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Up All Night by Carmen Reid - Book Review

Category:Books
Genre: Romance
Author:Carmen Reid
I love Carmen Reid. I just do, don’t ask me why. But this latest offering is actually a little more than disappointing to me. As with her first novel, Three in a Bed, Carmen Reid wrote with pizzazz about being a mother, giving birth, being a career woman. She hit all the right notes with stuff so real it’ll leave you in stitches…for all the wrong reasons. Why would anyone laugh at crapping on the floor while giving birth, you tell me?! But this is something not a lot of people talk about but happens, you know. Up All Night is about Jo, who is an overworked journalist in a weekly newspaper, fighting in the dog-eat-dog world for the same news with a fanatical bunch of idiots who are ready to lose their lives over a piece of news or a snapshot of their victims. Bella Browning, the original character in ‘Three in a Bed’ makes appearances here and there as a confidante, as the prim and proper and perfect friend who knew everything there is to know on earth with not a piece of clothing out of place. Jo, on the other hand, is everything Bella is not. Suggestively, the preview at the back of the book said that she had a relationship with a chef years younger than her and he was, like….potential partner and stuff. The sex scenes can be counted on two or three fingers. Nothing to exciting….mildly so. And the chemistry between the two people were so warm it’s almost chilling. I don’t know! The storyline is fine but it’s more journalistic or political than I would expect from her. This is, perhaps, Carmen Reid’s way to bringing writing about her experience as a journalist. Once a journalist, forever a journalist, they say….or was it for something else. Ah heck, who cares. Very little was mentioned about Jo’s ex-husband, Simon and the same goes for Jo’s kids, Mel and Nettie. So, in conclusion, this isn’t chick lit at all. It’s a book about being a journalist with very few romantic scenes in it….. But let’s give her the credit for this. The ending. Surprising move and unexpected except towards the middle. After all that hoopla about the chef and their sex life and suddenly, out of the blue, from a dark corner out of the plot.....someone from her life is SUDDENLY crème on the cake.
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Anonymous said…
It's been a long time since I picked up a book that is not a horror fiction or sci-fi, hehe, hapi new year girl :D
January 3, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Marsha Maung said…
firehorse, kopisoh, I also had a tough time trying to find the time to read these days. and I was a fan of sci-fi, murder, mystery type of books but got an overdose of that and picked up a chit lit for a change. I usually go between romance/chic lit/sci-fi/action-fiction/self-help.....eh, that covers just about everything except auto-biography which I loathe, unfortunately. :-)
January 4, 2008 at 9:06 AM
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