Eliza Kennedy

Enjoying a dream job, close friendships, a loving family and a gorgeous fiancé, Lily Wilder evaluates her history of partying and dating lots of men to consider whether getting married is the right choice for her. A first novel.

I Take You

Chelsea White

** spoiler alert **
           Did not finish. One star feels generous. I listened to the audio book and wasted nearly 5 hours of my life on this, and I'm honestly mad about that.

The heroine of this story, Lily, is a straight up monster. Her best friend, Freddie, is an enabler who, when taking the hard position of pushing back against some of Lily's worst behavior (of which there is PLENTY to choose from) she immediately backs down when Lily says anything close to "you're judging me." In one particular jaw-droppingly horrific instance, that sentence had Freddie backing down from the completely valid argument of "You don't know if you love Will, and his mom has information on you that is almost guaranteed to lead to the ruin of your career. You're a lawyer, she's a US District Attorney, think about it. Just call off the wedding and keep the job you love."

There are SO MANY things that made me absolutely HATE the main character, and not in an anti-hero way. The book opens with her making out with a random guy at her bachelorette party, then going into work from the bar and sleeping with her boss with all her coworkers in close proximity. The next day she flies down to Key West with her fiance, Will, where she continues to make out with and attempt to seduce everyone from random men in bars to HER FIANCE'S BEST FRIEND. Legit, Will has whiskey dick from his bachelor party the night before, so she GOES TO HIS BEST FRIEND'S ROOM to get dirt on Will AND to attempt to hook up with his best friend. Three days before the wedding. It should be noted that she and Will have known each other for four months, and been engaged for three. Kinda seems like you should pump the brakes.

One of the few characters I agreed with was painted as the bitch for pointing out that Lily's sleeping around was not great, especially since she's engaged. Freddie ripped her a new one for, you may have guessed it, judging Lily. Freddie went on a big anti-slut shaming rant, and as a slut I can honestly say if you dare put me in the same category as LILY, I will be highly offended. I'm all for having the sex life that you want, as long as everyone's consenting, and you're not hurting anyone intentionally. Lily intentionally disregards Will, who she DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ENGAGED TO OR IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH.

The ONLY time I felt something close to neutral (as opposed to outright loathing) for Lily was when she told her story about Teddy and the other guy (whose name I have forgotten because the memory of it was quickly replaced by Lily once again being horrible). I can see how she took the blame for what's his name killing himself, but rather than dig into ANY emotional depth with Lily and how the situation actually affected her, the story promptly moved on to Will's mom blackmailing Lily to get her to dump Will. Again, this blackmail would most likely lead to the ruin of Lily's career, which she 100% loves (unlike Will), and rather than take the out that has been offered when she needed it most, Lily decides she DOES want to marry Will because... she doesn't like bullies and she sees her future mother-in-law as a bully because of this. A reminder: her future mother-in-law is the US District Attorney for Chicago. I....

This book is so bad. It's not worth your time. I wanted to quick around 30% done, but decided to stick it out to see if it gets better. It doesn't. It gets worse. So much worse. Lily is the fucking worst. This book may be the worst book I've had the displeasure of reading, ever.

Chantale

This book just didn't keep my attention but mind you I am super picky when it comes to chic lit. I couldn't even finish it because it wouldn't keep my attention .

Some might like it but really I had a hard time keeping to read this one.

Jessica 

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As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way. For my full review, please continue to BOOKEDJ. 

For months I’d been anticipating the release of Eliza Kennedy’s debut novel; the blurb I’d read sounded like it had all the makings of an entertaining spring and summer, kick back and relax read. And the cover art: boy, is that cover a beauty. I couldn’t stop starring at it. I still can’t; in spite of the flaws of the book the cover art is still lovely.

I squealed a lot when I saw my request had been filled. There may have been a bit of obnoxious, neighbor's stare inducing, happy dance. I honestly couldn’t wait to dig in. It promised to be delicious and offensive in that good, fun sort of way. And while it did strike a lot of chords humor wise, it was generally a letdown. I can’t figure out where everything went wrong – Eliza’s writing is easy, descriptive, stylish and witty.

But the story was so… sigh.

And the characters are even worse.

Erika Beneville

Amy Vicknair

‘Whip-smart, pacy, and truly hilarious. The Bridget Jones’ Diary for our times, you’ll probably read it in one sitting because that’s how good it is’ Stylist I’m getting married. He’s perfect! It’s a disaster. Note to self: Do not tell future-mother-in-law that you got into Harvard Law School by sleeping with the Dean of Admissions. Do not sing Beyoncé-style while representing client in major court deposition (actually, that one kinda works). Do not buy into the social construct of fidelity. But hey, for an easy life, do not let Will find out about all the other men (esp. my boss/his boss/his best friend). Meet Lily Wilder: New Yorker, lawyer extraordinaire, blushing bride. And totally incapable of being faithful to one man. As the big day dawns, one thing's for certain, Lily's in for a hell of a surprise...

I Take You

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