Bergdorf Blondes Blog Tour and Review

Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes
Publication date: August 19, 2014 by Harper Paperbacks
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours for an honest review
Description:
The tenth anniversary edition of New York Times bestselling author Plum Sykes’s timeless satire
Bergdorf Blondes are a thing, you know, a New York craze. Absolutely everyone wants to be one, but it’s actually très difficult. You wouldn’t believe the dedication it takes to be a gorgeous, flaxen-haired, dermatologically perfect New York girl with a life that’s fabulous beyond belief. Honestly, it all requires a level of commitment comparable to, say, learning Hebrew or quitting cigarettes.

Our heroine, “Moi,” described as a “champagne bubble of a girl about town,” gets into misadventures with fellow socialite and best friend Julie Bergdorf, a department store heiress. When Moi notices that getting engaged brings about a glow unattainable by facials, she and Julie scheme and shop to attract the perfect PH (Prospective Husband). Sykes’s debut is a pitch-perfect examination of the glittering lives of the young, rich, and fabulous living in New York.

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My take:

I was hoping that Bergdorf Blondes would be a good "guilty pleasure" read for me - much like Gossip Girl is a total Netflix "guilty pleasure." In some ways it was what I had hoped - it is very light, funny in places and "Moi", the narrator, is likable, even though she seems a bit too naive (or silly) for my taste.

At times it was hard to decide if the book was truly trying to be a satire or not. But I did get a chuckle out of the description of how hard "Moi's" job of being a  socialite and some-time career-woman  was ----sometimes she actually has to write an article for the magazine she kind of works for. It is a tough life - what with all the sample sales, free clothes from work,  flights on private jets and a book club that is fancier than some wedding receptions.

Poor "Moi" and her search for the perfect Potential Husband. I am afraid that this is where the book kind of lost me - after a while one would think she would get a clue. Her reasons for wanting a fiance and her choice in men is very questionable. Of course, Charlie is the one bright light among all wealthy and/or famous losers, but I figured out who he was and how it would all work out pretty early on.

Despite its flaws, Bergdorf Blondes did amuse me and it was a nice diversion for a Saturday. If light fare and a few chuckles are what you are in the mood for, then by all means give it a try. The picture painted of the lives of these socialites may be a bit over the top, but then again, maybe not. At any rate, it can be fun to read about the way these social elites live and play.

About Plum Skyes

Plum Sykes was born in London and educated at Oxford. The author of the novels Bergdorf Blondes and The Debutante Divorcée and the Kindle Single memoir Oxford Girl, she is a contributing editor at American Vogue, where she writes about fashion, society, and Hollywood. She has also written for Vanity Fair. She lives in the English countryside with her husband and two daughters.

Plum’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, August 19th: A Bookish Way of Life – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, August 21st: booknerd – Bergdorf Blondes
Friday, August 22nd: Drey’s Library – The Debutante Divorcee
Monday, August 25th: Carpe Libros – The Debutante Divorcee
Tuesday, August 26th: Books in the Burbs – Bergdorf Blondes
Wednesday, August 27th: Book by Book – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, August 28th: Reading in Black & White – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, August 28th: From the TBR Pile – Bergdorf Blondes
Monday, September 1st: A Bookish Way of Life – The Debutante Divorcee
Tuesday, September 2nd: Drey’s Library – Bergdorf Blondes
Wednesday, September 3rd: Reading in Black & White – The Debutante Divorcee
Thursday, September 4th: booknerd – The Debutante Divorcee
Monday, September 8th: Mom in Love With Fiction – Bergdorf Blondes
Tuesday, September 9th: Staircase Wit – Bergdorf Blondes
Wednesday, September 10th: Reads for Pleasure – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, September 11th: BookNAround – Bergdorf Blondes
Tuesday, September 16th: Cruising Susan Reviews – Bergdorf Blondes
Wednesday, September 17th: A Book Geek – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, September 18th: Books à la Mode – Bergdorf Blondes
Thursday, September 18th: Book by Book – The Debutante Divorcee
Thursday, September 18th: Books in the Burbs – The Debutante Divorcee

TBD: Cruising Susan Reviews – The Debutante Divorcee

The Last Original Wife

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank
Publication date: June 11, 2013 by William Morrow
Source: Publisher for an honest review
Description from Goodreads:
Leslie Anne Greene Carter is the last original wife among her husband's group of cronies. They've all traded in their first wives-the middle-aged women they long ago promised to love and cherish 'til death did them part-for riper peaches: younger . . . blonder . . . more enhanced models.

Leslie is proud of her status and the longevity of her marriage. Sure the spark isn't quite as bright and sometimes takes a little longer to flame. And it wouldn't be too much to ask if her husband paid just an itty bit more attention to her desires. But there's something to be said for a comfortable and deeply familiar relationship. Or at least she thinks until the day, out golfing with her husband and his friends, she slips into a manhole. And nobody realizes that she's gone.

That one misstep opens Leslie's eyes to the sham her perfect life has become. No longer will she be invisible. No longer will she accept being taken for granted. With the healing powers of South Carolina's lush white beaches, candy-colored sunsets, and fiesty and funny residents, Leslie is going to transform herself and reclaim the strong, vibrant, sexy woman she was meant to be.

The Last Original Wife is classic Dorothea Benton Frank: an intoxicating tale of friendship and love that is as refreshing as a soothing breeze across a golden lowcountry marsh and as invigorating as a dip in cool, salty waters on a sizzling South Carolina summer day.

My Take:

Maybe I read The Last Original Wife at just the right time, but I found it to be just the perfect summer read. I have been reading some grim stuff lately and this was exactly what I needed to read.

Leslie is such a fun character - she is smart, sophisticated, and not ashamed of her age. She is the much put-upon wife and mother who goes about her life doing for others -- until a completely crazy event knocks her out of her normal view of her life. I mean falling into a manhole is upsetting - but for it to happen while in a foreign country, while doing normal touristy things and to have your husband not even notice -- and then get upset because he almost missed his tee time ----  that is just not okay. That would spur anyone to re-examine their life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- it is light, fun, the descriptions of southern life are beautiful, and for once, the female character does exactly what she wants and doesn't let her family dictate her actions. I can't wait to read more books by Dorothea Benton Frank.