Monday 10 February 2014

Brief Book Review: The Green Ticket

I finished my first book of the year (Harry Potter) and asked my ever helpful sister what book I should read next. She asked what books of hers I had in my possession (quite a few that I have sadly had for probably close to a year) and she suggested The Green Ticket by Samantha March so that's what I read.
I read mostly on breaks and at work again (shh) and I actually finished it the last week of January but since I'm slow this post hasn't been written yet. And then when I want to write it, my internet at my house is not working. This is ridiculous.
I'll start you off with a synopsis of the book and then I'll tell you my thoughts about it.

College junior Alex Abrams scores her dream job at the ripe age of twenty – manager to a successful salon and spa. Thrilled to finally have a real adult job, Alex enthusiastically jumps into the world of schedules, conference calls, and getting a massage when interviewing prospective employees. What she doesn’t expect are the very grown-up issues that comes with a demanding boss. Kevin Dohlman quickly becomes Alex’s worse nightmare – covering up his affairs, dealing with his enormous ego, and trying to protect her female staff from him becomes a full-time job in its own right. Alex has also befriended Kevin’s wife and co-owner, Dani, and is trying to keep Kevin’s secrets hidden from her. The situation only worsens when Kevin starts paying Alex off to make sure she keeps her insider knowledge to herself. While struggling to keep her wits and stay happy with her new grown-up job, Alex is juggling college courses, a new love interest, and keeping up with her close group of girlfriends. When her roommate and best friend Lila gets offered an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and sign with an agent, Alex realizes her life truly is changing, and everyone around her – including herself ¬ is growing up. Knowing she is faced with some hard decisions ahead, Alex struggles with keeping her job at Blissful. But does she really want to throw away what she dreamed of as a career – or will the secret-keeping for Kevin become too much to handle? The Green Ticket is a story about morals versus money, and how one young woman navigates the shaky line between the two.



I thought I was going to like this more than I did, Alex is a 20 year old in college, who basically ends up getting her dream job. Sounds like exactly where I'd like to be right? Apparently not. I'm not quite sure what it was about her and her friends but I couldn't really connect with them. Kaley pointed out that it was probably because they weren't girls I would typically have made friends with (they were really girly and a little judgmental at times). Luckily, however, this didn't put me off the book entirely.
Alex's boss was, to put it bluntly, an ass. I can't say I would have done anything differently than she had, but I was still cringing a little every time an issue with him was mentioned and I kept mentally yelling at her to stick up for herself.
I do have to say though, I was a little bit jealous of her for having her "dream job" at the age of 20. I wish I knew what I wanted to do and I'm turning 24.
Alex also met a boy. Obviously. She meets Henry at a Halloween party and they hit it off right away. Though out the book though I kept thinking that something awful was going to happen with him. I'm not really sure why, but I felt that he was either going to either turn out to be a jerk or totally embarrass her or something. Luckily that doesn't happen.
Overall it was a fairly enjoyable book, like I said, I didn't connect overly with the characters but don't let that sway you from reading this. It was very well written and there was just enough back story to each of the characters that you could invest and tell them apart, but not too much that it dragged on and took away from the story. I plan to read more of Samantha's work (borrowed from my sister most likely) because I have heard many good things.
Fun fact, it took me until page 260 (of a 316 page book) to figure out why it was based out of Iowa of all places...that's where Samantha lives!
Hopefully this review has peaked your interest a little and you pick up The Green Ticket by Samantha March. If you have read it, let me know what you thought!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking the time to read and review my book! :)

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome! I actually feel kind of special that you read and commented on my review! I look forward to reading more of your books :)

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