Hung Up On You

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: Adrienne Kelly wants hot, wild, abandoned sex, but she will not be getting any from her fiancé, whose focus on a wedding date does not include nooky. When Ari's graduate thesis, "The Effects of Telephone Answering Systems on Psychological and Physical Well Being" gets published by Psychology Forum, she should be celebrating. Instead, a rag magazine picks up the article, transforming it into a slam on the telephone answering machine industry. As a result, her status conscious fiance decides they should take a break from each other and her dream job is withdrawn.

Then Simon Masterson, owner of SimonSays, a company that develops business-answering systems, personally takes Ari to task for downgrading the telephone answering business. His company's latest invention, called Cindy, was expressly designed to reduce stress and be user friendly, but with bad press like Ari's article, Cindy may be obsolete before release. So he demands retraction of Ari's theory and attempts to hire her to evaluate his new system in exchange for helping her out with her latest family crisis.

Author Holly Jacob's flair for creating wildly amusing tales dazzles in HUNG UP ON YOU. Opposites attract with outrageous fun and hilarity as Jacob creates a cast of characters that will keep the reader in stitches over their antics, even as the serious undertone will cause readers to identify with the effect of stress. A wonderful distraction from a frantic day, readers of HUNG UP ON YOU will be confessing to be hung up on Jacob's sparkling talent for creating witty tales and sizzling chemistry. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: Adrienne Kelly wants hot, wild, abandoned sex, but she will not be getting any from her fiancé, whose focus on a wedding date does not include nooky. When Ari's graduate thesis, "The Effects of Telephone Answering Systems on Psychological and Physical Well Being" gets published by Psychology Forum, she should be celebrating. Instead, a rag magazine picks up the article, transforming it into a slam on the telephone answering machine industry. As a result, her status conscious fiance decides they should take a break from each other and her dream job is withdrawn.

Then Simon Masterson, owner of SimonSays, a company that develops business-answering systems, personally takes Ari to task for downgrading the telephone answering business. His company's latest invention, called Cindy, was expressly designed to reduce stress and be user friendly, but with bad press like Ari's article, Cindy may be obsolete before release. So he demands retraction of Ari's theory and attempts to hire her to evaluate his new system in exchange for helping her out with her latest family crisis.

Author Holly Jacob's flair for creating wildly amusing tales dazzles in HUNG UP ON YOU. Opposites attract with outrageous fun and hilarity as Jacob creates a cast of characters that will keep the reader in stitches over their antics, even as the serious undertone will cause readers to identify with the effect of stress. A wonderful distraction from a frantic day, readers of HUNG UP ON YOU will be confessing to be hung up on Jacob's sparkling talent for creating witty tales and sizzling chemistry. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Too funny!
Review: Holly Jacobs has a delightful sense of humor and it clearly shows in her writing. This story of two people coming together through a unique situation is a fun read for anyone looking to relax and enjoy. Take one hunky hero, a savy heroine, and throw in a dash of interfering relatives that all seem to have lost their minds and you've got a great combo! Keep up the good work, Holly!

Rating:
Summary: Too funny!
Review: Holly Jacobs has a delightful sense of humor and it clearly shows in her writing. This story of two people coming together through a unique situation is a fun read for anyone looking to relax and enjoy. Take one hunky hero, a savy heroine, and throw in a dash of interfering relatives that all seem to have lost their minds and you've got a great combo! Keep up the good work, Holly!

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: HUNG UP ON YOU by Holly Jacobs
October 2, 2004

HUNG UP ON YOU by Holly Jacobs is part of the FlipSide series of books put out by Harlequin. These books showcase the light side of romance, a romantic comedy. In this novel, protagonist Adrienne (Ari) Kelley is engaged to a very proper man Collin, a surgeon, and they are expected to marry soon.

As the book opens, all Ari can think about is sex, and why it's not very fun doing it with Collin. But she expects to marry Collin eventually. The thought never enters her mind to leave him until she meets Simon Masterson, who owns a company that manufactures answering machines. His latest "creation" is Cindy, the wonder of all answering machines. Ari had just written a thesis on the stress that answering machines create in the modern world. When her thesis makes headlines, this is how the two meet. Collin hears about the news articles regarding her thesis, and decides he needs to fix this problem. This type of marketing was not good for business.

