Unexpectedly Good

I was looking for something light to listen to that wasn't a romance or even a boy-gets-girl-loses-girl-gets-her-back chick lit plot. That's when I stumbled across Party Girl by Rachel Hollis. It was one of Audible's suggestions based on my searches and purchases. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Twenty-three year old Landon, or Brinkley as she is called in the book, moves to California to become an event planner, her dream of dreams. A Texas girl raised to be polite, good natured and kind, she finds herself in a cut-throat event planning company run by the rather ruthless, yet successful Salah Smith. As Landon is thrown to the wolves she does learn and grow in the company where every event seems to be a multimillionaire dollar affair. And of course, she gets herself into, and out of, complicated situations.

She makes friends who really don't understand her, yet can't help but like her energy and positive outlook on life. Although she may seem a bit Pollyanna-ish, the reader can't help but like her, too.

Loosely based on the author's life, it's a fun read because the characters are so engaging. At the conclusion I immediately went back to Audible to buy the second in the three-book series.

At first the narration by the author seems a little rough with the Southern accent, but the reader can quickly adjust and soon associates the voice with Landon. The weakness is there is not much difference between in the voices of the characters, so listening carefully is essential.

30 people found this helpful

Really impressive!!

*4.5 stars*

I've been working my way through new-to-me authors who are going to be at this year's RT convention, and this book is the first from that list that I've really, really enjoyed. Total shocker, especially since the author narrates her own audiobooks.

Authors narrating their own audiobooks is a no-no, in my book, only because very few have the acting chops and vocal range to pull it off. While Rachel Hollis doesn't excel at male voices, she rocked out her female voices and gave great feeling to her characters. I was amazed at how much I loved the audio, and I'll totally spring for the rest of the series in audio format.

Party Girl is very "The Devil Wears Prada"-esk, but not in a bad way. It is clear where some of the influence comes from, but it stops short of ever feeling derivative. I was really surprised at how easily I fell in love with this story. The MC, Landon Brinkley, is a hard-working, spunky, high-hair, southern, nonjudgmental character, and I adored her. That is saying a lot, because female MCs have a tendency, for some reason, to cut other women down and come across as the lowest common denomenator. Landon doesn't. She was a total breath of fresh air, and I would read about her any day of the week.

I stop short of calling this book a romance, for all of my fellow traditional romance-lovers, because the focus of the book is really on Landon's personal development. While there is some romance, it takes a far backseat. There is also absolutely no sex (or any action) on page, which makes it more chick-lit-y, in my book.

If you want an interesting, engaging, story about a woman trying to make it in the cut-throat world of LA with lots of great side characters and some light romance, don't pass this one up. And the audio upgrade is totally worth it. Rock on, Rachel Hollis.

15 people found this helpful

Authors aren't narrators

First, I really enjoyed this story line. It's basically The Devil Wears Prada but within the party planning industry rather than fashion industry. The characters are all interesting and well developed, and that makes the reader want to see how they fare in the sequels. The gang is fun and energetic, and the romance within the story is very sweet as well.
That said, I almost returned this book because I could not get into it with the narration by Rachel Hollis. She speaks quickly and with a very heavy southern accent that made it hard to become engaged at first. Every character, males included, have the same voice so it's difficult to know who is speaking. I spent a lot of time backing up to hear lines again. I signed into my account in order to return the book after making two attempts to get into it. While there, I again read the reviews. So many enjoyed the story that it made me angry that I couldn't listen to it. I decided to keep it and try again. I listened to a different book and then came back to this one. After a fashion I got used to the accent, and she even seemed to lighten it up a bit later in the story. I'm glad I stuck it out because I was fully involved by the end. Still, not all authors are voice actors. If you can't read a story and at least attempt to give different voices to different characters, you should not be a narrator. I find myself wanting very much to listen to Book 2 now, but I almost dread having to struggle through the beginning again. Please hire a real narrator next time.

2 people found this helpful

Loved it!

This book was fun and light reading. Loved the characters. I was pleasantly surprised by it.

2 people found this helpful

For 20-Somethings...

I don’t really understand all of the 5 star ratings. The story isn’t original... it’s basically a ripoff of “The Devil Wears Prada.”

I could see enjoying this if I were still in my 20’s but I’m not. The characters are immature, but it’s entertaining. Don’t expect it to be a literary masterpiece... it’s a very light, beach read.

2 people found this helpful

It Wasn't Really for Me

If you're in your mid-20's or below, just read this first paragraph and quit:
This story was nicely written with fun, quirky characters and a good plot line. The humor was definitely the best part, with some great laugh-out-loud moments and super one-liners as well.

I wish I had more nice things to say about it, but in truth, if you're over a certain age it's just not as much fun. At least that's how it worked out for me. The main character, who actually had a good value system in place, still came across as a shallow, whiney, self-absorbed young thing that didn't have a clue. I almost gave up on the book early on because I just couldn't connect with Landon or even most of her co-workers, who I found easier to like than her. I stuck with the story hoping she would grow on me. I will say that the story eventually did, but not so much the character of Landon herself.

Unfortunately, the narration of the audiobook really didn't help my impression of the story. I rarely give truly negative comments in a review. So I'll apologize. The author wrote a good story, but she was not the best choice to narrate it.

1 person found this helpful

I liked it better as 'Devil Wears Prada'

I didn't dislike this book, it wasn't bad at all, but, that being said, I did enjoy it much more as 'The Devil Wears Prada'. I was pleasantly surprised by the narration provided by Rachel Hollis.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the main character Landon constantly tooting her own horn. I do understand her pride in what she's accomplished, but to be stunned that someone else takes the credit, honey, welcome to the real world.

1 person found this helpful

extremely disappointed in this book

I quit only about half an hour in. very disappointed in the language she used.

1 person found this helpful

Could not stop reading

Loved the book and I found myself totally enthralled in the storyline. It felt like I was reading a fun biography.

Predictable, Sugary Sweet Story

Just ridiculous really. The only reason I finished was because I had already bought it and wasn't reading anything else at the time anyway. This sugary sweet Pollyanna story is unbelievable, naive, and the Texas accent is overdone. Pass.