Guest Review: Click by Lisa Becker

Click
by Lisa Becker
Kindle Edition, 347 pages
Published March 29th 2011
ASIN B004UI6IJ0
Courtesy of Author

Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with "My buddies and I were out drinking one night," to the egotistical "B" celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC's, FWD's and inadvertent Reply to All's, readers will root for Renee to "click" with the right man.

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Purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Viviana ‘s Review: 
Literally, it’s a series of emails. It looks like this: 


From: Character’s name here – date here – time here
To: Character’s name here
Subject: insert topic here


And of course the body of the email would be here. This is the first time I’ve seen such a format for a book. Interesting! The emails are not extremely long and get straight to the point in most cases (there are a few where you just want to know about the date or something and you first have to read through the “How was your day?” reply, but those are few). They are easy to follow the conversation and what is being discussed. Actually, there was one or two times that I wanted to go back to reread a section to get the gist of something better and it was easy to remember where the conversation was. 


I have to laugh and admit that this is exactly what my BFF and I do. We email each other while at work to catch up on our days, upcoming events and vent out our frustration and stresses. This is one of the reasons why I liked this book. It reminds me of my BFF and our almost 20 yrs relationship. The same goes for Renee and her friends. They have all known each other for years and Renee is their common thread.  


With it being written as threads of emails back and forth, you’re definitely not getting your traditional information. It’s similar to the first person point of view in that you’re getting thoughts and the story from their perspective only. However, in this case, we’re getting some of the details, seeing Renee, our heroine; go through the emotional ups and downs of not only dating but “online” dating and having her BFFs providing her with pointers, advice and hilarious suggestions. I believe we can all relate to this to one extend or another. 


 The synopsis provides us with a glimpse of the relationship dynamic between Renee, Mark, Shelley and Ashley.  As you read through their emails (yeah, you sort of feel like a voyeur, intruding in their world. But, you quickly begin to feel more like one of the fiends and that they are now sharing the emails and including you in the thread) you get the chance to see their true colors and like with any group of friends, there’s always a little bit of tension, a little bit of judging and even some jealousy. 


For those that may not know how online dating services work, you select a service provider, create a profile (all about you) and its posted on a database that only member of the service provider have access to. If someone is interested in getting to know you based on your profile, they send you an email.  I laughed out loud and giggled several times as I read. The emails sent to Renee by some of the guys were either funny, far fetch, so not her type (based off of what she was looking for in a relationship) and she even got a “Crazy” one!  However, this book wasn’t just about emails, but it was about Renee putting herself out there and taking a chance. Some of the guys that wanted to get to know Renee were so much better on paper, while others lead to a 2nd and even a 3rd date. 


Here’s a glimpse: Renee emails Shelley asking if she should go through with Mark’s idea of using an online dating service. Below is part of Shelley’s email reply:


“At the very least, you’ll have eligible men taking you to swank restaurants. Hmmm. A whole host of hot and horny single men that I can review, chat with, judge and mock – all while sitting in my office looking busy.” 


Yes, my BFF and I have done the above. From the dating, to the chatting to the judging (don’t judge us, you know we all do it!) and yes, all awhile, looking busy at the office. 


For those of us who are about to turn 30 or in our 30s will understand the following. Renee to Shelley: 


“But you have to promise – I mean promise on a box of cupcakes and a jar of anti-wrinkle cream – that you won’t tell anyone.”


 I just laughed out loud. Never have I had someone promise on a box of cupcakes and a jar of anti-wrinkle cream!! Hahahah. I so will now!!! 


This is a quick read and with such a different format/perspective it’s definitely a “palate cleanser” if you’ve been sucked in by a particular genre and want a break for it. 

Rating: 3 Wines