Goodbye, Jimmy Choo

Not a chick, not a mom, not even a dad, but I really liked this book! A friend passed it along to me, so decided to give it a try. Have to admit I was hooked from the start. Couldn't put the thing down. A smart, witty, charming read about 2 women juggling careers, family and relationships. Their almost accidental discovery of an old 19th century skin cream recipe leads them on an adventure from the rural English countryside to Bond Street high fashion, paparazzi and global marketing. Some of the dialogue had me laughing out loud. When Maddy and Izzy have their first business pow-wow with the London cosmetics company, the women's take-over of the preceedings via a bs version of industry lingo is priceless. Highly recommend it. Buy it for your wife or girlfriend...but read it for yourself!

At last - a chick-lit title that doesn't insult the reader's intelligence! This is a funny, witty and touching tale of the pressures and pleasures grown up women have to deal with - the two main characters, Izzie and Maddy, are juggling children, work, family and financial pressures and get caught up in a crazy money-making scheme that ends up making them question all their values and priorities. The fact that it's mostly set in England doesn't get in the way. Although I didn't understand some of the expressions used, you could pretty much deduce what they meant. The problems the characters were facing will be relatable to women everywhere. One to savor!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/06) This enjoyable book was written by two awesome women writers under the pseudonym of Annie Sanders. "Goodbye, Jimmy Choo" is a wonderful story about two women who bond with each other after being transplanted from London to a rural area in England. Maddie and Izzie are the main characters in this engaging story. Both women have roles as wives and mothers, however, Maddie lives the high society ritzy lifestyle and Izzie is more of Bohemian type that has to work hard to make ends meet. When Maddie becomes widowed, Izzie steps in and helps her to pull herself and her family together. Maddie's financial situation changes as well. When she finds an old family journal that contains healing recipes, she and Izzy unite in a business venture to market a wonderful facial cr?me. They both discover who their true friends are as they seek help in developing this product. The main ingredient is actually a noxious smelling weed that Maddie's cousin has to ship from France. You will laugh out loud as you read about their adventures in creating the cr?me in Maddie's kitchen. To further market the product, both women have to change their personas from urban chic to country chick! This is an adventure in itself as they borrow clothing from the local minister's wife to help them downplay their images and appear more `earthy.' As the women work hard to succeed, they have to deal with issues arising from their families reacting to the changes. Izzie's husband is not receptive to her success and feels left out. As the company evolves, so do personal relationships in the story. I highly recommend this book to all women. It is humorous, yet it has depth. The issues that these women have to deal with feel real as you are reading. I think this would be a great book for a women's reading group. Oprah needs to get her hands on this great story!

i just loved this book - funny, smart, moving, truthful, and funny again. it just summed up what it's like to be a working mom with a million things to think about and everyone wanting a piece of you. the two women were so real, i felt as if i really knew them - and the descriptions of london and the english (and french) countryside are sooo vivid. at the same time, it raises some important issues about women's identity and how we get caught up by marketing and image manipulation. makes you think!

I loved this book! This is what fiction is all about - entertaining, un-put-downable and real characters. I loved the fact that the two characters in Goodbye Jimmy Choo were real women, not the insipid types that are so often found in women's fiction. This is a book about grief turning into optimism, of friendship and all that that entails. Their next book is due out this summer and I for one will be looking out for it. (Did you know this book was written by 2 women?...imagine how much fun they must have had writing this?!)This is a rare treat. Read it!