The Awesome Girl's Guide to Dating Extraordinary Men Paperback – Unabridged, September 24, 2013

I bought THE AWESOME GIRL'S GUIDE for one reason - I absolutely raved about 32 CANDLES, the author's first novel. I loved 32 CANDLES so much that I am still recommending it, and I have given out at least 5 copies as gifts. I never read a plot synopsis of THE AWESOME GIRL's GUIDE, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. I just knew I would support this author in any endeavor, and pre-purchased this book for my Kindle.So imagine my surprise when I was reading AWESOME GIRL"S GUIDE and I came to realize I could not relate to ANY of the characters. I didn't even like them! I have to say, I DO NOT have friends like these girls! (If I do, they are keeping secrets!)I was not so lost or confused when I was 28, 29, 30, etc. So I was a little impatient and intolerant of their rather glaring flaws. I kept waiting to like Sharita, Risa, Thursday, and it just wasn't happening. Instead, I kept thinking that they are all crazy! Not "they are different from me and I don't share their life view" crazy. I mean, I thought they were "these chicks need therapy" crazy. And I could not imagine where a novel about four young women in need of such psychological help was going to take me. I wasn't even sure I cared what would happen to Risa - I am rather unamused by foul-mouthed lesbian rockstars. I was thinking, "oh no! I am not going to like Mrs. Carter's novel!"But I am writing this review because I was WRONG WRONG WRONG! I was about 40 percent through the novel when this little light started to come on, and I started to see the women as complicated women, as opposed to characters. By the time I hit the halfway point, I pretty much abandoned any thought of returning to the tedium of my day job. I spent the rest of the day reading the book under my desk. I laughed and cried by the end. And like any good story, it kind of changes you. And I wish I had a friend to discuss it with. As a result, I will be messaging a few friends, telling them, "hurry up and read this one, you've never read anything like it, and I really want to know what you think." Somewhere underneath, all of us want the same thing, no matter how "screwed up" we are. We want jobs that don't kill our spirits. We want friends. And we want CRAZY LOVE. The other stuff varies, but this stuff seems to be universal. And that's the feeling I had when I finished this novel. I had more in common with these women than I thought. Just like they had more in common with each other than they originally realized. (I loved Sharita and Risa's discussion toward the end.) They could only judge each other up to a certain point. I haven't decided if I love this book in the same way that I loved 32 CANDLES. Not that I really related to Davie's experience either (btw, Davie does make a guest appearance in this new work.) But it had a more immediate appeal. These girls are damaged in a different way. As I think it through, my conclusion is that THAT'S THE POINT! Black women looking for love are damaged in different ways. This is Sharita, Risa, Thursday, and Tammy's story. And it's a good story. Makes me want to join a book club again!

Stop, don't get the wrong idea that this is one of those dating book for black women. It's one of the best books on how to accept your self, laugh at some of the crazy men out there and how to move your but and have fun, without always, always having a man around. You will also laugh your but off about the lives and loves of:Thursday (yes, that's her name) - Most people have one night stands, she has one month stands. When they get too close or on her nerves, she dumps them. Then she starts to have this recurring dream about a man with no face and her heart begins to tell her it's time to settle down.Risa - She wants to be Rock Star, but will not let go of losing and getting back "The One."Sharita - She is so much like my girlfriends who when they get a man, they disappear. She has a great career, avoids social gatherings and will dump her best friends in a minute when a man comes crawling. She returns as usual when the jackass dumps her, crying all the way home.Tammy - A later bloomer to the group. A rich girl with a flickle heart.The first chapter will have you laughing and saying things like, "I got friends just like that or I do remember my girl friends when they were around 30 years old. Reading this book got me thinking about Waiting to Exhale (Terry McMillan - Waiting to Exhale - $7.99) - or Valley of the Dolls (Jacqueline Susann - Valley of the Dolls - $9.39) or The Man in 3B (Carl Weber - The Man in 3B) and so many books on weird relationships, finding and keeping love in girlfriend style.I laughed at the beginning, but then I got bored. I read that plot before. It was reading just like any other book I have read before, but then, I got hit and hit hard. Was at work reading it and did not move until it was done. Yeah, I missed a few meetings and such at work, but who the hell cares. I had to find out what the hell was going to happen next. Bump the job, I need to finish this book.You better go out and buy this book. Buy it for your girlfriends and have a serious party on how so many antics in this book were done or being done by your friends. It will make you go, "Damn, am I like that or was I like that? Yes we were and Yes you are.

The sample on Kindle starts off very charming, sucks you in and you end up eager for more. Except, once you're in the full version, it seems to whiplash a bit. From 5% all the way to around 60% of the book, it seems like things get worse, and worse, and worse. To the point that it's rather difficult to connect to the characters and I was practically moaning and groaning at each poor life decision they make. It felt like the sample promised me something brighter, but it's making me crawl through pages upon pages of watching life fall apart for the characters before I could get somewhere.Honestly, I was on the verge of giving up, but then surprise-surprise, things picked up! Just as things were the worse, things got better! You can even tell the author was enjoying it more. Like they decided, "Okay, now that that part is over, let me bring out the good stuff." Characters are slowly crawling back up the charm-scale and it's very endearing to see them grow, make better decisions, move on and grow up. In the end, I was actually happy for them!It all ended a bit abruptly for my liking but that could be me finding the balance of the book a bit uneven.

At first I enjoyed this book. It doesn't have an epic plot or anything but I found the characters interesting and well developed. However the further I read the more sex scenes there seemed to be. I wasn't interested in the rest of the book enough to wade through that. Pity because the author does seem to write characters well and I would have liked to see more of that.

By far one of the best books I've ever read. It will make you laugh and make you cry, maybe both at the same time lol. I was just so sorry when it had to end.

It took a LONG time to get into this book. I was still fighting it over half way through, I just didn't care about the characters. At some point it clicked into place and I was happy to redd to the end to find out what was going on but not one I'd bother recommending to a friend.

Starts a bit slow but gets better and better towards to the end. Very fun read about friendship and love