The Brenda Diaries [Kindle Edition]

Margo Candela (Author)

Book Description

Meet Brenda…A temp with a bad attitude, but an excellent work ethic.

Working assignments all around Los Angeles, Brenda was the official purse holder for a high powered event planner, has had an employer ask about her ovulation cycle, worked as a kiosk gypsy at an upscale mall and suffered as the reluctant muse for a frustrated architect who'd rather write screenplays on company time.

Off the clock, Brenda's boyfriend and best friend compete for her attention while she spends a little too much time with guy she met on a job. Brenda’s positive she can handle it all, but sometimes work and life get to be a bit too much even for someone as organized as Brenda.

The Brenda Diaries. All the dirty details of Brenda’s not so tidy life.

Product Details

• File Size: 311 KB
• Print Length: 121 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: SugarMissile, LLC (October 2, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005S0UKK2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,332 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Reviews by Livin' la vida Latina January 10, 2012

By Livin' la vida Latina

Format:Kindle Edition

Reviewed by: Sandra Lopez, author of Beyond The Gardens
Member of Livin' la vida Latina
[...]

Review: Meet Brenda, a temp office assistant living from paycheck to paycheck, reflecting on how much work sucks. In her diary, we get to know all the day-to-day aspects of her world.

I liked Brenda a lot. She's a savvy, intelligent woman with strong work ethics, but she doesn't have life quite figured out. Who does, right? Still, the girl struck me as someone with a good head on her shoulders. At times, I suspected that Brenda suffered from a low self-esteem. Why else would she work at jobs with no possibility of advancement? Why else would she "date" a guy and not really care for him? It all seems like a waste of time to me. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed her no-BS views on life, I just wished Brenda would've spent a little more time trying to figure out ways to make herself happy. I honestly don't get why smart girls don't give themselves the respect they deserve. But I must say that even though I didn't always agree with Brenda's choices, like taking in her promiscuous friend as a roommate, she was still a flawed character that most people could relate to. I definitely saw parts of me in Brenda. I don't like getting "chummy" with co-workers (or anyone else, for that matter) either, and the whole clingy, touchy-feely boyfriend is also a huge turn-off for me, too.

As stated by the title, this book consisted of nothing but diary entries, all of which summarize the quick highlights of Brenda's day. At times, I found my energies depleted by the mundane aspects of her daily activities; however, I managed to be revitalized by Candela's smart and witty commentaries. Fortunately, most of the entries were kept short and to the point. Sometimes you'll even find yourself laughing at some of them.

Overall, this book was a colorful rendition of humorous anecdotes about work and life; it really didn't have a story--well, not much anyways. This was more of a depiction of Brenda's observations instead of her life, which was nothing more than job-hopping. However, at one point, I wondered if there could be more to the character than I originally credited when the temp recruiter said to her, "Maybe it's time you started working toward something." (pg. 100) I was impressed when, at the end, Brenda finally embarked on her first step to being a "grown up," even though it was shrouded in mystery.

I actually look forward to what becomes of Brenda in this series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Redundant and Non-progressive March 15, 2012

By The Writer

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The diary entries did not progress fast enough for me. The entries were random and didn't seem to lean towards a plot. I got tired of reading about Jared being the boyfriend/non boyfriend and Maya being a lazy moocher , and Glen's business.
Wish it would have paced faster and introduced something more interesting sooner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful November 25, 2011

By Tina

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just got my Kindle so I have been going through the list of ebooks available and found this one. I am a lover of chick lit and I really adore the 'diary entry' format so this book seemed perfect for me.

I loved, loved it!!! I was hooked from the very first diary entry and I love the raw humor in this book. I swear Brenda is the guy in this story and it was hilarious.

I think the only little comment that is negative would be the fact that a) the story is too short and b) I would have put the tweets next to the corresponding diary entry - much easier to follow.

Otherwise, this was a wonderful and entertaining chick lit read.

More About the Author

Margo Candela is the author of The Brenda Diaries (SugarMissile, Oct. '11) Good-bye To All That (Touchstone, July '10), More Than This (Touchstone, Aug '08), Life Over Easy (Kensington, Oct '07), Underneath It All (Kensington, Jan '07) and the short story and essay collection, Life Observed (June '11) as well as Just Like That and No Need to Ask (SugarMissile, Feb and April '12) from her contemporary romance SweetSpots novelette series.

More Than This was a Target stores Breakout Book and an American Association of Publishers national book club selection at Borders Books. Good-bye To All That (Touchstone, July '10) was the only novel picked by Los Angeles Magazine for its 2010 Best of L.A. list.