Room for Improvement

This was my first book by the author. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. Finally a real story about 30-something women trying to balance their personal life with work. The author did a great job on tackling the "still single in your 30s" issue and exploring the fears of allowing yourself to be vulnerable in a relationship.

I loved the characters in this book and the way Stacey wrote about them. I felt like I knew Lily and all of her friends. That could have been my friends that she was writing about, they were down to earth and REAL!! Stacey has such an entertaining way of telling a story. . .I could not put this book down!! I was definitely laughing out loud throughout the book.

I had to re-read pages as they made me laugh out loud! Stacey has cleverly captured the life of a single gal in the great city of Chicago. Lily is a loveable character.....self-deprecating yet confident....a real woman. I think I know her..... READ IT! BUY IT! And Stacey, I can't wait for your next book!!!!

This novel offers no apologies or guilt trips for being a real sized woman. Lily is cool, hip, sexy and loves her sandwiches at Al's Beef. This heroine is no delicate flower and definitely does not feel sorry for herself. As a Chicago native, I loved reading about the local hotspots in this novel and then going check them out. The chick lit genre rocks, but I've had enough of reading those stories based in London or New York City. Finally, somebody is writing great chick lit based in the best "over 30" dating city in the world - Chicago! Nobody else writes about Chitown like Stacey Ballis. I love her crazy characters. They MUST be based on her real life experience. Nobody can be THAT creative! I'm just wondering if Stacey has to get permission from her friends to put them in her books... it's just so real! I love her crazy terms relating to the single life. The COS, night girl vs. morning girl, finally defining the Viagra Triangle for me, Madcap Date Girl and Mr. Twice-a-Day Chipotle... that's my life too, and it couldn't be funnier! Stacey also endeavors into some alternative ways of story telling with Lily's Rules, Bravo Swap/Meet Synopses, Blackberry exchanges, and Video Diary confessions. I love it! It keeps things interesting. This is the kind of girl I want as my best friend! But I'll settle for being one of the first to read her next juicy novel.

I received an advance copy of ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT and pretty much inhaled it in two days. I adored everything about it - the size 14 heroine Lily who, instead of sitting around apologizing for her weight or feeling sorry for herself, has a fantastic career, great sex, strong friendships, a positive self-image, etc; the interesting and complicated network of supporting players - of which there were many, but were so thoroughly drawn there was never an issue of keeping them straight; the extensively-researched DIY back-story; and, best of all, the humor so pervasive throughout the book. (I defy anyone to not laugh out loud whenever Bob speaks.) For those who say "Chick Lit" is played out, all I can say is think again. Stacey Ballis proves the genre can be funny, honest, clever, real, and most importantly, totally fresh.