Review | Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion

Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion
Published By: Mariner Books
Published On: August 23, 2011
Genre: Chick Lit
Pages: 300
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★

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Twenty-nine year-old Lola Watson has two best friends, a dream job editing a parenting magazine, and a charming old house inherited from a great-aunt she barely knew. Life would be perfect if only she could avoid her intrusive neighbors. And for that matter, she also wouldn't mind being happily married like her friend Piper, or even engaged like her younger sister Mindy. 
Lola's peaceful existence is shattered when high school buddy Hubert moves in with her after a break-up, her sister changes her wedding date to Lola's thirtieth birthday, and the nosy neighbors take Hubert under their wing. Life gets more complicated when Piper sets Lola up with a good-looking stranger who turns out to be the talk of her neighborhood--the mystery man from across the street.

Lola is 29 years old and seems to have it all, even the nosey neighbours that appear to come with the house she inherited from her great aunt, but the one thing she doesn’t have is a husband, a fact that her younger sister Mindy loves to remind her of. When her high school best friend Hubert moves in, Mindy moves her wedding to the day of Lola’s 30th birthday, and best friend Piper sets her up with the mystery man across the street, life begins to get complicated.

I had very low expectations for this book but found it to be much better than I expected. I was not having much success with adult chick lit when I picked this up and thought it would let me down just as the others had but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t completely suck.

It may not be the best chick lit book out there but it was a predictable but fun read. Nothing that happened in this book came as much of a surprise to me as it seemed to follow the general chick lit structure but it did not affect my enjoyment of the book. I find when books are fun, the predictable becomes less of an issue and this was a fun read for me.

I have seen quite a few reviews for the book in which people hate the main character but I really liked Lola. I thought she was a good, reasonably likeable main character (although it would seem she isn’t likeable to everyone) who added to the fun of the story. She may have her quirks and was not always the nicest to the people around her but I thought she was a good character. In fact, I liked almost all of the characters.

One character I did not like was Mindy, although I’m certain that was the aim. Mindy is a very selfish, unlikeable character and she was written perfectly. She was written so well that I felt genuine anger whenever her character was around.

Possibly my favourite thing about this book is the neighbourhood aspect. I loved the nosey neighbours and their role in the story. Despite the fact that Lola finds them annoying, I found it very endearing to read about a group of people who care so much about their neighbours that they try so hard to take her under their wing.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is your typical adult chick lit but it is a fun read that does not require a whole lot of brainwork. It is an easy read but one that is fun and enjoyable, even if slightly predictable.