Book Review: All You Could Ask For

Ugh. You guys. I hate writing reviews that are not 100% glowing. I really do. But I have to say, while this book is good, it is not perfect.

Maybe part of the problem was all the hype: Mike Greenberg, ESPN's "king of guy talk," has written a novel from the perspective of three women and HE NAILS THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE! ALL HAIL GREENY! So yeah, I was prepared to love the book, to be impressed with how he imagines women.

What he delivered, in my opinion, was a story that was hard to put down and characters you'll care about. He gave me that Waiting to Exhale feeling, and an original twist on the "three lives come together in an unexpected way and everyone is changed forever" story. But ... there's always that "but" ... I just can't help but be rubbed the wrong way by the fact that all the women are more focused on the men in their lives than themselves, have sexual hangups, and every one of them has daddy issues. Even when they are changing and growing and learning about what makes life important, there's that struggle to make sure that perfect man is there in their lives, with the subtext, of course, that life would not be perfect without that crucial piece of the puzzle. 

Sure, maybe the degree to which this is obvious varies according to the reader. Sure, maybe this is part of the message (don't be that way, women!). But really, it just struck me as Mike Greenberg writing these women this way because he sees women this way, or, even worse, assumes these traits will resonate with his female readers. To me, that's a shame. 

In the end, I really liked the book, and I enjoyed the characters, but I spent a good deal of the two days it took me to devour the book shouting things at the characters (Why? Why are you doing that? Don't do it, stupid!). I don't think this is a problem of a man not capturing a woman correctly, but maybe more of a "Veronica doesn't like to read books with characters who infuriate her" problem. At the end of the day, I was desperate to get back to the book every time I set it down, and if that's enough for you, then it's enough for me to recommend you read the book.

P.S. But, if you read the book and want to talk to me about Brooke ... OH MY GOD, send me an e-mail. Brooke. Brooke! What are you THINKING?!?!

I was given a copy of this book by TLC Book Tours but was not compensated in any way. The opinions are my own.