Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Divorced Not Dead Workshop / CeCe Osgood


Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Women’s Fiction/ Contemporary Romance/ Humor

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“CeCe Osgood lives in Texas after many years in LA working in the film industry. Her writing career includes magazine articles and screenplays as well as her years as a freelance script analyst (main client: HBO) and later for the Austin Film Festival. She has also had two screenplays optioned.

Being a novelist is her lifelong dream, and now it's becoming her reality. Her debut novel is The Divorced Not Dead Workshop, a romantic comedy/lighthearted women's fiction about dating after divorce. She loves red wine and hates pretzels.” Learn more about Ms. Osgood at her website.

Description:

“Meet Dorsey Bing. She's been divorced for five years and was recently dumped by her mega-hot Brit boyfriend, Theo. Smart, funny and a wee bit angsty, Dorsey brainstorms about a dating workshop for divorced men. Too bad she’s an idea person with zero follow-through.

That all changes when her best friend Pilar, a feisty go-getter, opts to set up the workshop with herself in charge and Dorsey as her "go-fer.” But do things ever really work out as planned. No. No, they don’t.

A startling mishap, rebellious workshop attendees and the arrival of handsome but wily Finn Woodall soon send things topsy-turvy for Dorsey. Even more trouble arises with the unexpected re-appearance of Theo. Will Dorsey want him back or is she smitten with Finn who could possibly be a back-stabbing rat bastard? And with everything that's happened in the workshop will Dorsey face her biggest challenge to win the love, and life, she's always desired?”  

Appraisal:

Best friends Dorsey Bing, Pilar, and Mimi are all likable and realistic characters. Dorsey hits on an idea to “desuckify” men by teaching them how to not be jerks with a dating workshop. Pilar, being an event planner, jumps on the idea. Mimi is the quiet mysterious friend who goes along for support. When Pilar books the workshop in the same week as a previously planned wedding cruise, the workshop is moved to a cruise ship going to Cabo San Lucas. Dorsey’s stepfather entertains on the ship  and is planning to wed Audrey, Theo’s aunt by marriage, in Cabo.  

When Pilar ends up missing the ship, Dorsey has no choice but to step-up and run the workshop without Pilar’s notes or game plan. Dorsey is stressed, ill prepared, and insecure, but rises to the challenge in order to save Pilar’s reputation. The participants in the workshop are a small group of diverse, well realized characters that consist of both men and women who are having trouble sustaining relationships after their divorces. At first the workshop felt like I was reading a self-help book until the characters started to get involved with the exercises of changing their expectations when meeting new people. It was entertaining watching the different personalities learn to converse and lower the walls each had built around themselves as they each grew more confident.

The story is told through Dorsey. She is smart, funny, kind, and a bit too impulsive for her own good. She ends up learning a lot about herself during her Divorced Not Dead Workshop. Unfortunately, I came across several proofing errors that need further attention. These range from missing words or quote marks to extra words scattered throughout the story. This is a light, surprisingly insightful, entertaining read with several humorous elements that is well worth investing in another round of proofreading.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found a significant number of proofing errors throughout this story.

Rating: *** Three stars

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