Wicked Jealous: A Love Story

3.3 (2)

0.0 (0)

185 0

Write Review Add to favorites

Author(s)

Robin Palmer

Publisher

Speak

Genre(s)

Contemporary Romance

Age Range

12+

Release Date

July 19, 2012

ISBN

0142418943

Buy This Book

A fresh and funny twist on Snow White from the author of Cindy Ella and Geek Charming!

Simone never saw herself as the "cute girl"--she was always the chunky smartmouth. But after a year of avoiding her wicked almost-stepmonster through Zumba class, Simone's now sporting a whole new retro style. And people keep acting oddly. One thing: her stepmonster seems to be trying to accidentally kill her, or at least fatten her back up. And so when Simone's brother offers to let her move in with him and his six roommates for the summer, Simone jumps at the chance for some normalcy. Only living with seven very different college boys isn't exactly going to help her land her very own happily ever after . . .

A fresh and funny twist on Snow White from the author of Cindy Ella and Geek Charming!

Editor reviews

4 reviews

Overall rating

3.3

Plot

3.0(2)

Characters

3.5(2)

Writing Style

3.5(2)

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A(0)

Fairy Tale Twist

July 23, 2012 (Updated: July 23, 2012)

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Simone is "the weird fat girl" in the wake of her mother's death (at her birth), her father's workaholicism and shiny new girlfriend, and her general inability to deal with the intricacies of high school life. She has retreated behind her hair, her extra large vintage concert t shirts and copious amounts of snack foods. When her father's girlfriend (who has an odd obsession with mirrors and red lipstick, as well as feeding Simone apples even though she's deathly allergic) takes all of her snack stash and Simone tries to get into a pottery class but ends up in Zumba classes instead, Simone starts losing weight and feeling a little better about herself. When she has to spend the summer with her college aged brother and his six roommates, she starts to become more interested in dressing well and in dating a boy from her school, Jason, whose father is a famous film maker and whose mother is in her Zumba class. Is he really the boy for her? And will Simone's transformation stick?

Good Points

I liked the depth of the characters -- Simone's fascination with vintage French fashion, the shop run by Brad, even the somewhat flimsy character of the "evil stepmother". This was a great "beach read" and made me really happy. I love Palmer's Lucy Parker series, as well as her fairy tale retellings.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Cute But Falls A Little Flat

June 30, 2012

Overall rating

3.7

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

This is a fun, fresh twist on the Snow White fairy tale, and I appreciated the way the author brought each element into a modern setting. Simone's allergy to apples and her stepmother's insistence on slipping her apple-related snacks. Seven college guys as her roommates for the summer. Prince Charming in the form of a popular, cute boy at school. The entire premise is cute and fun.

While I enjoyed the premise as a whole, and found plenty of moments within the pages to enjoy as well, overall this book fell a little flat for me. Part of this is because I'm pretty over the "fat smart girl magically gets the attention of the popular cute boy" motif. And part of it is because I wanted Simone to stop internalizing most of her thoughts and take action instead. It felt exposition-heavy to me.

Still, it's a fun premise and fans of the author should enjoy the book.