Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell [Paperback]

Debbie Carbin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2008

Rachel Covington is twenty-five, sexy, single, and smug. Her life is a glorious whirl of looking fabulous and toying with gorgeous men. So it’s obvious to everyone that she and the hottest guy in her office, Nick Maxwell, are destined to hook up—but what happens after that is a little less obvious.

First, Nick stops calling her—her, Rachel!—and then she discovers that there’s something even worse than being dumped: It’s being dumped and pregnant. Suddenly, she’s faced with a choice she never expected—does she keep the baby and start thinking about someone besides herself, or try to go back to the way things were?

Brilliantly funny, with a wonderfully fresh and original voice, Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell is a smart, romantic novel about love, relationships, and knowing when it’s time to start growing up.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Carbin's brisk, funny first novel records the changes in a shallow, self-centered beauty brought on by a bun in the oven and an unlikely connection with a stranger. After being callous with many hearts, Brit Rachel Covington gets her comeuppance when her interoffice romance with superfoxy Nick Maxwell comes to an abrupt end. While pining for him and experiencing bouts of nausea, moodiness and ravenous hunger, she spies her friend Sarah McCarthy's husband, Glenn, passionately kissing another woman. Rachel also happens upon a lost cellphone and develops a friendship with its owner, charismatic Hector, soon revealed to be Glenn's successful older brother. When Rachel confirms her pregnancy, her decision to only let Hector know strengthens their bond and puts them on the fast track to potential romance, but circumstances prevent the would-be lovebirds from getting together. These are contrived in a necessary chick lit way, but Carbin fashions a convincing transformation for her protagonist. Other genre tropes abound (including the charged climax and Hector's wealth), but Carbin's engaging main character and swaggering sense of humor save the day. (Aug.)
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Review

“Debbie Carbin is a fresh and entertaining new voice in women’s fiction. With an engaging style and an unrivaled sense of humor, she holds the reader willingly captive until the very last page. Do you see me sitting on my couch, reading this book until 3:00 in the morning? Notice how I just can’t put it down. That’s how much I loved it!” –Jessica Brody, author of The Fidelity Files

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383681
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383688
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,184,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but could have been better, August 3, 2010

By 

JJ - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell (Paperback)

There were things I liked about this book and things that made me crazy. The story overall is a good one even though it took me a while to warm up to Rachel. She was stuck on herself and didn't seem to chance for quite a while. Nick, who was her love interest, was okay as a character and it was funny the things Rachel thought or said about him. Hector was probably my favorite character, but even at times he said some weird things. I wasn't sure why he kept calling Rachel a witch. I think it was meant to be funny, but it seemed out of place. There were good things about the story also. Things Rachel said at times were funny. The way things kept happening to interfere with Rachel and Hector ever talking about things kept the story going, but after a while that became frustrating. At the end Jake was so sweet to Sarah. It was heartbreaking when he was trying to give her his toys to cheer her up. I felt so sad for him that he was dragged into the situation with her and Glenn. Then I became mad at Sarah for letting her son feel like he did.
On to the things that made me crazy. The writing style drove me nuts. It would have been more tolerable if the author had taken out the "Can you see" or "Look at..." It was a clear picture without those phrases. One other thing that made it hard to follow was the author using one mark instead of the normal two for dialogue. It made it hard at time to tell when the dialogue ended and the narration began. I started skimming towards the end of the book just to be done with it because of those things. At times the story was predictable. The ending seemed very rushed, especially the last couple pages. I would have liked a few more pages on what happened afterwards and how things were worked out rather than a nice packaged ending. Sometimes the characters didn't seem real to me. I never understood why Nick just didn't ask Rachel earlier on in the story why she thought he was married. And Rachel didn't seem dense, but she was pretty dense when it came to Hector's feeling so the seemed out of place.
If the story line between Rachel, Nick, and Hector wouldn't have been as good as it was I think I'd have probably give the book 2 stars. It was okay, but could have been so much better with a few changes to the writing style.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not bad at all, November 3, 2008

By 

Katherine Smith "Kat" (Wellington, NZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell (Paperback)

I bought this book based on the front and back cover (I know, totally ignoring that old saying). To my pleasent surprise, it was a good story and I think I got through it in about 2 days. I particularly appreciated how it didn't try too hard to be mysterious or action-packed, it was realistic enough to be able to believable but not in a boring way. The writing style was unique, it's a first-person narrative but looking back on past events, with a pause button and zoom-in features - like she was watching the movie of her life with us, as the other reviewer said. I did have a couple of qualms with the book; 1st being that the supposedly slim Rachel could be 6 months pregnant and only look like she'd put on a little bit of weight, and, 2nd, that the name she gives to her baby at the end seemed to be a bit random, no family ties or foreshadowing that I picked up. Other than that, I actually thoroughly enjoyed reading it; Rachel may not be the perfect woman but she was certainly interesting to follow around, and her character was fleshed out and believable (if a little irritating with her speed with which she clued in on things, but that was in character for her).
Over all, I liked it, I might read it again over the summer, and I reccommend it to fans of single-girl chicklit

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Chick Lit, September 7, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Thanks for Nothing, Nick Maxwell (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book in the end, but did have some problems with it. It took me about 100 pages in to really start enjoying it. The writing style is a bit different, almost like the narrator (main character) is watching a movie with you (the reader).
The story was good overall; once I got half way throgh the book, I didn't want to put it down.
For a first time author, it was pretty good.