Review: Mad About the Boy

Bridget's back! It's been well over a decade since we last read about Bridget Jones but Helen Fielding has brought back one of chick lit's favourite heroines in one of the most anticipated novels of the year. Mad About the Boy has been the topic of conversation for a lot of readers over the past few weeks due to the massive spoiler that was revealed in a British newspaper. I went back and forth about if I wanted to talk about said spoiler and I don't think I can get around writing a good review without it. So. If you don't want to know, don't read past the synopsis. Just know that Fielding has given readers the same Bridget we fell in love with all those years ago. She's older and has a whole new set of issues but she's the same person. The novel was funny, it was sad, it was pretty much exactly what I expected. And that was great.

Here's the synopsis:

With her hotly anticipated third installment, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Fielding introduces us to a whole new enticing phase of Bridget's life set in contemporary London, including the challenges of maintaining sex appeal as the years roll by and the nightmare of drunken texting, the skinny jean, the disastrous e-mail cc, total lack of Twitter followers, and TVs that need 90 buttons and three remotes to simply turn on.
An uproariously funny novel of modern life, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is a triumphant return of our favorite Everywoman.

For those of you who know about the spoiler (or just don't care), read on!

Ready? Let's tackle this elephant in the room. Learning that Mark Darcy was dead completely sucked. I was upset, like everyone else. I could, however, sort of understand where Fielding was coming from. There had to be some sort of conflict because reading a whole Happily Ever After novel can get a bit tedious. No one is perfect! I found myself wondering: did he really have to DIE??? The more I thought about it, the more I realized, yes, he did. Mark Darcy is one of the most beloved male leads in chick lit and to learn that he was no longer living hurt a lot of people. But would you have wanted him to be alive and no longer with Bridget? No. I also can't understand the readers who cancelled their preorders and/or said they refused to read the book. I think that was taking things a little too far. Don't judge before you have the full story. When the news was first released I wondered why the hell they were telling everyone. It took awhile for me to realize that they had to. This way they were able to control the spoiler's outbreak and explain it more. So, did knowing Mark Darcy was dead affect how I read the book? Absolutely. I had also reread the first two the weekend before reading the third book because I couldn't remember what happened. Rereading them, knowing that Mark was dead in "present" day, was hard. Reading Mad About the Boy was also hard. The grief Bridget feels is palpable and there were a few times my heart broke for her and I found myself tearing up. All that being said...I fear this has taken over too much of the discussion of this book so far (granted, it was only just released so a lot of people haven't read it yet) and I think the rest of the story is being lost in the grief and anger readers feel about Darcy's death. What do you think of the whole drama? 

My favourite part of the novel? I loved that Bridget was still Bridget. Her personality hasn't changed over the last few years. She's still funny, caring, and clumsy. Of course, a few things have changed. She now has Twitter (it was hilarious watching her figure that out), too many TV remotes, and two young children (who provide several funny and heartbreaking moments). She's still keeping track of things, though there are less cigarettes and more Nicorette, less alcohol units and more nits (the lice scenes were amusing!). This is an older, wiser, and more world weary Bridget but she's just as (if not more) lovable than we remember.

I do wonder what non-Bridget fans, especially, think of this book. Personally, if I had read the synopsis and didn't know this was a Bridget Jones book I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I don't often read about moms because that's just not what my life is like. I was able to get past the mommy (or should I say, mummy) issues I just don't relate to because I truly wanted to see what Bridget was like now.

The romances in the novel were easy to predict but that was OK. They were so real - funny, frustrating, sweet - and that made them so much better to read about. Nothing is perfect, especially not relationships, so it was great to see dates and encounters that were less than perfect. Besides, it wouldn't be Bridget if everything went swimmingly!

I would suggest you read Mad About the Boy in one sitting, if you can. Hunker down on a Saturday or Sunday with a blanket, some tea and snacks, and Helen Fielding's novel and read it from start to finish. I read most of it in one go and I really lost some momentum when I went back to finish the last third or so. I don't think you have to be a Bridget Jones fan to enjoy this one but I think it's best if you are. I wonder if people, myself included, are liking this novel purely for the nostalgia factor. Whatever the reason, I found Mad About the Boy to be an enjoyable read. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll get exactly what you came for.

Happy reading :)

Author Guest Post: Suzan Battah

A big thank you to author Suzan Battah for stopping by Books Etc. to share her thoughts on becoming an author. In case you missed it, check out my review of her novel Mad About the Boy here. I hope you all enjoy this post!

Chasing my Dreams of being a Bestselling Author

Well it's been a long and tough road on my way to being published and taking the independent road was exactly what I needed to do. Mad About the Boy first came about when I studied at the Australian College of Journalism. When I was 18, I begged my parents to give me as a birthday present the course Diploma of Professional Romance Writing from the ACJ and luckily they granted my wish. I learnt so much doing a structured course and my instructor was very good and encouraging.

