Blog Tour: When Girlfriends Let Go

I've read almost every other book in Savannah Page's When Girlfriends... series so when CLP Blog Tours asked for hosts for the upcoming tour for When Girlfriends Let Go, book six in the seven part series, I eagerly signed up. I was really looking forward to see what my favourite Seattle based girlfriends were up to!

Here's the synopsis:

A novel about love, self-discovery, and realizing sometimes you have to let go.
Jackie Kittredge is the consummate drama queen living the charmed life. She’s enthusiastic, outspoken, and is always looking for a good time. At twenty-seven she’s got a swanky Seattle townhouse, a wealthy husband, a designer wardrobe, the best of girlfriends, and a calendar filled not with meetings and deadlines, but spa appointments and happy hour reminders. On the outside, she’s got it all.
On the inside, though, Jackie’s charmed life isn’t as it seems. She’s seeing a therapist, battling the demons of coming from a broken home and a past of promiscuity and heavy drinking. She can be selfish and demanding, sometimes even wearing her best friends thin. And now her marriage—what she thought could be her solid foundation—is on the rocks. Her husband Andrew spends nearly all his time at the office (and possibly with his secretary), and apologizes for his absence with lavish gifts and empty promises.
Miserable and desperate, Jackie questions if her marriage is worth fighting for. Then a string of events begins to put things into perspective…into a perspective she didn’t quite anticipate. With her best friends by her side and some tough love, Jackie finds herself not only asking if she’s where she belongs, but if she’s who she’s supposed to be.
This is a passionate story about having to answer some of life’s most important and difficult questions. It’s a story about fear, courage, and personal growth. About what happens when girlfriends let go. 

I knew this book was going to be about Jackie and I'm not going to lie and say that I was looking forward to it. Jackie was never my favourite of the girlfriends. She always seemed so immature and selfish and...sort of broken. While I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of hers even now, I'm glad I got the chance to read about her life from her perspective. Even though she drove me up the wall. I couldn't believe how whiny and, well, stupid she was being for so much of the novel. I found myself desperately begging her to grow up before she ruined absolutely everything. I'm happy with how things worked out for her in the end, of course, but, boy, it was rough getting to that point.

And it took forever to get to the point. My biggest complaint about this novel is that is was way. too. long. It was over 400 pages! Ack! You all know I love my chick lit and I really don't mind large novels. But big books that have absolutely no reason for being that big? Frustrating. I feel like I would have enjoyed this novel a hell of a lot more if it had been 200 pages shorter. The more I read the more I got to thinking about which sections I would cut. It was really repetitive in a way...Jackie acting the same and having the same fights with her husband. It needed to be shorter, simple as that.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book. As with the others, I loved that the girls are all (for the most part) twentysomething women living fabulously everyday lives. Each one is at a slightly different point in her life (some are married, one has children, one owns a business, and so on) but I love that they could be my group of friends. Actually, I wish they were. That would mean my friends and I would be much more successful than we are (sorry...that might be the "my contract job is over next week and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life" talking!). But seriously. I adore reading about a fun group of girlfriends and Page's most recent When Girlfriends... book delivered that.

I was a little surprised to learn that there's going to be a seventh book (actually, When Girlfriends Find Love is already released) but it makes sense. Page set up her series to work in a bit of a circle. The books started with Sophie and they'll end with her, too. Even though I didn't adore this one, I still want, no, need to find out what happens to all the girls. Do they all get their perfect happily ever afters? I hope so!

Overall, When Girlfriends Let Go sort of disappointed me but it's by no means a bad book. I think I wanted more from it because I had enjoyed Savannah Page's other novels so much. It's still definitely worth the read if you've checked out the rest of the series but just be aware that you'll be in this one for the long haul. Perhaps it's perfect for a nice, long weekend!