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Review: The F Word by Liza Palmer



Blurb from Goodreads:
At once a funny, whip-smart sendup of Los Angeles culture and an irresistible love story, internationally bestselling author Liza Palmer's The F Word is a novel about how sometimes who we become isn t who we really are. 

We re all pushing some version of the life we want you to believe. It s all just PR. 

Olivia Morten is perfect. Maybe her high-flying publicist job has taken over her life, but her clients are Los Angeles' hottest celebrities. Maybe her husband is never around, but he is a drop-dead-gorgeous, successful doctor. Maybe her friends are dumb, but they know how to look glamorous at a cocktail party. And maybe her past harbors an incredibly embarrassing secret, but no one remembers high school right?

When Ben Dunn, Olivia s high school arch nemesis and onetime crush, suddenly resurfaces, Olivia realizes how precarious all of her perfection is. As she finds herself dredging up long-suppressed memories from her past, she is forced to confront the most painful truth of all: maybe she used to be the fat girl, but she used to be happy, too.
My Review:
 
I started off not loving this one - so many #firstworldproblems - because I just couldn't connect to the story or the characters.  But, about half way through, we got a better sense of Olivia and I appreciated her dimensions.  What didn't work for me in this book were the descriptions of Olivia's job (she does PR for celebrities) because I seriously didn't care; I didn't care about uber famous actors and their petty shit and I could not imagine being fulfilled by devoting your life to helping celebrities with the same.  What did work for me was Olivia's internal monologue - she slowly describes a lot about her past and how it has informed her present and it felt very real to me. I read this in one day so, if nothing else, that should tell you how much I liked this one once I got into it!

The F Word comes out later this month on April 25, 2017 and you can purchase HERE. I definitely recommend this one to fans of Marian Keyes and/or Jane Green - definitely reminiscent of both with a Southern California spin!
My face is hot and the cold morning air burns my throat as I take deeper and deeper breaths.   
Over and over and over again.   
I can't keep it in anymore. I want to scream it and scream it and scream it. I'm exhausted. I know I'm not he only woman who's fucking exhausted. We work tirelessly only to be told that the hings at which we excel are unimportant. Running a home and having a career, all the while keeping effortlessly slim. Being cheerleaders and therapists to men who assure that, unlike women, they need neither. How can I help? What can I do? What more can I give you? Will this be enough? Am I valuable now? Will I ever do enough for you tell I'm important? Why do I care so much? Why do I believe you when you tell me I'm crazy and emotional? Why do I left you dictate what is meaningful?

Comments

  1. This sounds awful but that cover would never have made me look twice but I think it sounds like something I would enjoy. I have another book by this author I need to get to but I will add this one too. Great review!

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  2. I've been on the fence about trying this one. I think I could like it...maybe I will. Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can see how the celebrity aspect of her job is hard to relate to -- but it seems the author hits the nail on the head with Olivia -- which is good, because she sounds like a great character! Great review!

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