- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Avon A (2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0380820447
- ISBN-13: 978-0380820443
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,300,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Josephine Josie Flynn is a latter-day Bridget Jones, but without the cuteness, the sardonic humor or the wry introspection that made Ms. Jones so lovable (and her story so profitable). In this novel by bestselling English author Matthews, Josie is newly single and en route from London to her American cousin's wedding in New York, when she meets Matt Jarvis, an aspiring rock journalist who captures her attention and asks for a date as soon as their plane touches down. When they just miss each other at the appointed restaurant, madness ensues as Josie's ex-husband decides to jet to the wedding to win her back, and Matt becomes entangled with a publicist for a regrettable boy band, which covers the Beatles but doesn't even know who they were. There are moments of comedy and others of introspection in Matthews's book about the single life and how singletons strive to overcome their lot (often, it seems, by attending weddings, even ones to which they haven't been invited). Despite some humorous inventions (such as the Conversation Termination Sequence, an escape hatch from endless phone calls with her bodily functions¤obsessed mother) and melancholy revelations ( somehow she was going to have to let the barriers down again, otherwise no one would ever get inside her protective shell to find the real Josie hiding there ), Matthews mostly fails to mine a deeper meaning from the characters and situations she creates as she entertains her readers with serendipitous trysts and near-misses. Still, Josie, unlike Bridget, never carps about her weight, and for that women readers can be thankful.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The cute journalist sitting next to her on the flight from London to New York is exactly what Josie Flynn needs to take her mind off her cheating ex-husband and her mother's I-told-you-so's. When he shares his own divorce story, buys her a drink, and invites her to dinner in New York, she feels pretty smug about the way her life is looking up. Then he doesn't show for the date, the wedding Josie is attending turns into a fiasco, and her ex-husband flies in from London to try to charm her back. And that doesn't include what happens to the cute guy when he tries to track her down in New York with no more information than a bride's first name. British author Matthews makes her American debut with this light, funny novel. A natural for the beach, it will charm Bridget Jones fans on both sides of the Atlantic; film rights have already been sold. Patrons will want to be first in line to read this one. Recommended for all public libraries. Kim Uden Rutter, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dreadful!,
By A Customer
This review is from: For Better for Worse: A Novel (Paperback)
I am so disappointed! After reading The Boy Next Door and She Went All The Way, I thought Kelly might be on to something. After reading this book, I'm not so sure. This book was just flat out awful, and I'm ashamed (and irritated) that I actually read the whole thing.It started off well enough, with The Cat Formerly Known as Prince (that was just plain funny) and Josie's conversations with her mum, made the book seem promising. Once she got on the plane, it went downhill. I could *almost* buy the instant attraction to Matt, and the fun day trip to the Statue of Liberty, but everything that happens after that is just beyond ridiculous. There was absolutely nothing to like about any of the characters. They are frequently drunk, occassionally high, and constantly stupid and self-centered. Nothing that happens in NY is even remotely believable and is highly annoying. Matt treats Holly abysmally (not exactly what you like to see in a 'hero') and what Josie's cousin does at her own wedding is beyond forgivable. The fact that her husband does forgive it just made me mad. Oh, and the boy band who weren't sure about who the Beatles were? Come on! This book was terrible, and if I could give it no stars I would. Don't waste your time or money.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Modern Romantic Tale,
By A Customer
This review is from: For Better for Worse: A Novel (Paperback)
I picked up my friends copy of For Better For Worse as i was intrigued to see what she was laughing at, and once i started to read it i couldn't put it down.This is one of those books that will keep you up at night turning the pages to see what happens next, it was thoroughly enjoyable, one of the best books i have read in a long time, would i recommend it - you'd be crazy not too......
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars (78 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tiring, After a While,
By Elizabeth Hendry - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: For Better for Worse: A Novel (Paperback)
I started off really enjoying For Better, For Worse. It was a light, humorous romantic comedy told from an omniscient perspective instead of the typical first-person narrative. I found that refreshingly different. Josie Flynn leaves her native London and her pining, cheating exhusband for a brief trip to New York to be the maid of honor in her cousin's wedding. While on the plane, she meets Matt, a charming English man, and they hit it off immediately. Sometime after Jo arrives in NYC, the novel starting losing most of its appeal. All the characters began behaving rather idiotically and the whole thing became annoying. I realize you must suspend your disbelief with a romantic comedy, but most of the occurences were a little too much, for various reasons, for this to be an enjoyable novel.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely different...,
By Always Reading - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: For Better for Worse: A Novel (Paperback)
This book started off good, and I really liked the way it was written - focusing on a bunch of different characters one by one and seeing what they were up to at that moment in conjunction with the plot. So that was cool. As the book went on, though, I began to get a little annoyed. Am I supposed to believe that after one great day, two strangers can think of nothing but each other and are going to such great lengths because they've both fallen in love with each other? I wish they'd either been together a little more at the beginning or at the end, as I didn't really feel any chemistry between them. It was an OK book overall - although the ending seemed rushed and I wish I could have known what happened after that, it wasn't very satisfying for me - but I'm rather disappointed that I bought this book at full price and am now stuck with it, since I'll probably never reread it. I'd recommend this to you only if you buy it at a used bookstore or check it out from the library and aren't expecting the best book in the world. Maybe if I'd set my expectations lower, I would have enjoying it more. :-/
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong couple???,
By Susie Paik "janceesp" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: For Better for Worse: A Novel (Paperback)
I have to admit that I did like the book, in terms of the writing style. However, the ending was so abrupt and unbelievable. I wanted to know what happened with their relationship after those first five minutes back together. Also, I think Matt should have ended up with Holly, since he spent more time with her than the heroine of the book! Are we really supposed to believe that he's in love with Josie after everything he did with Holly?!?! You can probably tell that I was annoyed by this book A LOT, but it was funny!
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