Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger

My first beach read of the summer lived up to its purpose as a mindless, girly book with a simple, upbeat plot and a few laughs.  Nowhere near the level of The Devil Wears Prada (Weisberger's first novel,) Chasing Harry Winston focuses on three women rounding the corner to their 30's trying to figure out life.

The characters are pretty stereotypical.  Emmy is the recently dumped, serial monogamist, Ariana is the eccentric rich girl living without consequences, and Leigh is the one who seemingly has everything together - the ideal job and boyfriend - but is essentially lost.  Each woman gets to a totally predictable point in the end of the book where they've grown as a woman and grabbed happiness all on their own so definitely no surprises, but the characters were fun to read and the plot flowed at a good pace once it got going.  Chasing Harry Winston is a Sex in the City with more character arc and a briefer story line.

Overall an enjoyable read, this book was something I could easily put down and pick back up without forgetting any major plot points.  It was what I was looking to read so I managed to overlook the sloppy editing and typos throughout (some of which should have been caught by spellcheck.)  If you're a chick-lit summer reader this book could make it onto your list; just don't put it at the top - it's a middle of the list type of book.