Amazon UK
Title: Holding Out for a Hero
Author: Victoria Van Tiem
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Publication Date: 14th January 2016
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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| Amazon UK |
A funny, bitter-sweet romantic dramedy set to an 80's soundtrack.The problem with first love is that it never truly dies. Libby London fell in love in with the 80s, came of age in the 90s, and now, in the 21st Century, she's completely falling apart... Her New York City fashion sensibility is more 'vintage tragedy' than 'retro babe' and might just be what's holding her back in all matters of life and love...
At least that's what her well-meaning friends think. They've staged a #80sIntervention in an effort to bring Libby bang up-to-date. But how do you move forward when the one you love holds you in the past? Between her dreaded birthday party, friend's madcap ambush, and being forced to relocate her Pretty In Pink thrift shop, Libby's nearing the end of the rope... If her therapist isn't quick, it could be a literal one.
At least that's what her well-meaning friends think. They've staged a #80sIntervention in an effort to bring Libby bang up-to-date. But how do you move forward when the one you love holds you in the past? Between her dreaded birthday party, friend's madcap ambush, and being forced to relocate her Pretty In Pink thrift shop, Libby's nearing the end of the rope... If her therapist isn't quick, it could be a literal one.
Libby London lives and breathes the 80's. Everything about her is stuck in that decade, and she is generally opposed to change. But yet in the two weeks before her 33rd birthday, her friends decide enough is enough, and they stage an #80sIntervention.
Her friends challenge her to a makeover, and also a series of dates that they chose based on the stereotypical characters in the Breakfast Club. And to top off Libby's pain, her 80s shop Pretty in Pink could be on the verge of closure.
Holding Out For a Hero starts of very light hearted, and full of references to the 1980s, which depending on your age and or knowledge of the decade you will either get, or they will go over your head. I was laughing very early into the book, and found it a very pleasant read.
However as the book progresses a more serious side starts to kick in, and to me that turned it from a great book into a superb and addictive story. As we start to discover exactly what makes Libby the way she is, I was completely absorbed in the book and was unaware of where I was, as I just wanted to keep reading and finding out more.
I loved the various dates that Libby is set up on, from the "brain" who is an anesthetist, to the "criminal" who was a lawyer, to the "athlete" where there is all manner of amusing scenes around a not incredibly athletic activity, and then there was the "princess" who Libby has an interesting experience with too.
Holding Out For a Hero will seep under you skin until you are hooked and thinking about the book a lot. I found it to be a brilliant book, and although its not really a decade I know intimately (mainly as its the decade in which I was born), I could see the references were all well thought out, and there are probably far more in there that I didn't pick up on at all.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
Her friends challenge her to a makeover, and also a series of dates that they chose based on the stereotypical characters in the Breakfast Club. And to top off Libby's pain, her 80s shop Pretty in Pink could be on the verge of closure.
Holding Out For a Hero starts of very light hearted, and full of references to the 1980s, which depending on your age and or knowledge of the decade you will either get, or they will go over your head. I was laughing very early into the book, and found it a very pleasant read.
However as the book progresses a more serious side starts to kick in, and to me that turned it from a great book into a superb and addictive story. As we start to discover exactly what makes Libby the way she is, I was completely absorbed in the book and was unaware of where I was, as I just wanted to keep reading and finding out more.
I loved the various dates that Libby is set up on, from the "brain" who is an anesthetist, to the "criminal" who was a lawyer, to the "athlete" where there is all manner of amusing scenes around a not incredibly athletic activity, and then there was the "princess" who Libby has an interesting experience with too.
Holding Out For a Hero will seep under you skin until you are hooked and thinking about the book a lot. I found it to be a brilliant book, and although its not really a decade I know intimately (mainly as its the decade in which I was born), I could see the references were all well thought out, and there are probably far more in there that I didn't pick up on at all.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
Another great review. On my wish list.
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