Hook, Line, and Single

Just polished off another book--this one called Hook, Line, and Single by Marcia King-Gamble--for the "2011 Colorful Chick Lit Challenge. " I am on a roll, baby, and it's only February!

This book was about a black woman named Roxanne. She is forty, a mother, a business owner, and recently single after her last boyfriend dumped her for another man. Now, she's looking for Mr. Right by doing the speed dating and the cyber chats--all things most of us would never consider because they would just make us pathetic.

Throughout the book, we join Roxi on a series of disastrous dates. One guy, for instance, just would NOT stop talking for hours and hours and hourse. Ugh, I'd puncture my skull with a fork just so I wouldn't have to listen.

Eventually, Roxi gets a few surprises along the way: her college daughter wants to move to Paris and her business may lose to a competitor.

I could tell the writer really wanted me to care for this character, but I just had a hard time with that. First of all, she is "in lust" with her biggest client, Mr. X. She basically fantasizes about him while working for him. Kinda screwy. And, also, she has one-night flings with a friend, who pops into town from time to time whenever he feels like it. And she still found the time to do the E-dating. This character was just obsessed with finding someone. It seemed like she would do anything to do it. What's wrong with being single? She probably got what she deserved when she started falling fast for Reed, the "too perfect" guy.

Additionally, the book read more like a quick summary than a story filled with details so descriptive it makes you feel like you're there--a sign of good writing. There was no steady flow. I felt like the writer was just trying to get rid of me by going through the jist of it all; it just felt too rushed. And it really wasn't as funny as the writer tried to make it seem. Also, it could've used more editing. Bad editing just jumps out at you and you can't focus on the story at all.

Yep, this book is definitely going in the donation pile.