This is the second FlipSide book I've read, and I was a little disappointed with this one. My problem with the book was there was not much bulk to the story. The characters were one dimensional, which is ok with a romantic comedy, but I needed more than that. I could not buy the fact that there was any real romance or chemistry between the two of them. I felt that the author did not do a good job in making this romance feel "real".

On the other hand, I loved Ari's wacky family, which reminded me a lot of the family of Stephanie Plum in the Janet Evanovich series. Ari's grandmother Bubbi was very much like Stephanie's grandmother in some ways (both are very crazy). If it weren't for the family, this book would have been a disappointment.

I'm giving this book 3 stars for readability (it was a fast read) and it was funny in parts. Unfortunately, I just did not care for the romance part of HUNG UP ON YOU. I hope to try one more FlipSide before I give up entirely on the series.

Rating:
Summary: another winner for Holly Jacobs
Review: I was very upset that the Duets line was stopped and had decided to avoid the new Flipside line since it was less of a value. However I decided to make an exception for Holly Jacobs since she is one of my favorite authors. I am so glad I did. Hung Up On You is yet another funny, romantic, and slightly naughty book by Holly Jacobs. The characters are interesting and well developed. The concept is fresh and the characters are lovable enough that you can't help but care about them. The setting is a little shallow compared to some of her previous books, but do you really read a romantic comedy for the back drop? I know that I don't. I'm glad I read Hung Up On You and I hope you do the same.

Rating:
Summary: another winner for Holly Jacobs
Review: I was very upset that the Duets line was stopped and had decided to avoid the new Flipside line since it was less of a value. However I decided to make an exception for Holly Jacobs since she is one of my favorite authors. I am so glad I did. Hung Up On You is yet another funny, romantic, and slightly naughty book by Holly Jacobs. The characters are interesting and well developed. The concept is fresh and the characters are lovable enough that you can't help but care about them. The setting is a little shallow compared to some of her previous books, but do you really read a romantic comedy for the back drop? I know that I don't. I'm glad I read Hung Up On You and I hope you do the same.

Rating:
Summary: Great, entertaining story!
Review: I've had Holly Jacobs' HUNG UP ON YOU in my To Be Read pile for a long time, and I finally picked it up a few days ago. What a hoot! Great characters, neat situation, just an all around delightful read. Now I'm looking forward to her latest, BE MY BABY, to which the reviewer at Romantic Times Magazine gave 4 1/2 stars and a Top Pick. This woman knows her stuff!

Rating:
Summary: amusing contemporary romance
Review: In Philadelphia Adrienne "Ari" Kelly knows stress as she is proud that her thesis "The Effects of Telephone Answering Systems on Psychological and Physical Well Being" was published by Psychology Forum. The paper centered on the stress caused by phone-answering systems that leave customers in frustrating loops and make it easier to gain an audience with the Pope than talk to a human. Her family and the family business add extra pressures on Ari besides two years of hard work obtaining her advanced degree.

Popular Rag Magazine distorts Ari's paper with an article on "If the Wait Doesn't Kill You ... The Answering System Will. This causes Simon Masterson's stress level to go stratospheric when the influential Financial Journal picks up the story and wants to interview him on the impact of his firm's computerized telephone answering systems have on people's stress level. Simon, owner of SimonSays, demands she backs her findings with data or retract her article. She explains to him how Rag distorted her paper and the Rag followed up by making matters worse. Ari's stress is to the moon with her new job on hold, her fiancé ending their engagement, and her libido making her want to study her lust for Simon.

HUNG UP ON YOU is an amusing contemporary romance with an intriguing serious tone involving external stress inducers that readers will empathize with. The story line is fun to follow as Ari's life collapses starting with the Rag's abuse of her thesis. Though her lunatic family takes away from the prime plot starring a delightful mismatched pairing, the audience will enjoy this wonderful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: This book is bad
Review: Why is this book bad?
It is bad because the characters are not interesting.
It is bad because the situation is not plausible.
But most of all it is bad because of the writing.
The paragraphs are all short.
Most paragraphs are no more than two sentences long.
Holly Jacobs writes short paragraphs because she wants to make her book dramatic.
She has to make her book dramatic with short paragraphs because the plot is dull and the characters are caricatures.
If you like to read funny books about single women who find love, there are plenty of other funnier books for you to choose from.
Don't bother with this one.