Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Novel, Morer A Third "Intimate Adventure", 17 Nov 2008
I borrowed this book from my local library, after having bought and read both of Belle's previous works, and was slightly baffled to see this labelled as a work of fiction.
She claims that this is a story about how her and her mates may or may not have turned out. However, having devoured the book in almost five straight hours, and basing my knowledge of Belle on her previous works and Weblog, I get the suspicious feeling that this is not fictional, but a third "Intimate Adventure Of A London Call Girl"! In other words, there's more truth here than fiction!
If you like the first two books, then this pretty much continues Belle's day-to-day journey through her friendships, her family and the occasional client. It's by no means a difficult book to read, and although sometimes it can be a little irritating when words are spelled incorrectly, (and in these cases, a deliberate attempt to appear trendy - like adding the letter "z" instead of "s" onto the end of some words), you feel that Belle is being told to write this way, rather then her being allowed to simply write how she wants to write.
This is not a negative review of the book! Far from it. In fact, I really enjoyed it! It's rare for me to devour any book in so short a time period, but the fact I stayed up until the small hours of Sunday morning to complete it, rather than waiting until the next day, shows that it is a fun read.
I just wish that Belle could give us more insight into her and her world, because they are the most interesting and controversial aspects. I like reading what she really thinks about the people around her: her friends A2, A3 and A4, her family, and her clients. These are the most intriguing parts, and what make her books so exciting to me.
I'm less interested in what her characters "say". This book is set-out in more of a fictional way, with some pages of dialogue, as if the characters are speaking. Yet, the more you read on, the more you think this is simply a different way of Belle writing her diaries. And, in all honesty, this is nothing more than a third diary, and not a fictional tale.
Whilst not the best of her works (for which the first one will always be the best), this is still worth a punt. There's less explicit detail, than in some of her previous works, so it's not so "adult" in tone. However, it's certainly not child-friendly. Discussions of certain sexual proclivities, mean this is still for mature readers!
All-in-all a fun book, and now I eagerly await Volume Four.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Game over?, 1 Nov 2008
I should start by saying I absolutely loved Belle's first book. So much so, it inspired me to start writing my own blog - not as successful as Belle's, mind! I enjoyed the second book hugely too, and was excited to read on Belle's website that there was a third book on the horizon. Perhaps the fact that I'd not read any reviews of it should have rung alarm bells...
I understand that this book is a novel, and looks at what might have been. Belle's wit and warmth still shine through, but the pace is much slower than the previous books, and instead of tearing through it in a night, it's taken me several days to read - I've picked it up and put it down, unlike the others which I just couldn't be parted from. Bits of this book seem incredibly familiar, and I'm sure they've been lifted from the second book, which made me feel a bit cheated.
All in all, this was an enjoyable enough read, but won't be a book I'll go back to. Perhaps Belle's success means she doesn't need to try as hard now, but this was slightly disappointing.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, but slow, reprise of Book 2, 30 Jan 2009
Playing the Game
Firstly, I'll confirm that this is an entertaining, light and often funny read, but, and it's a big but, it is completely evident that Belle's just sold out and slapped this book together for the money!
If you've read the first and second Belle de Jour books, don't bother picking this one up. It's slower in pace, not any different in diary structure or topics (although claims to be a fiction novel, not a diary), and is simply a less-rude, toned-down sequel to the sequel. The biggest rub is that the majority of 'Playing the Game' seems simply cut and paste from the entire of 'Further adventures...'!
No, really, I actually thought I'd got a publisher's second where someone had mistakenly put the wrong cover on the book when I read it!
It lacks Belle's previous sass and biting wit, and has a rather disappointing ending tacked on to boot. I won't be holding my breath for the next one. She should go back to the real job she was good at and get some new material methinks.
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