ARE YOU LISTENING? FRIDAYS! THIN, RICH, PRETTY AUDIO BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO
BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S

"ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"

I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS FRIDAY'S

"ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY" AUDIO BOOK CHOICE IS.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED

THIN, RICH, PRETTY
BY BETH HARBISON
READ BY ORLAGH CASSIDY

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

From theNew York Times bestselling author of Hope In a Jar, Secrets of a Shoe Addict, and Shoe Addicts Anonymous, comes a novel about old rivalries, deep secrets, and the three things all women wish they were.

Twenty years ago, when they were teenagers, Holly and Nicola were the outsiders at summer camp. Holly was the plump one, a dreamer who longed to be an artist. Nicola was the shy, plain one who wanted nothing more than to be beautiful. Their cabin nemesis was Lexi. Rich, spoiled, evil Lexi. One night, Holly and Nicola team up to pull one, daring act of vengeance. But they never dream that this one act will have repercussions that will reach into the future, even twenty years later. And they never realize the secret pain that Lexi holds very close, and how their need for revenge costs Lexi a great deal.

Today, Holly is a successful gallery owner, who has put her own artistic dreams on hold. She struggles with her weight and for approval from her constantly-criticizing boyfriend. Nicola, is an almost-famous actress who believes that one little plastic surgery fix is just what she needs to put her over the edge into fame. And Lexi…Lexi is down on her luck and totally broke.

Holly will do anything to be thin. Lexi will do anything to be rich. And Nicola will do anything to be pretty. Thin, Rich, Pretty is the story of three women who believe that happiness is the next dress size down, the next dollar figure up, or the next appreciative glance from a stranger. But mostly it's the story of how three women save each other, and show each other the path to true contentment. Told with Beth Harbison's knack for thirty and fortysomething nostalgia, and heartwarming humor, Thin, Rich, Pretty will strike a chord with any woman who has ever got on the scale, looked in the mirror, or the bank, and said, “if only…” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beth Harbison grew up in Potomac, Maryland, in the shadow of Washington, D.C. Apart from the occasional irritation at being held up in traffic by a presidential motorcade, she has remained fairly uninvolved in the politics that define her home town.

After an unsuccessful stint in public education, she was moved to a private school for rotten kids, where she met some of her best friends for life.

After going to school at the University of London, and graduating with a BA from the University of Maryland, she began writing.   Shoe Addicts Anonymous, in 2007, was her first mainstream novel after writing four cookbooks and twenty-two Silhouette Romances. It hit the New York Times bestseller list in 2008, and was followed by Secrets of a Shoe Addict and Hope in a Jar.

2010 saw the publication of Thin Rich Pretty, the story of three girls who meet in summer camp as young teens and have to face the music for that fateful summer twenty years later.

Currently, Beth lives in Maryland with her family and dogs. In her time off, she enjoys wine with friends and watching terrible reality TV shows.. 

ABOUT THE READER:

Orlagh Cassidy is the winner of the 2009 Best Voice in Children & Family Listening for the audiobook It’s Time to Sleep, My Love & On the Night You Were Born.  She also won an award in 2008 for Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense.  She’s narrated for Jacqueline Winspear, James Patterson, Erica Spindler, and Frank Herbert, among others.

Orlagh’s Broadway credits include Present Laughter with Frank Langella, Our Country's Good,Suddenly Last Summer.  She has appeared Off-Broadway in Bright Ideas and The Field and at The Irish Rep (Drama Desk Nomination). She is "Doris Wolfe" on The Guiding Light and her other television appearances include Sex and the City, Law & Order, Law and Order SVU, and Murder One.  She also appeared in the films Purple Violets, Spinning into Butter, and Definitely, Maybe. 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Beth Harbison’s THIN, RICH, PRETTY is veiled as chick lit but does have an important message to it. While enjoying Harbison’s easy, quick read, one also should give notice to the lesson taught that so many young women today need to heed. Growing up wanting to be the “ideal” woman as portrayed in the media-“a thin, rich, pretty girl”- carries over into adulthood where hopefully women learn that it is WHO they are on the inside that counts.

THIN, RICH, PRETTY tells the story of three women starting when they meet in summer camp and catching up in present day twenty years later. Harbison goes back and forth between the two time periods and give a nice comparison view.

At summer camp, as young girls, we find Nicola is embarrassed because she has a large nose, while Holly has the typical weight problem that haunts so many of our youth today. Both have poor self-esteem and are kidded about their looks. Lexi, the “rich girl”, commanders the rest of the campers in their shared cabin to be hateful to Holly and Nicola. A typical middle school age social pattern. This results in Holly and Nicola forming a bond as the two unhappy girls unite to “hate” Lexi so that they can feel better. Lexi comes from a very wealthy background and so that is what they hone in on to harass her about. Children, and girls at summer camp are no exception, can be very cruel, and this is depicted well in the novel. Of course, Holly and Nicola never get to know Lexi enough in order to find out that she is covering her emotions after having her mother die and made to get used to a step-mother.  

Present day finds the three “girls” still fighting their demons but on a larger scale. Holly with her weight, Nicola her nose, and Lexi with money, but time does change even these things. Nicola is living in Los Angeles as a working actor trying for her big break. She is sure if she has plastic surgery she will then be pretty enough to break though the barrier of major stardom. Holly has just gotten engaged to Randy although it isn’t official yet in that Randy claims he wants to marry her, however she only needs to lose a few pounds first. As for Lexi, her father just died and his will was changed to leave everything to her step-mother thus meaning Lexi has one month to move out of her family’s home and find a job to support herself. She has never worked before!

Will this fun, romantic read turn out happily ever after? Will Nicola like who she sees when the bandages are off and thus become an overnight success? Will dieting to win her man’s love be what Holly really wanted? Does Lexi find a job that will allow her to live in the manner she is accustomed to, or at least not be homeless? Or will all these things go haywire and the women resolve their own dilemma in a decent and rational way? As a fan of Beth Harbison’s SHOE ADDICTS ANONYMOUS, I was happy  to listen to the audio book of THIN, RICH, PRETTY and was not disappointed. The characters were well fleshed out and Harbison made me like them as well as care about what happened to them. Although it was predictable for the most part, it was still enjoyable fun, and did have a nice moral to it.

 GIVEAWAY 
THANKS TO STEPHANIE AT MACMILLAN

AUDIO BOOKS, I HAVE 2 COPIES OF THIS

 ENTERTAINING AUDIO BOOK TO

GIVE AWAY TO 2 LUCKY WINNERS!  

 

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HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THIN, RICH, PRETTY  THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: GO TO MACMILLAN AUDIO BOOKS WEBSITE HERE AND LISTEN TO PART OF THIS AUDIO BOOK IN AN EXCERPT ON THAT PAGE AND COMMENT HERE THAT YOU DID IT OR ABOUT IT

+1 MORE ENTRY: SIGN UP FOR SWAGBUCKS IN MY RIGHT SIDE BAR AND EARN SWAGBUCKS TOWARD PRIZES-WHEN YOU EARN, I EARN AS WELL AND THAT IS HOW I BUY SOME OF THE BOOKS I GIVE AWAY. IT ALSO GIVES YOU CHANCES EACH MONTH FOR EXTRA ENTRIES TO MY GIVEAWAYS. IF YOU ALREADY SIGNED UP ON MY WEBSITE THEN JUST TELL ME AND I CAN CHECK. THANKS!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, MARCH 18

GOOD LUCK!