Customer Reviews

L. A. Woman (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback))

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I first heard Red Dress Ink was going to be publishing monthly books about the single girl, I thought I had struck gold. I'll admit to being a little fanatical about chick lit. However, I've sort of burned myself out on this genre, although I do favor a nice, breezy read in between my meatier ones, and the Red Dress Ink books are perfect for that. L.A. Woman is your typical story for this type of book. No great shakes, but not a total time waster either.

L.A. Woman tells the story of 25-year-old Sarah Walker, who has recently moved to L.A. to be closer to her long-time fiance, Benjamin. With hopes of finally being able to move in together and work toward planning their wedding, Sarah's love life is definitely looking up -- until Benjamin's moving plans fall through, leaving Sarah alone and broke in a new city. And when Ben's unsupportiveness regarding her job woes and money problems reach the breaking point, Sarah also finds herself suddenly single. But with the addition of a new roommate, Martika, and gay friend, Taylor, Sarah will be on the road to recovery...albeit a rocky one.

Nothing new here in this novel that I've never read before. L.A. Woman does not offer up anything more than any other book in this genre would. However, the story is fun to read, and Benjamin's jerkiness is enough to invoke some serious ire in readers. Cathy Yardley has a promising talent, and I wouldn't hesitate to read another of her books in the future.

LA Woman is both fresh and familiar. Author Cathy Yardley uses the popular dumped-girl-searching-for-a-bigger-and-better-life genre, but one cannot help but relate to the characters laid out in amazing technicolor glory. The cast of characters- small town Sarah Walker, glamazon Martika, over-the-top Tyler- are realistic and inviting. They not only represent youthful L.A. vigour as it truly is, but their charm and charisma woo the reader into making friends with the pages quickly.

Yardley's use of third person is remarkably easy to keep stride. Seeing the different perspectives of each character allows the reader to become more intimate with their quirkiness and then watch as each individual scenario becomes a part of the bigger picture. The writing style is spunky, true-to-life, and easy to grasp. In fact, the book barely seems like a novel with its ability to read like an up-beat conversation between friends.

Don't mistake a quick and easy read for unfulfilling though. Cathy Yardley touches on some serious issues and the questions of friendship, family, and being true to one's self are explored with ease and honesty.

The perfect balance of humour and reality, L.A. Woman is a fabulous read for fabulous women.

Sarah Walker is searching...searching for the right job, the right man, the right niche. Unfortunately the searching isn't going real well! We've all been there. Watching Sarah's journey to find where she belongs brings it all back.

LA Woman is a delightful, fast-paced story that will keep you flipping the pages. Cathy Yardley is a talented storyteller and I'm so looking forward to her next release!

I was beginning to think that Red Dress Ink was losing its touch, but this book proved me wrong! I loved the characters (even if some of them are stereotypical) because they really paint the town red. I love the fact that she's starting from "scratch" and finding her place in the land of L.A. Oz. I give it 5 stars, not because it's the best literature I've ever read, but because I couldn't put it down and it kept me wanting to know more about Sarah and the wild crowd she gets drawn into. I had a lot of fun reading it and finished it in two days!

I literally cheered for Sarah when she finally tells Benjamin off! Loved her new buddy in town, Taylor - an absolutely sweet and hilarious guy. Sarah's new roomie Martika is great. Totally the opposite of Sarah, of course. But so lively & fun - although the gal does live on the wild side. I flew through this book & found it entertaining and witty.

This book was 5 stars all the way through until the very end of the book where I felt it ended a little too fast. Without given the story away, I also felt like, by then, Sarah knew better than to have "chosen" that last big problem. But otherwise, the characters were great, the story was great & I really enjoyed this book.

I'm reading them in order of publication, and I liked this one the best so far. I could relate to Sarah, having played doormat in my life. It was good to see her working out of her "Oh, what can I do to please you, I'll do anything" phase early on in the book. And her new friends Martika and Tyler were a hoot.

I liked the pace of this book. The Los Angeles setting, the characters, the descriptions of LA club life, and the transformation of "Eleanor" are all entertaining and make for a perfect beach read.

However, the whole "Odd Couple" scenario has been done and re-done. I really had hoped this novel would avoid this. Still, L.A. Woman is fun and a nice addition to the Red Dress Ink series. If you're a fan of the series, you'll find that this book will not disappoint.

While the story was captivating to a point. I guess It was just not enough to keep me interested.

This is, by far, the best Red Dress Ink book, to date. It's fun, hip, sassy, the story moves along well and all of the charaters are likable. The fresh writing makes it fun for a beach read or just curling up on the couch with a cup of tea. (Depending on your season.) The story submerges the reader into the world of Sarah, Martika and Taylor -- what it's like to be young, struggling for your identity, your job, your way of life -- without having them seem self-centered, annoying, unrealistic or people you wouldn't want to hang with. Never having been to LA, I felt like the story did a good job describing what it's like to live, work, hang out and party in the club scene of LA. The Doors song titles and theme throughout the book is very clever and you find yourself humming the particular tune as you're reading that chapter. Well...I did! = ) It's a cute, feel-good ending and it leaves you wanting to know more about these people's lives. Perhaps the author would treat us to a sequel? Well worth the time and money to read. Enjoy!

Sarah from "L.A. Woman" is a woman that many other young women can relate to. She is a confused twenty-five year old woman looking for her destiny. I often found myself relating to her throughout the book; from the make-up lines to the thoughts and feelings! Cathy Yardley does a great job detailing the main character, Sarah, and creates a normal woman walking down the streets of a city. I found this to be a very entertaining novel and believe that it may have even influenced my life.

Yardley has a very clean, simple understood style. She keeps the plot exciting and the reader guessing. She uses an incredible set of characters and represents young people today accurately. My favorite thing about the book would be the way Yardley keeps the story modern and new- age. It is a great story with a magazine article tempo.