This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
There are few things as exciting as discovering a new author you love. Add to that an absolutely hysterical main character that you can relate to and page after page of pant-wettingly hilarious scenes and, quite frankly, I am sold. The List is pure, chick lit heaven.
One year. One single woman. Ten very naughty challenges.
Phoebe Henderson has been dumped. To add insult to injury, she has been dumped by (arguably) the most boring man in England, whom she found with another woman in her bed. Despite all of this, Phoebe finds herself missing her ex and, after a year of drinking enough tequila to kill a few hundred Mexicans, she is ready to get over him completely. She wants to move on with her life; perhaps discover a new hobby, find a boyfriend who isn’t a complete arse and start a new job that she loves. She also decides to make a list of ten sexually experimental things that she has always wanted to try, but has never had the guts to (or the equipment in some cases – ooh, matron).
With the help of friend and serial dater, Lucy, Phoebe begins to put together The List – the ultimate guide to sex in the ’00s. No relationships allowed, just fun, no strings attached sex. There’s one small problem – who will she recruit to help her complete The List? There’s Brian, office bad boy, who is good looking enough, but your typical male chauvinist, too. Stuart is the office newcomer, but has a girlfriend. Boss Frank is actually reasonably attractive if Phoebe can resist the urge to trap his giant head in a door every time he speaks. Then there’s Oliver, gorgeous Oliver, sexual deviant and best friend since childhood, but would he be willing to risk their friendship?
It has been a long time since I’ve laughed so hard while reading that I’ve had to walk away from it until I have stopped crying and can see the page again. Phoebe is outrageously honest and witty and certainly doesn’t hold back from providing the reader with a detailed account of every thought that goes through her head. Although she doesn’t consider herself a prude, she decides that it’s time to experiment and with that decision came some the most hilarious scenes I have read for a while. Page 43 in particular had me laughing so hard I snorted. Written in the style of a diary, which works perfectly, we witness Phoebe’s sexual awakening and realise a few other things along the way, which give this book some really tender moments.
The characters are some of the most well-written and lifelike I have ever read with the secondary characters – especially Hazel, Oliver and Frank – providing just as many laughs as Phoebe.
Of course, Phoebe is the heart and soul of this book; her comedic timing, caring nature and general desire for something more in her life is endearing. She does make mistakes, big ones, but that is part of her character and it’s impossible to judge her. She is incredibly easy to relate to, too. Sex is a major theme of the book, as you might hae guessed, but instead of the perfectly described sex scenes that we’re used to in most other novels, this story shows the other side – the funny and very honest side, when things can go terribly wrong. Although sex is a focus of the book, do not think that it’s a story without heart; there’s plenty of emotion and there are moments that are absolutely lovely to read. By the time I finished the book, I wished Phoebe was real so that I could thank her for the laughs and congratulate her on her journey.
I could gush about this book all day, but I don’t want to give too much away (plus I’ve already gone over my word count), so I will end with this:
Without a doubt this is the best and funniest book I have read so far this year. I can’t wait to see what Joanna Bolouri does next!
10/10
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