Blythe is utterly unlikable, but I completely love her! There’s a list of quotes at the beginning of How Perfect Is That; one is from Vanity Fair. Blythe is indeed reminiscent of Becky Sharp while there are shades of Amelia Sedley in Millie, who Blythe quickly learns is the only one to see even a hint of good in her. To create a character like Blythe, the author has to be talented otherwise she is simply unlikable and the book is put down because the reader doesn’t want to know what horrific act the character will commit next. And let me tell you, Blythe does some pretty horrific things. She intentionally drugs a group of women (her former friends) when they realize she cut corners on the food she provided for the party. Since Blythe is all about money and keeping up appearances, it is very enjoyable to see her forced to return to the “run-down dump” boardinghouse she lived in as a student at the University of Texas.

I enjoyed every second of this book. I loved that Blythe’s character stays true even as she starts to evolve into a slightly less self-absorbed person. ( )

This book was hilarious. I laughed almost from the first word all the way through. And while I couldn't connect with Blythe on a personal level it was entertaining to try and find reason in her messed up logic. She's been cast aside from her once glamorous life and is trying to wide a wave that has long left shore. While she can't seem to realize it, all of her problems are her fault, not her ex-husband or his "evil" mother.

Her look on life is a bit disheartening and I can't say I want to trade places with her, however seeing what she comes up with is hilarious. From the Ruffies to the tandem recumbent bike to the "off label" spa clinic this book just kept me laughing. There are so many moments when I was thinking she's screwed now, but somehow she comes up with something.

I know I keep mentioning how funny this book was, but I couldn't stop laughing. Even when I was talking to my bf about what was happening in the book he would chuckle. It's a great pick me up, cause if you feel like you have nothing well Blythe has even less, and she's making due (kind of). It's good chick lit and it was a pretty quick read. ( )

Blythe Young has made some serious mistakes in her life and is on a dangerous downward spiral. She has lost all that was important to her. Her friends, her husband and worst of all, her status. She is now forced to work for her money and has a "the world owes me" attitude. With the IRS hot on her trail, how will she survive? She can't go home and she drugged her clients so she can't exactly ask for her check. Then a lightbulb appears and she realizes that she does have somewhere she can go. Her college roommate, Millie, who has a heart of gold will surely take her in. In her desperation she uses the only means she knows to get what she wants. She lies and sucks up. Will Millie take Blythe under her wing and show her the error of her ways or will Millie the saint become as frustrated and fed up with Blythe as everyone else seems to be?

I really enjoyed this book. If you have ever made a mistake or lost touch with someone important to you then you will be able to relate to Blythe in some way, shape, or form.

Thank you to Sarah from Pocket Books for sending me this book to review. ( )

Blythe Young was summarily divorced by her husband and subsequently dumped by her supposed friends from the creme de la creme of Austin society. Desperate not to disappear from the stratified group, she resurrects her catering company, but without the money to produce the events for which she was known in the past. Obviously a dreadful idea, she manages to alienate her so-called friends by serving them hors d'oeuvres from Costco and them knocks them out with tiny doses of Rohypnol. As if that wasn't enough, she is being chased, literally, by the IRS.

So she runs to the only place she can find refuge and sympathy: back to the grotty student co-op she lived in with friend Millie before she met the Biggs-Dix family (yes, that really is their name and I snorted each time I read it, feeling grateful when it was shortened just to Dix) and became a social-climbing twit. Millie, because she is the long-suffering and compassionate friend, takes Blythe in, lets her stay, and even forgives Blythe for dropping her like a hot potato when other, more glamorous so-called friends came along. But things won't be quite that easy for Blythe, who must face several of her former employees who also live in the house and whom she hasn't paid. She gets called on the carpet for acting like a spoiled princess to whom things are due. Even Millie quickly reaches her limits with this incarnation of Blythe. And so it is time to learn and practice humility.

This is really a novel about friendship and redemption and remaining true to what matters, not just as a fall-back option. And as Blythe learns the importance of these things, she really grows. Almost like the Grinch on Christmas Day, you can see Blythe's heart re-learning how to care, to reach outside of herself, and to lose so much of what was bad about the laser self-focus that had become a hardened selfishness. We watch this transformation without being bludgeoned by the morals and this light touch makes the tone just right. As Blythe learns her lessons, we are reminded of the rightness of what she is learning without feeling as if we are reading a sermon.

Blythe's desperation to remain a part of Austin society is definitely over the top but since she has dumped her only other friend in lieu of the barracudas who populate the monied ranks, she really doesn't have a choice. As a reader, you waver back and forth between feeling sorry for Blythe and thinking she's a complete jerk who has gotten what is coming to her. There are other characters too, who walk a thin line in this reader's mind: the sanctimonious Sanjeev and Millie as doormat are just two. But the frustrations over character flaws serves to make them more complex and real than they might have been had I loved them all the time.

I was uncertain about the IRS storyline, wondering how on earth Blythe has had enough time to be a serious target for the IRS given that her husband took her for every penny in their divorce, said divorce had only been final a year, and her business went bankrupt in the blink of an eye. The character's own explanation that she was being made an example of based on her name and connection to her ex's family just didn't hold enough weight to be completely believable for me. But that was a minor irritant in an overall cute and entertaining story.

Bird excels at this sort of book and this one will delight her readers. It proved a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a few hours. ( )