I was a young twenty-one year old trying to sell my book and after a bad experience with a vanity press, I stopped writing for about three years before getting back into it. I worked harder and as I got older my writing got better and better. Writing is in my blood and it's a big part of my life. So for about six years after I kept putting it out there, entering competitions which I was shredded to pieces in some with very personal snarky comments about my work. However, in two competitions I placed and won awards for Mad About the Boy - this is what kept me going. I no longer care about any negativity and honestly not everyone will enjoy my style of writing or the story. There are a lot of readers in this world and lot WILL enjoy my books.

Traditional publishing no longer became an option. I had many positive comments but not enough for representation or publication. At thirty years of age I decided to go it alone and turn myself into the publisher and author. In 2011 the digital age was thriving, independent publishing was booming and authors were coming out of the closet to put their work online. I was going to do it and decided to do it well. Publicity campaigns, reviews, interviews, book trailers, cover art! All of this is fun and frustrating to organise but it's all part and parcel of walking the independent publishing line. I'm really happy with the choice I made. Publishing houses only have a certain budget to adhere to and it's very competitive- lots of really great authors out there! But I believe I'm one of them and my work deserves to be read.

With my cheer squad (family and friends) whistling and clapping, I've walked the independent publishing line and survived! Mad About the Boy is out there now, available online and in bookstores in eBook and paperback. Just like the song Mad About the Boy that I fell in love with all those years back by Dinah Washington, I'm falling in love with being an author not just a writer especially when I hear the readers respond so positively to my work. I recently had lunch in Sydney with the lovely Australian Romance Readers Association ladies and four of them were reading my book and very much enjoying it. The road I took was not traditional but independent however it has given me such freedom and joy. I'm proud to share the art of my writing with such lovely book reading bloggers, going on tour and hearing the honesty in the reviews. This is my road to Bestselling Success - I have faith in my dream and you as the readers are all part of it. Enjoy Mad About the Boy, it's funny, dramatic with such raw emotion and full of passionate romance. Julia and Christophe go on one big rollercoaster ride called life, their journey is amazing and I loved writing it!

Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour: Mad About the Boy

It's another stop on a CLP Blog Tour! Welcome to my review of Mad About the Boy by Suzan Battah. When you're all done reading my reviews, make sure you head over to the CLP Tour page to see what other bloggers had to say about this novel.

Now, without further ado, here's the synopsis of the book:

Julia Mendoza is driven by the success of her business. Since her husband Carlos passed away at such a young age, her business By Design is her number one priority. In her late twenties she works too hard and doesn’t take time out for fun. Annoyance with a pesky ex-friend has her begging one of the local surfer’s with a cheeky smile in the grocery store to pretend he’s her boyfriend. Suddenly, life takes a sudden detour from her business plan; much to the delight of her boisterous Latin American family.
Christophe Augustine is groomed to take over his father’s successful chain of luxurious hotels. With a wealthy French-American background, Chris has been given privileges that not many have. He works hard, plays harder but seeks approval and recognition above all else. Family is a top priority for him as he fights for custody of his young brother. His parent’s divorce has not diminished his faith in romance. When a gorgeous Latino woman changes one boring morning into an interesting game of role play, though reluctant to help at first, he soon realises she’s not like the string of other women he’s known.
A romantic first date ending dramatically doesn’t stop Chris from wanting to know Julia more. And for Julia, she’s all for a bit of fun but when things get too serious she’s running the other way. Too alike, in some ways and complete opposites, in others ways, Julia and Chris fumble through fun moments, annoying confrontations, passionate times and heartbreaking revelations.
Love has no boundaries when soul-mates meet but when one is ready to love and the other one isn’t...

This was one of those books that was fun to read but wasn't quite amazing enough for me to put it on my "must recommend" list. I think a large part of that comes from the way the book was written. There were a few times that I found myself mentally editing the book and I wished that it had been cleaned up just a little bit more. For me it was mostly a flow issue. Sometimes events occurred that seemed a little bit out of order or totally out of the blue. I could sort of make the connections but I wanted more background or explanation to what had happened.

Julia had a great support system of friends and family. She goes through a lot in this novel and everyone is there for her every step of the way. I particularly loved Randy and Boric. They were so completely outrageous and amazing. I really liked when Boric and Julia were spying on Chris at the monkey jungle. I actually burst out laughing when Boric said they were looking for the blonde monkey. I know that won't make much sense to those who haven't read this book but trust me, it was funny :)

Even with the few writing issues, I still found myself invested in Julia and her journey with Chris. I sometimes wondered what the heck she was thinking by not revealing all of her past to him but I could tell that she was really struggling with her feelings and that really came through as I was reading. This definitely wasn't an easy romance as many curve balls are thrown at the couple along the way but I liked that. It wasn't predictable and I looked forward to seeing how Battah wrapped things up.

Overall, I had fun reading Mad About the Boy even though I didn't love it. I think I'll still try to check out what Suzan Batthah comes out with in the future because this story grabbed me even if the writing didn't. I'd recommend this one for a summer read - it'd be a great beach read!

Happy reading :)