Romantically Challenged / Beth Orsoff

Genre: Chick-lit / Romantic Comedy

Approximate word count: 90-95,000

Availability Kindle: YES             Nook: YES            DTB: NO

Author:

By day Beth Orsoff is an LA based entertainment lawyer (she claims it’s not glamorous and she is not part of the “Hollywood Elite”). She also claims Julie Burns, the main character in this book, isn’t a very thinly disguised version of her – of course, everyone believes that. Lizzie Mancini (the protagonist in Orsoff’s second book, Honeymoon for One) and Sydney Green (the leading female in her most recent, How I Learned to Love the Walrus) are both someone else for sure.

A former serial dater (just like Julie Burns) Orsoff is now married and lives with her husband who is on the verge of publishing his first book. For more visit her website.

Description:

When a woman reaches a certain age (32 in the case of Julie Burns) their parents, especially the stereotypical Jewish mother in this case, start applying pressure to marry and start a family. The statistics regarding a woman’s chances to find a spouse become lower at her age. (Thanks, “friends,” for letting Julie know that.) Maybe the answer is more statistics. Date as many men as she can – that has to increase her odds of finding the needle in a haystack – the man of her dreams.

Romantically Challenged was traditionally published and has since been reissued in an eBook version.

Appraisal:

Julie Burns is under pressure from her mother, friends, and the constant clicking of the clock to find Mr. Right and start a family. As the description says, it’s all a numbers game.

Yes, this is chick lit and it is good. It has a simple concept ripe for humorous situations. If Julie is dating as many men as she can she can provide us with laughs every night. Everyone should enjoy the humor of Romantically Challenged. Orsoff finds a stream of funny, yet realistic ways for Julie to get dates and an equal number of reasons for her to reject the men – some reasonable, others, maybe not so much. Many women should recognize and relate to at least some of Julie’s experiences.

That's part of the story, but not all. I think there is a bonus for men here too. Men can learn two things. First, look at the reasons Julie eliminates each man. If you never see yourself in any of the rejects, you aren't looking hard enough. Some of these reasons might contain a lesson you can use. Second, Julie will confirm what you've always suspected. "I'll never understand women."

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** 5 Stars