Format: Paperback
Evie Rosen has had enough. She's tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She's over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it's time to put down her smartphone for good. (Beats stowing it in her underwear--she's done that too!) And that's when she discovers a fresh start for real conversations, fewer distractions, and living in the moment, even if the moments are heartbreakingly difficult. Babies are born; marriages teeter; friendships are tested. Evie just may find love and a new direction when she least expects it, but she also learns that just because you unplug your phone doesn't mean you can unplug from life.
Last week I read two very similar books featuring single women in their mid-to-late thirties going through the "last call" panic. Both were entertaining with little gimmicks to separate them from the pack.
Love and Miss Communication's USP was the main character giving up the internet after her constant emailing and Facebooking resulted in dire consequences. I'm sure many people will be grabbed by this premise in this day and age considering the amount of time we spend attached to our smartphones and tablets and whatnot.
Love and Miss Communication's USP was the main character giving up the internet after her constant emailing and Facebooking resulted in dire consequences. I'm sure many people will be grabbed by this premise in this day and age considering the amount of time we spend attached to our smartphones and tablets and whatnot.
The opening was really strong. I laughed out loud and chucked through at least the first 30-40 pages. However, once Evie gave up the internet, I feel like it started to lose some of it's spark a teensy bit. Although, this could've been down to the fact that Evie herself went through a period of feeling lost and unsure. It can be hard to bring the tone down to something more serious in a romantic comedy without losing the liveliness. It also became a little bit predictable - which I suppose isn't a bad thing when it comes to a good summer read. I don't know, I suppose the grass is always greener but it always seems like in these types of books, the successful professional woman wants to give it all up to become an artist/designer/children's book illustrator.
Still, the characters were nice. Evie was the dutifully ditzy yet highly capable lead that we've all come to expect from rom-coms. The friends were all variations of her but I think it might've been nice if she only had one or two best friends and they were featured more throughout the story. Edward was refreshingly normal for the love interest (I don't think that's a spoiler - you know what you're getting with a book called Love and Miss Communication) but Jack was a bit of a straw man. There wasn't really anything within his character to show why Evie was so hooked on him. The star of the book is most definitely Evie's grandma Bette. Many of the zingy one liners belong to good old Bette.
The main lesson that can be learnt from this book is you can enjoy everything in moderation but maybe it's good to detox sometimes. Evie learnt a lot about herself during her hiatus from the internet and managed to be more present in her family life. However, she also realised that times have changed and in order to keep up with your friendship circle social media is necessary. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...I like to write these reviews on here (although I haven't been so good at it lately), I go on Facebook to speak to friends and family abroad, and I like to snoop around on Twitter sometimes. However, I don't have Instagram or Snapchat or the other popular apps and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Perhaps it's an age thing - do you feel you need to be on social media to keep up with friends?
Still, the characters were nice. Evie was the dutifully ditzy yet highly capable lead that we've all come to expect from rom-coms. The friends were all variations of her but I think it might've been nice if she only had one or two best friends and they were featured more throughout the story. Edward was refreshingly normal for the love interest (I don't think that's a spoiler - you know what you're getting with a book called Love and Miss Communication) but Jack was a bit of a straw man. There wasn't really anything within his character to show why Evie was so hooked on him. The star of the book is most definitely Evie's grandma Bette. Many of the zingy one liners belong to good old Bette.
The main lesson that can be learnt from this book is you can enjoy everything in moderation but maybe it's good to detox sometimes. Evie learnt a lot about herself during her hiatus from the internet and managed to be more present in her family life. However, she also realised that times have changed and in order to keep up with your friendship circle social media is necessary. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...I like to write these reviews on here (although I haven't been so good at it lately), I go on Facebook to speak to friends and family abroad, and I like to snoop around on Twitter sometimes. However, I don't have Instagram or Snapchat or the other popular apps and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Perhaps it's an age thing - do you feel you need to be on social media to keep up with friends?
Overall, Love and Miss Communication is a nice read with an interesting hook. If you like a good rom-com be sure to give it a go this summer.
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