What I Did for Love

When I first began reading this novel I noticed, as some other reviewers have noted, that the parallels between the Brangelina/Jennifer Aniston love triangle were many. That made me nervous. But, as I read on I was swept into the world of Georgie York, spurned ex-sitcom star, and Bram Shepard, the man who lived to make her life miserable but was destined to love her all the same. Some may argue that this is a typical romance novel, with an obvious ending and vaguely trite storyline. My response to that would be that Ms. Phillips took a "ripped from the headlines" piece of celebrity gossip and turned it on its head. The wit that's evident in every piece of the author's writing shines through in her two main characters. Their exchanges had me laughing out loud. And the cast of secondary characters (along with their own side stories) provided the perfect balance to what could have been an obvious conclusion. I've never had the privilege of reading any other works by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. But, after reading "What I Did for Love" you can bet that I'll be seeking out her other works. *** NOTE: This is completely unrelated to the story itself, but I should warn anyone who enjoys show tunes that you WILL have the "Chorus Line" song of the same title stuck in your head on a constant loop while reading this novel! (Good thing it's a decent song.)

I loved this book. It's not often I find something that makes me laugh out loud. While it does sound like she had Jennifer Aniston in mind when she wrote it, who cares? And as far as the sex, I like an author who can write real life stuff, and sex is not always about romance and love. In this day and age, there's nothing wrong with making the best of a situation your dealt and having some fun while your at it.

This book was delightful to me in that it gave me a kind of peek into an unfamiliar world, the very different world of Hollywood stars. I liked the sense of the lives the real people behind the celluloid (or digital, these days!) might live because of career pressures, because of the constant invasion of the rest of us into their lives. Georgie's situation drew me in because I could imagine what life would be like for someone suddenly on the negative end of public attention. Bram, who was tough, a bit self-centered, fascinated me because of how he grew and changed. He grew from a self-absorbed kid, really, into a man who could appreciate Georgie, who could appreciate the people around him. That's a rare bit of writing. Loved the minor characters, too: belligerent, punked-out Chazz, Georgie's wounded father carefully guarding himself and his emotions, Georgie's agent who had her own growing up to do--very real and moving characters. And of course I laughed out loud so many times during the book at the situations and the dialogue. As for the sex? Ahem, while a lingerie shop of the kind in the book may not exist in MY suburbia, I absolutely buy that it exists in the world of glitter and glam--and that two gorgeous people attracted to each other would get really, really turned on in one! I loved this book. Loved it for its bit of grittiness coming from the Hollywood life/world, and loved it because of Bram and Georgie, two flawed people who changed and could truly love one another. Lovedlovedloved it.

Georgie York and Bram Shepard worked together on a T.V. show called Skip and Scooter when they were teenagers. At first Georgie had a huge crush on him, but after a painful experience on a boat she hated him and was not surprised when a sex tape forced the cancellation of the show during their eight season. Eight years later Georgie just got dumped by her husband for another actress and to combat the poor Georgie articles about her asks her friend Ty (who was also on an episode of Skip and Scooter) to marry her even though he is gay. A while later Georgie is is Vegas and sees Bram. She tries to ignore him, but after a night of gambling she wakes up to find that they are married. She soon comes up with a plan to pretend that they are actually married and soon their in name only marriage turns out to be a love match. With interesting characters and a great story this is a great read

I do not know what book some of you were reading....because after reading these reviews i previewed the book first because some people got me worried that it was not going to be good. I rushed out to barnes and noble because I wanted to get to know the characters and the full story. I hated paying full price but it was worth it. I spent two late nights finishing the book and being tired the following days because I just could not put it down. I loved the main characters as well as the side characters. To me that is what makes SEP's books so good. She gives yo such layers. Id rather pay for a compelling story entwined with different stories than one story dragged out over alot of pages. I wanted to hear CHaz's story and wish there could have been more about her and her romance. I think SEP could have given us some more layering. As far as Bram, i liked him. I could understand him and he felt like a real person rather than a romance hero...I do not like reading those type of books. SEP has always written about men who had a wild early life that eventually turned there lives around in time for the women they fall for. Overall if you are a true fan of SEP and her style I htink this book will definetly be page turner and is worth getting or at least putting ur name on the local libary wait list (my libary had 56 names before me so I caved and bought it just like with Natutal Born Charmer.).