A sparkling New York comedy about making plans for other people — and then tripping yourself up in them. There’s something magical about Brooklyn’s Billy Nolan. It’s not just that he’s wickedly attractive, it’s that any woman he dates and dumps (and he dates and dumps them all) immediately goes on to marry someone else. Sassy, uptown New Yorker Kate is immune to Billy’s charms – she left Brooklyn behind a long time ago, and she’s not about to fall under the spell of a handsome waster from the old neighbourhood. Besides, she’s dating the eminently suitable Michael. But perhaps the ‘Billy effect’ will work for Kate’s friend, Bina, who has fallen apart because her almost-fiance, Jack, is going away to ‘explore his singleness’. All Kate has to do is get Billy to date Bina and dump her – and then await Jack’s return and watch the magic happen. It’s a great plan and at first it seems to be working. But the one thing Kate hasn’t considered is how Billy feels about it all…
Honestly, this book wasn’t all that good. I didn’t expect it to be amazing. I mean, firstly the title. If you’re going to write a book, please stick with the same title! I had the copy in the picture above, Uptown Girl, but to Google it and find it on Goodreads I had to call it Dumping Billy.
You could tell from the blurb it was going to be just a fluffy book that didn’t make you think. But that doesn’t mean it’s allowed to be bad.
First, Kate. She wasn’t a very interesting character. I found her predictable, and doesn’t stand out from all the other women in the book. She goes on and on about how much she can’t stand Brooklyn, then goes back there to see her friends all the time. Her friends who’s names all start with B of course. But not Kate. If you’re going to go with a theme like that, stick with it for the whole group, please.
Then Brice and Elliot. At first I thought Elliot was going to be the one interesting character in the book. But his gayness got too much. Sorry, did you catch that? He’s gay. Also, Brice is his partner. And here’s something else about him – he’s gay. Him and Kate are best friends. Because he’s gay. Just like Brice. His boyfriend. BOY FRIEND.
There can be more to a gay character than they’re sexuality, Goldsmith.
Her work was pretty interesting. But it was way too forced. I wanted it to be part of her daily routine, not a scene that’s shoved in there just to look interesting. It got better once her boyfriends started coming to her work, but before that it was unnecessary.
And the ending. I don’t want to spoil it (though I do wonder why you’re reading it), but life does not end that happily-ever-after. I’d love to see them 10 years from now and see how happy they are then. I mean, think, please, before you jump into these things.
Overall, I give this two stars. Simply because I did manage to finish it, so there must have been some good points in there. Subtle ones, but still there
Doodles and Scraps 