A Total Waste of Makeup [Paperback]

Kim Gruenenfelder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2005

Charlize "Charlie" Edwards certainly knows, in theory, what it takes to lead a successful and happy life. She owns a nice house in Silverlake, LA's trendiest neighborhood. She has glamorous and loyal friends who accompany her to the hottest clubs in town. And she works as the personal assistant to Drew Stanton, Hollywood's sexiest movie star. But she's also turning 30, chronically single, and faced with serving as maid of honor at her younger sister's wedding. Charlie finds herself struggling to juggle the chaos of wedding planning (while wondering if she'll ever wear the white dress herself), her all-consuming job for lunatic boss Stanton, and a serious crush on Jordan, a photographer on the set of Drew's latest feature--a man who might actually return her feelings. A page-turner from start to finish, A Total Waste of Makeup puts a fresh face on women's fiction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gruenenfelder, a Hollywood screenwriter, knows her setting and her craft. Well-written characters and a wicked sense of humor help this debut stand above the usual chick-lit fare."
-Library Journal

"A Total Waste of Makeup is the perfect love guide for every girl (and their granddaughters and grandnieces)."
-Cecilia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You and Rosie Dunne

"A hilarious cast of characters and the funniest, coolest heroine since Stephanie Plum...you will not be able to put this one down."
--MaryJanice Davidson, author of Undead and Unappreciated

About the Author

Kim Gruenenfelder lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son, and continues to avoid anything even remotely resembling a real job. In addition to her books, including Misery Loves Cabernet and There's Cake in My Future, she has written feature films, episodic teleplays and two stage plays. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031234872X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312348724
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

KIM GRUENENFELDER grew up in and around Los Angeles and began her career in TV at the age of 19. She has written feature films, episodic teleplays and two stage plays. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son, and continues to avoid anything even remotely resembling a real job.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't pass this up., January 1, 2006

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Total Waste of Makeup (Paperback)

I picked this up hoping it would be a great book because the book description on the back seemed so good. Well, I'm not disappointed! This is a witty, friendly, funny book that I'd recommend to anyone who wants a good laugh or to anyone who loves chick lit. Plus the 'entries' that Charlize 'Charlie' makes in her notebook for her great grand niece ring true in so many ways.
I'm really hoping this author will release another book. She has such great talent.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a joy to read, January 18, 2006

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Total Waste of Makeup (Paperback)

I hesitated about buying this book. I don't know why. This is a wonderful, funny, cute read.

Our main heroine gets herself into all kinds of strange situations but is so well written that you actually buy it. The best aspect of this book is the wonderful humour. The author takes some weird situations and makes them absolutely funny - even if they are over the top at times (an elephant?).

My favorite moments are between our main character and her boss, movie star Drew. The author made the decision to write him as a movie star, but without alot of the characteristics that you would expect to find in movie star characters in other books. You kind of like Drew even if he is a tad "spacey".

Everyone in this book is written just a little off center, but the storyline is cute and the author makes this book a greal gem.

I always know I am going to like a book when I don't want to put it down and when I have to - I keep looking forward to picking it back up.

I could go on and on about the characters and storyline - but I won't do it justice so go and buy this one.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine chick lit tale, December 27, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Total Waste of Makeup (Paperback)

As a personal assistant to Drew Stanton, a top movie star, Charlize "Charlie" Edwards seems to be living the good life in Southern California, but she is beginning to feel her age as she closes in on thirty due to her younger sister's upcoming marriage. Her family continues to drive her nuts as always, but the nuptials especially reminds her she is alone and will never have any children calling her mom.

To comfort her self with the empty nest syndrome, Charlie begins writing advice notes for the imaginative niece that has not been perceived, but she will one day hold though the kid will read her expertise probably in the next century. She also begins going out on dates after a male moratorium. To her amazement though most were calamities, she falls in love with set photographer Jordan though she also admits to her two confidents, Dawn and Kate, that she does not like him.

The key to this fine chick lit tale is the camaraderie between the three friends that seem so genuine that it serves as the plausibility anchor to the cast and the story line. The advice notes to a future niece are fun to follow as the audience also sees what makes Charlie tick while she can name her hemorrhoids after her family and her boss. However, the friendship between the three women who instinctively know first hand when a relationship is a TOTAL WASTE OF MAKEUP make Kim Gruenenfelder's tale fun to read.

Harriet Klausner