Rating: 
Summary: Very readable, but ultimately lackluster and disappointing
Review: I was in search of an enjoyable chick flick type book when I bought Bergdorf Blondes. Unfortunately, this book had all the trappings, but none of the heart. It was a very fast read, which is probably good because I would have likely put it aside otherwise. I did not feel the author gave us any real good reasons to sympathize with the main character/narrator. I am not sure why I kept reading until the end. Perhaps I was looking for her to get more real, or at least less superficial. Somehow it never happened. (Or might have kept reading
because it made me happy to be married and no longer living in NYC!) Regardless, the lives of these girls seemed very pathetic and lonely. I prefer books where the main character has a goal greater than getting free clothes and rides on private jets. I did not root for the main character, I felt I was only watching her life from afar in fascination of its vapidity.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, lighthearted amusing read
Review: I liked this book. Its comical in places and really took my mind off of all the negative going on today. If you want complex characters with deep seeded issues, then this book probably isn't for you. Its lighthearted with young characters and as I see it, they have problems that people their age deal with. If you consider not being able to figure out what to wear or what type of party to throw being a problem. This book was an enjoyable read. A good summer read.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much of A Bad Rep...
Review: I thought this book was amazing. I was able to really connect with the narrator, because she had similar thoughts and problems as I do. It is interesting to ease drop into other people's lives and to realize that yours might not be as crazy as you thought after all. Although the book is centered around women who only care about what other people think, I think it is refreshing. The book is honest. Honestly women everywhere more or less care about what others think about them.It's your friends and family who get you through those times you feel as though you cannot get out of bed. This book is a good wake up call for me and reminds me to look closely at my life and make sure I am making the right decisions for me and not someone else. Also, I think that the character Julie starts off being dreadful, but is so important and vital upon the main character's break up with her beloved Zach. Julie shockingly give's her best friend good advice. I am over-all very impressed with this book and I believe that it is a good read by the pool, although I finished it in two days and I DO NOT READ MANY BOOKS. Bergdorf Blondes is so wonderful, you won't be able to put it down!
Rating: 
Summary: Chick Lit Takes on Manhattan
Review: "Bergdorf Blondes" takes the reader into the world of Park Avenue princesses and New York celebutantes. The narrator, known simply as "moi," is considered the "champagne bubble girl of the moment." She and her best friend Julie Bergdorf, the perfect Park Avenue blonde, run around New York attending charity balls, restaurant openings, and high profile baby showers. They dress perfectly and eat nothing. They spend ample amounts of time with other perfect dressers and talk about clothes, the food they don't eat, and men. While I liked this book and found the numerous anecdotes about Manhattan amusing, I was disappointed that the characters never grew. Perhaps that was point. However, I would still recommend to lovers of chick lit everywhere (and those who read W and Vogue and Harpers) as the book goes into tremendous depth about a very shallow world. It is fun--and it is also a fast read.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Really Cares?
Review: With everthing that's going on in our world today, do these women have nothing better to do than to write about than their materialistic wares, habits & schemes? They must be very proud of themselves. I'd just love to know how many of them sit in the first few pews of their houses of worship, and what void is it that these ladies are trying to fill? Remember girls, there's more to life than going tra la la la la in over rated baubles, $250 jeans and Jimmy Choo stilettos. Sorry, but no pair of jeans or shoes are worth that amount of money; regardless of the trend. It's all just a temporary fix. There are children starving in third world nations out there, who never owned a pair of shoes let a decent outfit, and have more virtue in their little pinkies than most. Yeah, the rationalization behind it all is that "we'll always have the poor." Whatever, makes you feel better. Not so! It's supposedly these fine folks who make sure the poor stay just where they are, but don't worry, I'm sure most would be happy with the basics. Unfortunately, it's "survival of the fittest" excuse & mentality that maintains the hypocracy of it all. Remember folks we're not animals. Wake up ladies and start helping others to make a difference sans all the hullaballo and the can you top this type of attitude, just for a bit of recognition. Start opening your hearts instead of your wallets.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable and a bit of a Bridget Jones rip-off
Review: I found this book interesting for about the first couple pages, and then it got to be a bit tedious, a bit of a yawner, and totally predictable. I'm not sure if it's aimed at 16-year-old girls, but it almost seems like the 2004 version of a Harlequin Romance. You know, superficial and with no big surprises or revelations...or thoughts. It was very reminiscent of "Bridget Jones," as well as the much better written "Trading Up" by Candace Bushnell. I recommend borrowing it from the library, and not expecting too much. I will give it its props, however, in that the storylines were all nicely tied up.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh and Funny
Review: A wonderful romp in the tradition of My Fractured Life, The Nanny Diaries, and The Devil Wears Prada. A great time.
Rating:
Summary: Call It Society Sex in the Psychotically Funny City
Review: Bergdorf Blondes is a frightening funny novel about a pack of predatory Park Avenue Princesses in search of a PH (Potential Husband). Set in post 9/11 New York City and authentically complete with devilish details about sample sales, botox injections and Brazilian bikini waxes, this book offers readers the rare opportunity to observe celebutantes in their natural habitat: charity balls, private jets and 4-star restaurants. Rather than take easy sucker punches at Manhattan's privileged party girls, first time novelist, Plum Sykes, instead lovingly explores the experiences and exploits of a group of twenty and thirty-something women, who will one day rise to the status of Ladies Who Lunch, provided they can find the kind of fiance who they believe will make a girl's complexion glow, as no dermatologist can. Does it matter at all that these women see their fiances as stepping stones to a better life and better invitations, rather than true life partners? Not in the slightest. These heiresses eye eligible men as any successful predator would: as fair game in the hunt for sustenance, provided of course, the camouflage is of the haute couture variety, the meal is strictly low-carb, and the transportation to and fro is on a PJ (allegedly New York society-ese for a private jet.) Rather than express their horror that this is the way some chose to live their lives, readers should instead sit back, turn the pages and observe as newcomer Plum Sykes exposes the city's charity circuit for what it is: a nervous group of strangely ambitious women who would rather work like ditch diggers to remain forever young, rather than develop the strength of character that will keep them interested and interesting long after they've traded in their Manolos for sadly sensible flats. -- Regina McMenamin
Rating:
Summary: Great for what it is...
Review: As a very homesick ex-New Yorker I can say that this book was what I was looking for. It was hilarious, sweet, and seemed like the author couldn't decide if a teensy bit of her wanted to live that way or if she was being sarcastic... It was probably a really fun book to write. Yay for Plum!
Rating:
Summary: Oh, Puh-leez!
Review: This book was so bad I almost broke my own rule that you have to finish reading any book that you start. It is a completely boring "Briget Jones' Diary" meets "The Nanny Diaries" wannabe novel. Yes, yes, Manhattan party girls are oh so chic, live oh so extravagent and bizarre lives and, have oh so funny perspectives on life. We've had a deluge of novels in the last few years that follow this theme - each attempting to be wittier than the last. I don't know if this book was just an un-fuuny version of the genre or if the genre is played out, but this book was excruciating. What made this book particularly torturous was that the author is so obviously begging to have it turned into a major motion picture. The book really seemed like more of an exposition for a cute chick flick. The movie would be better than the book. It would have good fashion visuals, attractive characters and predictable dialogue and plot developments. Wonderful qualities for a ninety minute chick flick. Not good qualities for a book that takes more than ninety minutes to read. More than ninety minutes is a waste of time for this tired book.
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