I loved this book! I read it in one day, staying up late in the evening because I just had to finish it. There were many times where I found myself laughing out loud. Looking forward to reading more books by Jenny Colgan.

For a full review of the book visit here: http://chick-lit.suite101.com/article... ( )

I bought this book at the dollar store, and I think I paid too much.

Terrible story, full of unoriginal stereotypes and unlikeable characters. The main character, Melanie, is shuffled through one pathetic situation after another with no redeeming qualities. At least Bridget Jones had charm. We are somehow supposed to like a woman who: treats her roommate like crap just because she's odd, skips work all the time for selfish reasons (and only gets transfered to another department instead of having her ass fired), worships a boyfriend who cheats on her, remains friends with a woman who treats her like crap to her face, shows no sign of intelligence... I can go on and on about how dislikeable Melanie is. Scenes that are supposed to depict her as cute or quirky come off as just sad. It is laughable how she lets everyone get one over on her- even her best friend, Fran, whom we're supposed to believe is so close to Melanie, yet steals the terrible boyfriend she always openly despised. Oh, but it's all OK, because the two gals are BFFs again at the end, because Fran was just being her usual slutty self, ha ha! Really, I wonder if the author ever met a woman of three-dimensional depth, because it's not evident by her female characters. The titular Amanda is the alpha bitch whom we've seen a hundred times before, complete with a raving tantrum that finally is her undoing. Fran is the promiscuous best friend, (Oh, that Fran, she'll make out with anyone, including that married guy!) And Melanie is the self-loathing, masochistic heroine always looking for a guy to make her feel better about herself. Her sudden romance with Amanda's would-be groom in the last chapters is laughable, especially since the novel spent so much time building up her potential with the groom's brother Angus.

Besides the terrible plot and poor characters, the reader is plagued with terrible writing and bad jokes. The book jacket notes that the author tried out material in the book on the stand-up circuit, and I can only wonder if polite laughter convinced her she was on to something.

I only added this to my library because I have truly found the worst book I've ever read, and had to write about it. I didn't crack this book open expecting Shakespeare, but the story doesn't even have the light fluffiness that makes typical chick lit books enjoyable. I'd feel embarrassed for the author if I suspected that she knew what she wrote was vapid junk. ( )

The engagement of a bratty childhood friend leads two women to try to warn the groom off. Rather silly and not in a cute way. ( )

I hate when books have several typos, including calling a character by the wrong name. Plus, the plot, writing, etc left a lot to be desired. ( )

I have vague memories of buying this book because I needed something fluffy to read. I chose this one because I'd read that the young author had recieved a crazy advance for the book and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about (I was also planning a wedding at the time and was a sucker for something with a bride on the front of it).

It stays in my bookshelf as an eternal reminder that a great advance does not guarantee a great book. Maybe the publisher knew that they'd be able to get reasonable sales just by putting a bride on the front!

The problem with this book is that the main character, the one we're supposed to sympathise with, is difficult to like. This is OK in some books, but in this book, she is supposed to be taking the moral highground over an unlikable rival character.

I disliked this book, but have since out of desperation read other books by the same author. They're much better. ( )