The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook [Paperback]

3 and 1/2 stars.


Why I Read this Book: I've seen The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook described as the male-equivalent to Bridget Jones's Diary. I thought BJD was hilarious so I wanted to read The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook. I was even more curious to read a Chick-Lit book written from the main male character's POV, figuring it would be quite a change from the norm. It was.

What I Liked: The book begins on January 16th, the day Edward discovers that Jane, his girlfriend of 10 years, has left him. The reader follows Edward through his 4 month self-discovery journey. Edward's best friend, Dan, helps him through the process in a hilariously yet sincere (at least to Dan's prospective) manner. These 4 months help Edward to assess and re-evaluate his relationship with Jane. The book ends on April 16, shortly after Jane has returned from her own self-discovery journey in Tibet. The whole time I was reading this book I wanted to know if they would get back together or not.

I grew fond of Edward's character and I wanted to make sure that everything turned out right for him. He got a new insight to life and relationships. Edward really transforms himself, inside and out, and in the end he gets the HEA he deserves.

Dan and his `logic' were most hysterical. Most of which was the blunt, honest truth. Dan doesn't sugarcoat anything, nor does his mouth have a filter, he just tells it like he sees it. Dan's analogies were sometimes spot on, sometimes not, but always down right hilarious.

Funny stuff that comes out of Dan's mouth:

"You're dressed like a scarecrow. And what do scarecrows do?"

"Cool jacket, Dan. How will they ever resist me?" [Edward] says, strutting up and down in front of the mirror.
Dan shakes his head. "Edward, it's a nice jacket. Not a magic jacket."


And here's a word of advice from Edward's personal trainer:

"If it jiggles, it's fat."


The funny part about this line is that it took place in a restaurant during the trainer's assessment of Edward. No advanced equipment needed; just a jiggle test. These quotes still give me a good chuckle.

What I Didn't Like: The beginning was a bit slow for me. But once Edward got over his woe is me pity party and started doing something about his situation, I was invested in finding out how his life was going to turn out.

There were a few times when I had to pause and think for a moment about what a particular word or phrase meant. Some I even had to Google. For instance: pint of snakebite (a drink of equal parts beer and cider), kerb (curb), boot of a car (the trunk), jumper (pull-over sweater), snog (kiss and cuddle) and aerial (antenna) - just to name a few. Nothing I couldn't figure out but it did pause my reading from time to time.

Overall Impression: Fans of Bridget Jones's Diary and Chick-Lit will love the male insight from Edward's POV and the humor that comes along with it. They need to make of movie from this book! The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook would be a great Valentine's Day read.

Are you in the need for a funny book? Do you want something that will make you forget about your own problems? Looking for a light read after all that heavy reading? Have you ever wondered what goes on in guy's mind? Do you like hot British guys? If you said yes to any of these questions, then this is the perfect book that will fulfill all your needs and more.

Oh Edward. What can I say about you? Nice guys always wonder why they never get the girl? Well, if you're like Edward, it's understandable why. His long time girlfriend has left him with only a note saying that, yes it is him, as to why she left. But he can't figure out why she has. Therefore the whole book is his quest to become the guy Jane wants and be the guy that is her Mr. Right. This includes everything from changing his car, his apartment, his eating habits and hiring a personal trainer.

Ok, there were times when reading that I wanted to throttle Edward for being so dumb. Oh my gosh, he was so clueless at times! I kept putting my head in my hands and groaning and his lack of knowledge or for just being so dense at a lot of things. There's a scene that Edward recalls about why he never got Jane flowers while they were dating because of an incident involving stopping at a gas station, getting expired roses, and her telling him never to do that again and him literally taking her word for it to mean to never get her flowers again. I was like "ohhhh, no you didn't Edward" over and over again during the first half of the book. The poor guy is literally absolutely dumbfounded as to why Jane left him but as he reveals more and more stuff about their relationship, it's easy to understand why she did. He's not a bad guy at all. In fact, he IS a good guy, in fact he's a really nice guy. But just being nice isn't going to cut it if you're not a good boyfriend.

Granted, Dan wasn't the best person to teach Edward things. He's a total playboy (if this was ever made into a movie, this role would be perfectly portrayed by Jude Law) who pretty much forgets about the girl he was with the next morning. There's quite a bit that he has to learn as well and it's fun watching him grow throughout the book and seeing his character change. Still, most of the advice he gives Edward is food for thought and there is some good changes he instills on him.

This book pretty much had me a fan from the first page. It's really nice to see a chick lit novel written from the guy's perspective. Women always complain about how we never know what a guy is thinking and that he's absolutely clueless when it comes to treating us right. Well, if men are anything like Edward, well then they ARE absolutely clueless! But what makes Edward stand out is that he was willing to change. He wanted to become what he thought Jane wanted and while doing so became the guy that truly was meant to be. This sounds a bit cliched but it's true. I really loved reading this book (hot British guys with accents!) and it's made me fall in love with Matt Dunn's style of writing. I see that he has several books in his backlist so I will definitely be checking those out in the near future. Single, dating, married, doesn't matter what stage of life you are in, this book is TONS of fun. HIGHLY recommended.

I thought this was going to be one of those stupid, slap stick and silly books but it wasn't. In the end I was appreciative of all the things this man was willing to through for his girlfriend who had walked out on him and even more appreciative of the fact he realized that after everything what he desired wasn't the right thing for him.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 47 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars