Chick Lit Books

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Product Details

• Paperback: 345 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037389516X
• ISBN-13: 978-0373895168
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stacey Ballis is the author of several novels, incuding Inappropriate Men, Sleeping Over, Room for Improvement, The Spinster Sisters, Good Enough to Eat and the upcoming Bread & Butter. She is also a contributing author to the anthologies Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, and Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Everyone is Sleeping With Everyone, But Not Like you think!, March 29, 2005

By 

Rian Montgomery "Rian Montgomery" (Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleeping Over (Paperback)

There are five engaging main characters in Sleeping Over, Stacey Ballis's latest novel: Jess, who has just returned home from the Peace Corps and ends up in bed with the handsome and charming Dr. Harrison. Since he is known as a womanizer, Jess intends to steer clear... but why are they sleeping together every night? Robin meanwhile has been busy cozying up to Michael, who is also her boss. But they are "just friends"... although Robin is nursing strong feelings for him. Beth and Anne are sisters, and both going through man troubles of their own: Anne has just met the enchanting Chris, and is slowly falling in love. Beth has had a lot of bad luck with men - after getting out of a long relationship with a selfish but incredibly intelligent man. Lastly, there is Lilith. She is torn between an adorable and sweet bartender, and a married actor whom she can't stop thinking about. Then there is her boyfriend...

The five stories are told in short chapters, going from one character to the next pretty quickly. Each woman is "sleeping" with a man - literally.

I found this book to be a good read overall. The characters were real, unique and quirky, and each had their own situations to work out and emotional issues to overcome. Each woman's story drew me in and made me want to keep reading.

The problem with this book is typical of multiple-perspective novels - there was too much going on. Five characters is a lot to keep up with, especially when each one introduces a whole new set of men and situations. Although I managed to finally get them all down, I was very disappointed at the end. For no apparent reason, some of the characters' conclusions were told from the other characters' points of views. I have no idea why the author did this. For instance, Beth may have started off telling her own story, but in order to find out how her situation ended, you would have to read it while another character was talking.

Another slight downfall to the book was that the chapters were very short. Just as I was getting into one story than BAM - it was another character's turn. One last problem I had was that most of the book seemed to be just too good to be true and not very realistic.

Overall however, this was an interesting chick lit read. It stands apart from other novels because of its many perspectives and feel-good tone. I'd recommend giving it a try!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sleeping Over needs a "Do over", April 8, 2005

By 

Kristen (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleeping Over (Paperback)

The latest addition to the Red Dress Ink line, Stacey Ballis' Sleeping Over, can't quite decide what it wants to be. There are "vital stats" placed within the novel, but not for all characters; so this can't be described as a character study. The characters are attempting to be single, independent career women, yet they all rely on the men in their lives for even the most basic of necessities. Platonic relationships are explored, though none remain so, (with the exception of the gratuitous gay friend) which gets a bit tiresome towards the end of the novel. Finally, the whole "sleeping over" theme just gets ridiculous after a while.

Technically, the narrators jump all over the place and the point of view gets confusing. There is little consistency and little plot. Overall, I had a hard time figuring out what these characters are all about and where they're headed. Ballis gives us no reason to care about them.

It's too bad, though. I always look forward to my new RDI novels, but this is one that could have been missed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than Innappropriate Men, February 13, 2008

By 

A. Folk (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sleeping Over (Paperback)

I was a little skeptical when it came to reading this book, because I have tried to get through Inappropriate Men several times. However, I really enjoyed this book! I liked the characters and at times I didn't want to put it down. If you like chick-lit, this is a great read!