Rating:  Summary: One Hit Wonder Review: BLAH! I did not really enjoy this book.... Definitely not what I had expected. Very dark & dreary. While the suspense of finding out what possessed Bee to do what she did was enough to keep me intrigued, the book just wasn't that great....
Rating:  Summary: A tad disappointed Review: Bought this when I was in London because I just loved Thirtynothing. I was disappointed that the humour from Thirtynothing was not evident in this book. The characters in One-Hit Wonder also did not have same charm as Dig and Nadine did.
Rating:  Summary: Lisa Jewell is No 1-Hit Wonder - All her Books are Fabulous Review: Here is just a little something from this salacious novel to get you going: "This man was obscenely sexual. He oozed it. He stank of it. He may as well have been walking around with a twenty-inch erection growing out of his forehead." OI, this book is laughing-out-loud good. Third Lisa Jewell novel I've read and it is the best. And they are all good.There is this fabulous mystery surrounding Ana's ex-pop-star sister. And on the journey Ana takes to tear down wall after wall that Bee has put up around who she really was and what her life really was, many things, many good things, start happening to Ana. And the people she meets along the way are sometimes crazy, disgusting, rude, gorgeous, neurotic, sweet, naked, smelly, confused, serene, sex-crazed, fluffy, short, tall, gangly, muscled, old, precocious, irritating, boring and fat. I was gripped all the way to the end. I love love love loved it! Fresh, fun, riveting, hilarious, surprising & sexy!
Rating:  Summary: Somewhere betwen "ehh..." and "pretty good" Review: Hmm. I debated between giving this three stars or four stars, but ended up giving it four stars based on my general affinity for Lisa Jewell's writing style. What I enjoyed most about this book was the mystery surrounding the death of the "one-hit wonder." *THAT* was what kept me reading. The whole romantic part of this book was pretty lame, and I was fairly disappointed by it, especially since Ms. Jewell's Thirtynothing did such a great job of capturing the romantic comedy in print. I concur with the other reviewer who said that the main characters here weren't nearly as captivating as the main characters from Thirtynothing. While that may be partially explained by the fact that Ms. Jewell's heroine in this novel has some self-esteem issues, there definitely is a lack of "spunk" between the male-female lead. The supporting (peripheral) characters, however, are pretty offbeat and I actually enjoyed them quite a bit. So, I guess the bottom line is if you're looking for a great piece of funny romantic fiction, this book ain't it, so I suggest you skip it. However, if you're just looking for a fairly engaging story shrouded in a little bit of mystery, then this book definitely fits the bill. So "ehh..." for the romantic-comedy aspect of the storyline but "pretty good" for the mystery surrounding Bee's death, which, I guess, brings the overall review to...er...somewhere in between "ehh" and "pretty good". :-)
Rating:  Summary: A Great Book by Lisa Jewell Review: I bought Lisa Jewell's book "One-Hit Wonder" only based on what I had read at Amazon.com/Uk and I was glad that I did. This the perfect book for the beach or for a rainy day. Ms. Jewell gives the reader a simple plot about one woman trying to discover why her sister killed herself. Another reason that this a good book is that there are not to many characters and the reader is able to keep track of them. Overall, "One-Hit Wonder" is a great chick-lit book.
Rating:  Summary: Best Book of the Summer Review: I have putting off reading this book all summer because I was not in the mood for it, what a mistake. One Hit Wonder was absolutely fantastic. It is a story of growth and understanding, finding yourself while uncovering the mystery that was your sister. This book was particularly engrossing, poignantly affecting a range of emotions (comedy, drama, romance); the moment I finished it I put it on my sister's desk for her to read. I have read all of Lisa Jewell's books and this story of Ana's search for her sister Bee and the discoveries that develop make this my easy favorite.
Rating:  Summary: My favorite Lisa Jewell book! Review: I have read her other books, Thirty Nothing and Ralphs Party, and although I liked them a lot neither of them really touched me the way this novel did. I went camping and brought this book along thinking that it would take me a few days to get through it, and boy was I wrong! I read it in one day while lounging at the beach. My favorite characters were Zander and Lol, just because they didn't pretend to be anyone but themselves. They, along with Flint, give Ana what she needs to find her true self. I found that Ana's transformation was incredible yet realistic. OK, I really wanted to slap Gay around! Now Bee is the most complex character to talk about since the whole story revolves around her and her death. You really feel very sorry for her and her situation, especially at the end when you know the reason behind her death. I can't wait to get my hands on Jewell's next book! Keep up the great work!
Rating:  Summary: It's pleasant reading Review: I have read Jewell's other two books and found them more entertaining than this one ~~ this book is more morbid and darker of the two. It is also slow-going at first, then it picks up then all of a sudden, the story drops off and leaves the reader slightly disappointed. Also, once again, Jewell seems to be obssessed with potty humor ~~ and it's a big turn-off for me (the bad language is typical for this sort of novel and not as grating as it would have been with a different author). Ana Wills is sent to London by her mother to gather her sister's belongings and bring it home ~~ only when Ana arrives in London, she meets two of her sister's friends and stayed to solve the mystery of her sister's sudden death. Bee, her sister, is a pop star famous in the 80s ~~ then all of a sudden, her fame dies out and Ana is left to figure out who Bee is. And this is Ana's story ~~ as well as Bee's story entertwined as these two sisters grew up apart from one another. It's Bee's secret too that comes to light. Ana also comes to find love with Bee's best friend, Flint, and finding herself in the process as well. It's an amusing story ~~ pleasant beach-reading time as well. It's not as good as Thirtysomething, which was my favorite Jewell novel. But it's pleasant and quick and fun. 3-24-04
Rating:  Summary: Great writing, different story Review: I loved Ralph's Party and ThirtyNothing, and this one was more serious to me. I thought that Jewell's writing was fantastic, she really takes you in, it's just that maybe the main character was too meek and mild for my taste. And, the man she ends up with was so totally out of character/left field. I thought the story was endearing, and I never considered putting the book down. If you've never read Jewell before, I'd say read one of her other books first.
Rating:  Summary: Kept Me Reading! Review: I loved the skinny, gawky Ana. I loved the wild and glamorous Bee. I loved the story beginning and ending with Bee's letter to Ana. (I love stories that begin at the ending and end at the beginning!) And, who doesn't love stories that make the skinny, gawky or otherwise unattractive become the amazing butterfly? (Yeah, we're all dreaming that all our dreams could come true) But, storyline aside, I really liked these people! Poor old Ana, and poor old Bee, and the hunky Flint, and Lol, helping Ana shed her skin, and of course the hateful BAD MOTHER, who's story seemed the saddest of all. Because of course, the short-lived fame of Bee, the oppression of Ana, their mother's bitterness, Flint's weight of guilt, all make for a fair share of heartbreak. Still, there's nowhere to go but up! And as Ana begins to unravel the mystery of her sister's life, with the help of her sister's friends, she begins to weave a life of her own. It doesn't hurt that the weave includes all of these interesting people finding their bit of happiness as the story unfolds. It's not a "Happily Ever After" story,(Bee Bearhorn does meet her demise) and certainly not "War and Peace", but it was a nice tale that kept me wondering about everybody and kept me turning the pages. It was a lovely diversion.
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