Customer Reviews

This Is How It Happened (not a love story)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful bit of chick-lit that surpassed all my expectations. I thought it would be funny - there were parts that were absolutely hilarious. I thought it would be clever, and there were parts that were just ingenious, especially in the chick-lit world.

Hell truly hath no fury as a woman scorned, and this book details one woman's attempt to "get even" with her ex boyfriend/fiance for basically ruining her life. It was written in an interesting style, chapters alternating between the present where Maddie is trying to deal with her broken heart, and then going back to her time with Connor, the Heartbreaker. In all honesty, towards the end where time was blending (the novel starts 4 months after the Big Breakup) I was having a hard time telling when something happened - was it now, when she was planning revenge, or was it right at the end of the relationship?

The book had an interesting twist towards the end, and I was riveted for the last 75 pages (I stayed up late to finish it).

The only thing that bugged me about Maddie, the main character, is that she keeps talking about how she's Italian and loves to eat, and she's curvy and she's big and not skinny and yada yada yada, but she's a friggin size 6!!! Last time I checked, most Italian women who love to eat and are in their 30's, and consider themselves big, are NOT a size 6. Good grief.

Anyway, I could overlook that, and it was definitely a worthwhile read.

Don't get mad. Get even. This is what Madeleine Piatro sets up to do after her charming boyfriend uses her business plan to set up a company, and then kicks her out of the firm and dumps her for another woman. Although Piatro first contemplates actually killing Carlton (with poisoned brownies) she decides that emotional pain is worse, and more lasting, than physical one, and she sets up on extracting revenge, aided by a hit man with a good heart (by far the best character in the book) and her best friend, who's in the middle of her conversion to Judaism, with some less-than-stellar but hilarious results.

"This is How it Happened (Not a Love Story)" is a fantastic novel: funny, well-written, and with some surprising insights. A perfect book for the Valentine's season, whether you're in the mood for love -- or blood.

When you get dumped, it's natural to want to strike back. But when the dumper is your fiance who promised to love you "forever," and the father of your unborn child, and the co-founder of the company you pretty much single-handedly built, AND he does the break-up by e-mail, your desire to extract revenge will be exponentially higher.

Madeline Piatro is having trouble getting over her break-up with the perfect man. So she hires a perfect man of her own -- a hit man. Full of unexpected revelations and quirky, fun characters, "This Is How It Happened" will surely tickle the fancies of every woman who's ever been on the receiving end of a "Dear Jane" letter.

While I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting to read "just five more pages" to see what was going to happen next, something was missing. There was never a real climactic showdown between Maddie and her ex, and we never get to experience first-hand the pain she inflicts with her get-even-quick plans. I wanted to see him for myself, and feel his humiliation. Since those scenes were missing, the book left me unfulfilled.

There were also some sloppy editing moments ("Addidas" sportswear, and Maddie saying she'd never met Snoop when just a few dozen pages earlier she talks about her face-to-face with him). And the constant repetition of her name by other characters every five sentences was annoying. But all-in-all, "This Is How It Happened" was entertaining, smart, and fun. I'll be looking for more of Jo Barrett's books.

Jo Barrett has created a funny, ruthless, completely sympathetic character in Maddy Piatro, who's considering a life of crime in order to get revenge on her ex. Each character in the book was fantastic, from Heather the pregnant friend, the born-again brother to Dickie the hit man. Fun, fast-paced, smart and original.

For any woman who has ever had her heart crushed, spirit dampened, and felt like an overall hag after being dumped will love this book. Our heroine, Maddy, gets dumped via e-mail, loses her prized job in a company she created, and vows to get even. It starts with furniture polish in brownies which leads into hiring a hitman who turns out to be a complete surprise to Maddy and the reader. The ending is such a surprise too that it'll have you giggling.

I sat down and read this book in a day. Talk about a real page turner. I stayed up late last night just to finish it and I went to bed with a smile on my face.

The only thing about this book that bothers me is the main character's body size. She's Italian and loves to cram food in her mouth. The book describes her as curvy, but she's a size 6? Get real! Other than that, this is a great book.

If you like this one, you'll also enjoy The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards.

Any book that starts out with the lines "I never intended to KILL him kill him. I mean, actually kill him. It started as a joke." deserves some serious consideration for continued reading (and probable fun). This Is How It Happened (not a love story) by Jo Barrett is an entertaining story about one woman's efforts to get back at a guy who conned her for everything she had. Barrett weaves an amusing tale that keeps the pages turning and the laughs coming.

Madeline Piatro is a marketing whiz who's been working for the same boss for the last 14 years. She likes what she does, but her personal life leaves much to be desired. So at a mixer, she ends up finding and falling for a smooth guy who becomes the center of her life. He comes from a rich family, but his hard-nosed dad wants him to work his way up through the company to learn the ropes. Piatro falls hard for Carlton Conners, and pretty soon she's the main means of support in their living-together arrangement. He professes his deep love for her, even going so far as to buy her a ring. But he doesn't want her to wear it around his family, as he's "not ready" for them to know yet. That should have been the first warning sign...

