Have you ever read a book and years later you still think about it and it makes you laugh and smile? That’s exactly what happened to me after I read A Total Waste of Makeup by Kim Gruenenfelder. It’s been four years since I downloaded it to my Kindle to read on the beach, but I’ve been thinking about it and laughing ever since!
Synopsis via Goodreads:
Charlize “Charlie” Edwards certainly knows, in theory, what it takes to lead a successful and happy life. She owns a nice house in Silverlake, LA’s trendiest neighborhood. She has glamorous and loyal friends who accompany her to the hottest clubs in town. And she works as the personal assistant to Drew Stanton, Hollywood’s sexiest movie star. But she’s also turning 30, chronically single, and faced with serving as maid of honor at her younger sister’s wedding. Charlie finds herself struggling to juggle the chaos of wedding planning (while wondering if she’ll ever wear the white dress herself), her all-consuming job for lunatic boss Stanton, and a serious crush on Jordan, a photographer on the set of Drew’s latest feature–a man who might actually return her feelings. A page-turner from start to finish, A Total Waste of Makeup puts a fresh face on women’s fiction.
My review:
Charlize “Charlie” Edwards lives the happy, single, carefree life in LA. She has famous friends, lives in one of the trendiest neighborhoods, and she works as the personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s sexiest stars. However, as she turns 30 and prepares to be the maid of honor for her younger sister’s wedding, she begins to wonder if she’ll ever be able to find Mr. Right.
Yes, the theme is predictable like most chick lit books, but Gruenenfelder is hilarious! As Charlie narrates her story, she’s also writing a book of advice for her great niece one day (because she’s convinced she’ll never have children or grandchildren of her own). At times the advice is very poignant, and at others, it is laugh out loud funny. In fact, they’re so funny that I have to share two of them…
“God has a sense of humor. Don’t believe me? Just look at a zebra, and tell me what was going on in his mind that day.”
and
“Never ask a single person if they’re ‘seeing anyone special,’ an unemployed person if they’ve found a job, or a married couple when they’re planning to have children. You’re not making conversation. You’re starting someone on the road to Prozac.”
Slightly cynical? Yes, but both made me laugh out loud and I think of both of those lines from time to time and I still laugh. In fact, the second one just gets funnier the older I get! Sometimes, the truth is just funny!
If you’re looking for a light book with some humor, I definitely recommend A Total Waste of Makeup.