Rating: 3/5 stars
Genre(s): Chick Lit; Women’s Fiction; Romance
Published: March 1st 2003 by Red Dress Ink
“Life at Fashionista magazine can be a real bitch. Especially when you work for one.
Vig Morgan finally worked her way out of the assistant-for-the-bitch-from-hell trenches only to get stuck in a sea of editors. But Big isn’t like the other associate editors at the aggressively hip and overwhelmingly current Fashionista magazine. For one thing, she couldn’t care less which star wore which designer to which party. Sure, she’s clever and witty – and just as ambitious as the next overqualified underpaid underling, but she would never get drawn into a plot to depose the evil editor-in-chief. Or would she?
Jump with Big into the choppy waters of scheming, backstabbing, free speech, flirtation and fashion, as the lackeys at the bottom of the masthead band together to take down the queen at the top, with some unexpected – but not necessarily unpleasant – results.”
Okay, bookworms. I have a confession, but please don’t hate me for this – Fashionistas is the only physical book that I’ve read in months 😭. It’s just much easier to read ebooks with the situation I’ve got going on right now i.e. raising a toddler. Plus, Fashionistas had been a 3-stars from beginning to end so I wasn’t driven enough to finish it compared to other books. Also, I’ve got this weird rule which prevents me from reading two physical books at the same time, unless it’s a combination of non-fiction and fiction. Alright, now that that’s out of the way, on to the review!
There are books where you have no trouble relating to the main character. This isn’t one of it for me. There are only brief moments where I find myself liking Vig. Most of the time I feel neutral towards her like she’s a polite acquaintance. Vig’s exactly like that. She does all she’s supposed to do and behaves how she’s supposed to in a social interaction but secretly she’s rebelling and disagreeing a lot. Despite having friends, Christine and Maya to talk to, I feel like Vig’s a lone wolf. She doesn’t really have a confidant. Although we’re inside her head all the time, she still feels distant.
The antagonisation of the character Jane, the Fashionistas magazine editor-in-chief, is comical and entertaining. She expects no less than people being there at her beck and call, nitpicking at people’s work, taking credits for other people’s work that she likes…
Speaking generally, the plot captures my attention and piqued my interest. However, the major drawback of this book is that dramatic scenes aren’t as impactful as it could be because delivery falls a little flat. Despite this, I still was curious to see if the plot to fell the ‘evil queen’ succeeds.
Content warning(s): Might offend Christian practitioners and believers of Jesus Christ.
Pages: 282 (Paperback)
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This book ticks off item(s) from my reading challenges this year!
✅ F (A to Z Reading Challenge)
✅ 37: A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to (2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge).
✅ 12: Has big plot twist (Full House Reading Challenge 2018)
About Lynn Messina:
“Lynn Messina is the author of more than a dozen novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into 16 languages. Her essays have appeared in Self, American Baby and the Modern Love column in the New York Times, and she’s a regular contributor to the Times Motherlode blog. She lives in New York City with her husband and sons.”
Source: Author’s website
Bookmarks & Blue Light 