Too Bad

Smart Girl is the last in The Girls series trilogy by Rachel Hollis. The point of view in this one is Miko, who we've come to learn in the first two books has a love affair with literature. Quirky, cute and in business with Landon, she is an event designer in love with Liam Ashton, another brother of Max's.

The plot fell just short of good. Unlike the other two, it has a one-note rather than a multi-note conflict; Miko's plan to snag Liam. She makes a list of snaring activities based on her favorite literary romances. As she implements the first two, the reader gets a sense that they are all going to go awry and the plot will be funny and show us Miko getting out of and/or explaining all kinds of scrapes. The problem is that the list becomes an inconsistent plot device. Sometimes it's there. Sometimes it's not. We are constantly in Miko's head as she convinces herself she is mature and worldly. In the meantime, Liam is self-absorbed and selfish, which causes Miko to behave similarly.

Unlike the first two books which feature the effervescent Landon and grouchy but soft-hearted Max, who both have experience tension about a guy but also have a complicated life dream they are trying to achieve, all Miko wants is Liam. She has no other life plan. That makes her one-dimensional. It creates a certain amount of boredom in the book. And I found as I read on, I didn't respect Miko very much. And I certainly didn't respect Liam. The reason for his aloofness was not well developed. Rather, it was only hinted at. Here we have this wealthy and successful man coming from a very friendly and close-knit family acting like a jerk most of the time. And the reader doesn't feel he has a very good reason for it. Had Rachel developed that better, we may have bought into Miko's belief that he is kind and good.

In a trilogy it is usually the second book that is the weakest. But in this case, it is the third one. It's simply not as good as the other two because Miko is a flat character. We know more about her from the first two books than in the one from her point of view. But even in those, we learn nothing about her life dream. Is her life dream really only about a guy? And this particular guy?

It didn't matter that the ending was predictable. The other two were as well, but the tension in the first two was created much better because of the complexity of the stories. In this one, not so much. The epilogue finishes Miko's story, but it also finishes the stories of Landon and Max.

It would have been nice as the girls hug each other in the final paragraphs if they would have given a toast to Sandra Bullock, a behavioral trope carried throughout the book.

Once again the narrator is the author. And once again, her ability to differentiate voices is not well done. However, by now the reader expects it and isn't as confused as in the second book.

All in all, I enjoyed the series. And I'd probably buy another book by Hollis. Any author can have a weak book. And this is Rachel's.

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12 people found this helpful

Not as good as the first two

I really liked the first two books in this series but found it difficult to relate and not just get frustrated with a head in the clouds protagonist. I felt like I was hearing the interior monologue of a teenager - not a successful young woman.

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5 people found this helpful

Stop after Sweet Girl (#2) of this trilogy.

First of all, I am a big Rachel Hollis fan. The first Book in this series was very cute. The second book was also good. However this book took a turn from characters who have determination, complexity, and ambition to a character who is whiney, desperate, immature, sad, pathetic, and who seems to harass and stalk a love interest. I could only listen to about 40% before I decided that I did not even want to hear the end of the story. Don’t waste your time and money on this one.

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3 people found this helpful

Smart Girl

Overall not a bad story; of the three in the series I liked this the least. The main character tried to manufacture love and a relationship within what amounted to a constant booty call. The weird and it was just a pointing in they had I had hoped our protagonist would have grown. Although she had shown some progress, with this sappy ending she was reduced back to the dutiful little woman on his terms. I fully expected the story to produce another, truer, leading man and she would realize was a much better match and choice for her heart.

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1 person found this helpful

Great book, great series.

Love this whole series. Such a sweet trio of romances that are just as much coming of age stories for strong women as they are love stories.

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Not too smart!

Not a very interesting story and the performer was shouting all the time. Listening to her was very difficult and annoying.

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I love this series!!!

These audio books were unique in that the girl who the story was about told her own story, with New friends and those made on the way we learn the story of love and how each individual grows into the adult they want to be. You won't be able to stop listening. I didnt!

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Great book

All Rachel’s books are amazing but the way she delivers them is amazing! Definitely will listen again!

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love it! I need more girls! the next chapters!

love it! I need more girls! the next chapters on their lives together! more!

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Predictable and boring

Definitely not as good as the first book. I was very bored at the beginning. I did enjoy the happy ending of the story.

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