Madeline comes up with a killer idea for a new company marketing organic foods for kids. Her and Conners present the concept to his father and some investors, and they agree to fund it. But before the meeting ends, she ends up without any ownership of the company, with only a "promise" of future stock. Well, *that* doesn't work out too well. The company takes off, Conners ends up as the "genius", and dumps Piatro for another woman. Left with little money, no job, and no options, she decides that hiring a hitman to mess up Carlton would be a great idea. But when you don't run in those types of circles, it's a little hard to figure out where to start. And her "do-it-yourself" ideas, such as poisoned brownies, aren't exactly textbook examples of how to rid yourself of someone...

Barrett does an excellent job with the characters and the pacing in this novel. It's told in the first person from Piatro's view, so it's easy to sense the frustration and confusion that she's feeling. The story alternates chapter by chapter between her current efforts to extract revenge and her relationship with Conners from the very start. So as you're laughing at her misguided efforts to rid humanity of Carlton, you learn little-by-little what led her to this point. The end has an interesting twist that takes a couple of sharp turns before everything clears up. All in all, it's a fun way to kill a few hours on a plane or a lazy afternoon. When this is released in February, it should do really well...

Laugh out loud funny! Seriously! This is the perfect book for any woman -- whether you're just out of a bad breakup or not. Very well written. One of the best books I've ever read!

If you have ever wanted to get revenge on an ex-boyfriend or an ex-husband, then you will identify with Maddy as she goes through the pain of the end of a 4 year relationship and then decides to get revenge.

There are a number of twists and turns to the story as Maddy starts her relationship with Carlton, her boyfriend, and they go through grad school together and then start a business togher.

She even hires a hit man to go after Carlton. I won't tell anymore; read the story and enjoy!

Madeline Piatro has just broken up with her fiancé of four years. Or so she was led to believe by the handsome to-die-for Carlton Connors. See, Carlton never told anyone they were engaged, and when he found out Madeline is pregnant, he wants her to have an abortion. And if that isn't bad enough, she loses the baby, he cheats on her at a bachelor party, breaks up with her, fires her from the company they came up with and claims all her ideas as his own.

Now Madeline wants to get even and may resort to murdering her louse of an ex-boyfriend to make herself feel better.

Madeline's romance with Carlton was one only found in fairy tales. They met in graduate school and, after a passionate night together, Madeline never looked back. In the beginning, everything was perfect between the two. They had great sex, laughed a lot and, even though they had stress from school and work, they had each other. Madeline was such a good girlfriend she even wrote Carlton's papers and did his homework for him so he could graduate. After four years together, Madeline was ready to get married and have kids, the whole nine yards. But Carlton wanted to prove first to his rich father that he could make it in the business world and, with Madeline by his side, they would be able to make a ton of money. Madeline came up with an idea for an organic food company for children and, because of her amazing ideas, they started their business from the ground up and were soon on the way to success. But then Carlton starts to change, and that is when he pushes Madeline to the curb.

Revenge becomes the most important thing in Madeline's life. She wants to hurt Carlton...and bad; maybe not murder him, but make him suffer like she did. Her recovering drug addict brother, Ronnie, wants her to forget and move on. Madeline simply can't, and that is when she hires a hit man to do her dirty work! Hit man Dick hears Jane's (Madeline's alias) story and also wants to make Carlton suffer because he thinks she is a nice lady. But as Madeline's best friend Heather is also about to give birth, and a new man enters her life, Madeline is at a crossroads. She can decide to move on as her brother and Heather are telling her to do, or stay depressed and have thoughts of revenge overtake her life. But why can't she have her cake and eat it, too?

Jo Barrett has written an engaging tale of heartbreak about a woman who wants the person responsible to suffer greatly. Madeline's voice is very amusing as she thinks of ways to kill her lousy ex, Carlton, without getting caught. This is a woman you can sympathize with who thought she had met the man of her dreams, but instead he became her worst nightmare. I was all for Madeline getting back at Carlton, who is the worst kind of man, much like the villain of the piece. Of course, Madeline doesn't resort to murder, but her revenge is so good that you will want to stand up and applaud.

Madeline's brother Ronnie is her support and conscience, and so is her friend Heather, who is married to Michael, a Jewish lawyer. Heather is converting to the Jewish religion and those results are hilarious. Also along for this ride is Dick, the hit man Madeline hires and gives marketing advice to, and also Carlton whom we see in flashbacks. Plus, there is the mysterious Nick, to whom Madeline becomes very attracted, but who also has his own secrets.

This Is How It Happened had me laughing so much I was near tears. Even though this is about a woman's quest for revenge, you come to realize that karma will take over, especially when you read the epilogue and see how far Madeline has come. Because this story made such an impression and will most definitely do the same with most readers.

Katiebabs

This Is How It Happened (not a love story) is a very unique book. I could really feel for Maddy and her situation with Carlton. I could see why she wanted to hurt him so badly, but obviously, killing him wont accomplish anything. Maddy finally realizes this when she feels revenge is a much better option! I loved how everything played out by the end of the book.

I look forward to reading more books from Jo Barrett in the future!