Title: My Very ’90’s Romance by Jenny Colgan
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction, Romance
Length: 330 pages
Book Rating: D
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
From New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan comes a hilarious romantic comedy about a down-on-her-luck florist whose future begins to bloom when she takes on the challenge of helping to transform her nerdy roommate.
Holly is a frustrated florist whose life doesn’t seem to be coming up roses. Fleeing a roommate situation from hell, she moves in with a motley crew of friends—Josh, a sexually confused merchant banker; Kate, a high-flying legal eagle with talons to match; and Addison, a gorgeous computer geek who spends his days communicating with his online girlfriend and anyone who worships at the altar of Jean-Luc Picard. From the moment Holly catches a rare glimpse of Addison, she’s smitten. The only problem is how to get him to swivel his chair from the computer screen to her adoring gaze.
After a series of false starts—involving a new friend and mathematician, Finn—Holly coaxes Addison away from his computer screen and out into the open. While “out in the open” spells disaster for Addison, curiously, her own future begins to bloom. Holly and her friends make desperate attempts to connect with Addison, drag him away from his fiercely possessive girlfriend, Claudia, and get him to communicate with the real world.
With Jenny Colgan’s trademark wit and a cast of unforgettable characters, My Very ’90s Romance will capture your heart.
Review:
My Very ’90’s Romance by Jenny Colgan is a quirky yet somewhat lackluster novel.
Twenty-eight year old Holly Livingstone has terrible luck with roommates. She finally ends up living with college mates Josh and Kate and computer geek and recluse Addison Farthing. Holly is a barely employed florist whereas Kate is a hard-working, successful businesswoman and Josh has a cushy job in the family business. Holly is fascinated by Addison who rarely leaves his room (or the house for that matter) and she basically forces herself on him by intruding on him without invitation. After meeting some of Kate’s workmates, Holly hits it off Finn but she cannot give up on trying to coax Addison into a relationship. Kate is dating disaster who always winds up dating married men and Josh is trying to figure out his sexuality.
What seems like a recipe for madcap fun quickly descends into ridiculous, over-the-top unrealistic situations and offensive humor. Outside of Finn and Addison, none of the characters are particularly likable. Holly is incredibly immature and her snarky sense of humor becomes tedious. Josh and Kate are mostly innocuous but they lack dimension. Certain scenes are downright ludicrous and would never happen in real life. My Very ’90’s Romance is absolutely nothing like Jenny Colgan’s more serious novels and it was a struggle to finish this latest release (which seems to be a re-named re-release of Talking to Addison).
