Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT MOLLY’S MISADVENTURES by @denaehaggerty #wwwblogs

Today’s team review is from Barb, she blogs at http://barbtaub.com/

Barb has been reading Molly’s Misadventures by D. E Haggerty

My Review: 4 stars out of 5 for Molly’s Misadventures

In Molly’s Misadventures, author D. E. Haggerty efficiently nails almost every chick lit trope out there.

1. Heroine with high-powered job but crap love-life? Check. Having chucked her dreams of becoming a writer in favor of the high salary and chance to work for great boss and friend Blake, Molly only has two problems. One is her mean, foul-mouthed father she is dutifully caring for, and the other is her very-soon-to-be-ex husband. “Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a vision of Darryl’s naked, flabby ass pumping into his secretary. I didn’t want to see that once, let alone over and over again in my dreams.”
2. Tries the Wrong Guy first? Check. See the naked, flabby ass in #1.
3. Thinks she’s ugly (but every guy she meets falls madly in love with her)? Check. Molly must have the glittery-est hooha ever (see here) because every guy she’s ever met—from her secret high-school crush to the got-it-all-going-on husband of a close friend—is secretly in love with her.
4. Thinks she’s smart, but has the people-judging skills of the disposable blonde teen in a slasher movie.  We’re told Molly is smart (University of Chicago t-shirt), but her lack of almost any interpersonal judgement has her drifting through the pages in a perpetually confused fog.
5. Mommy Issues & Daddy’s Girl? Check. Molly’s parents have been divorced for years. Despite the fact that her father is a self-absorbed, sexist, foul-mouthed tyrant, he’s still preferable to her mother’s brand of hyper-critical communication.
6. Not-Actual physical flaw such as Frizzy Hair? Check. “My hair is a rat’s nest at the best of times. Combing through my wet hair without the use of generous portions of conditioner is like trying to perform an exorcism without a priest.“
7. Funny? Okay, Check! Molly’s observations on her world are occasionally laugh out loud funny and often painfully amusing. My favorite paragraph in the book is one we’ve all lived.

I hate renting cars. What are they doing all the time behind the counter on the computer? They have my information already, yet they spend an eternity typing away and pressing buttons anyway. It sounds as if the agent is typing about a million words a minute. And I wait and wait some more. How many times will the sales agent ask if I want additional, outrageously expensive insurance before I punch him?Maybe that’s the whole point—to see who will lose their cool first and start throwing punches?

When I’m reviewing a book, I often go down a little list of things to consider. In Molly’s Misadventures, the pacing is sure, a brisk march to an obvious finish. The writing is terrific, often funny and entertaining, and with a great balance between dialog and the snarky comments in Molly’s head. Molly’s character is nicely developed, and shows a respectable growth though the book.

But the plot of Molly’s Misadventures does have some obvious flaws. One that I found particularly annoying is that Molly is kind of…well…mean. When her supposedly good friend’s husband confesses that he’s always been in love with Molly, her immediate reaction is along the lines of Well, I always knew she was a bitch so let’s throw her under the bus… And her continuous dates with all the Mr.Wrongs—while amusing—never show any sympathy or compassion for others on the same search as herself.  Not only does this reveal that Molly is both clueless and shallow, but the introduction of a completely gratuitous love triangle seems more like the author almost got to the end of her Chick Lit checklist and said, “Damn, I almost forgot the Deceptively Perfect Potential Love Interest. My bad.” Also, I hope it’s not just blogger-jealousy that makes me feel that the instant financial and social success of Molly’s frankly mean-spirited mess of a blog is also a pretty big pill for the reader to swallow.

But overall, Molly’s Misadventures is exactly what it looks like—a humorous, entertaining, fast-paced, predictable romantic comedy. While I could wish that writer D.E. Haggerty had addressed a few of my issues with her plot, the amusing and entertaining Molly goes a long way to make up for that. I would give it four stars, and happily reach for another book by this author

I reviewed Molly’s Misadventures for Rosie’s Book Review Team

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com