A WORK OF FICTION BY A FICTIONAL AUTHOR!!!
 Aug 12th, 2007
Advantages:
funny, great storyline and characters
Disadvantages:
will be over before you know it
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Would you read it again?
Story
Characters
Readability
How does it compare to similar books?
How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  Pmshack99
About me:
I'm not really liking the new layout for writing a review. :(
Member since:01.04.2002
Reviews:334
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Review rated by 38 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Read Comment
‘LOVED it! It is adorable - and I’m dying to read more by Ms Pirelli!’ - Marian Keyes How can an imaginary author write a book? Yes, I can hear you ask that.
But it's true. For Pixie Pirelli does not exist in real life. She is in fact a book character in her own right and the creation of author Kate Thompson, who wrote such books as "Going Down", "It Means Mischief" and "The Blue Hour". Pixie may not exist but she IS an author and can count fellow (real) authors Marian Keyes and Cathy Kelly amongst her fans. Pretty impressive for a fictional author!!! :) Pixie appeared in the novel "Sex, Lies and Fairytales" and "Hard to Choos" was also mentioned in this. I DID think that it sounded like it would be a good book, but I never even imagined that Kate would go as far as to actually then WRITE the book under Pixie's name. I discovered this when I was looking for books
before I went on holiday last year - and of course I HAD to buy the book. I think I read it in about three hours - it is EXTREMELY easy reading - and I was gutted when it was all over!
The book centres around the life, loves and mishaps of Charlotte Cholewczyk (don't ask me to even to bother to TRY to pronounce THAT surname!). Charlotte has a great circle of friends and a busy social life. And she is great at helping her male friends pick raunchy presents for their ladies. But she has two problems - one, her love life. Two, her habit of ending up in extremely embarrassing situations. For example - going for a swim in her underwear with her male friends while down at a country house. Which is not exactly embarrassing in itself - but when goats then EAT her dress while she is swimming, then try to virtually gang-bang her when she tries to retrieve it . . . You probably see my point!
And that’s just one of many cringeworthy moments that poor Charlotte has to suffer through. As a result, I found myself praying for her to actually have some luck and for something good to happen. For the right guy to come along and sweep her off her feet. And you’ll be glad to hear that someone DOES. However, this is CHARLOTTE’S life so nothing, of course, is going to be that clear-cut and easy. As usual, misunderstandings are going to get in the way of potential happiness.
The book is set between London, the countryside, and eventually Paris - the latter is a city that Charlotte can’t stand, to the point that when she wins a holiday there on the radio, she actually GIVES IT AWAY to her friends. Yet fate intervenes as ever and somehow she ends up there after all. The varying settings adds to the book’s appeal as not only is it funny to read, but we have a few changes of scenery to spice it up further. In addition, the characters are all well drawn and appealing, particularly Charlotte herself as it is extremely easy to identify with her - particularly for MYSELF. Her friend Alex is probably someone a lot of readers will fall for, as he just seems to be pretty irresistible - at times, I wanted to jump inside the book and tell him to dump his annoying bird and get with me instead. I’m sure it COULD happen…
Kate Thompson is a great chick-lit writer anyway, but in general her books do have a more serious edge than “Hard To Choos” which is just unashamedly girly and hilarious and good fun, and makes no apologies for it. This is chick lit at its best - no thinking required, just pure enjoyment. Ideal for a little escapism when you’re feeling down, or for accompanying you down to the beach while you’re on holiday. If you like Marian Keyes, you’re sure to enjoy this. Like I said, it’s not the longest of books so you’ll probably finish it with a few hours intensive reading - but if you have a short attention span, that just makes the book even MORE perfect. You don’t HAVE to read “Sex, Lies and Fairytales” prior to reading “Hard to Choos” but I would probably recommend you do anyway, just out of interest. It makes “Hard to Choos” even more interesting when you feel as if you know the “author” behind it in more detail.
If you have no liking whatsoever for chick lit then avoid this like the plague - but if you are a fan, then go for it! You won't regret it.
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15.11.2007 17:23
Sounds like something I would enjoy! x
15.09.2007 14:35
Excellent review there Paula, well done!!! Chris x
04.09.2007 17:10
Not something I'd read, but great review.