Tan Lines: A Novel of Sex and Sunburn: Amazon.co.uk: J.J. Salem: Books

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Product Description

Jackie Collins
'A really great beach read for 2008! I loved it!'

Barbara Seaman, Author of LOVELY ME: THE LIFE OF JACQUELINE SUSANN
'TAN LINES engages you with complex issues of femininity, sex, and control embodied by three strong female characters'

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beavis and Butthead Only, 30 Aug 2008

By	City Chick - See all my reviews

This is such a lame book! Much has been made of how raunchy it is but it's the kind of writing a seventeen year old frat boy might contribute to a soft core internet porn site. Not in the least bit sexy or erotic. He just beats you over the head with it. A bit like a toddler who's just learned to say bum and willy. Other reviews have said the book has some witty one liners, but I scoured the thing and even including the much touted line about clitoral nerve endings, I couldn't find a decent one. In the main the author makes grindingly weak jokes like "she's living in a state called DENIAL". How old is that? Worst of all you get the feeling that Salem doesn't like women very much. They are stalked, murdered, abused and generally reviled by the male characters in the book. It's all a bit old school misogynistic. Stalking and murdering women is a bit of a theme with this author. Check out Remember September when he used to write under the name Jon Salem. I prefer my women characters to be stronger and sassier. The women in this book were all so beaten down. I know these type of books are hardly works of art - I enjoy trashy beach reads as much as anyone - but I think this book even fails on its own term. It's just not sexy, satisfying or bold enough. If you are a teenage American college boy just off to his spring break in Daytona Beach you'll probably love it! But I can't imagine anyone with half a brain cell finding it anything less than than grindingly tame.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars shallow and crude, 10 Aug 2008

By	S. M. Smart "bookworm" (Worcestershire, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read the other reviews about how gripping this book was, it was disappointing to find it relied on crude language, a poorly executed plot and generally graphic sex scenes that were irrelevant and at best, unimaginative. All the characters had potential to develop but were let down by shortcuts and poor conclusions. Could have been much better written with a different ending and more care to make the characters less one dimensional.

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overhyped - Male author is no Jackie Collins, 10 Aug 2008

By	Glamour Girl "Glamour Girl" (UK) - See all my reviews

The main problem with this book is the characters. They're awful, so it's hard to care what happens to them. I consider myself to be a feminist, but I couldn't stand Liza - what was up with all those long-winded televised debates? Found myself skipping pages (and, let's face it, it isn't a long book!) Thought the whole deal with her hubby was weird. Billy started off my favourite, but she never really went anywhere (well, nowhere good). I guess Kelly was supposed to be the most sympathetic, but as another reviewer pointed out, her whole turnaround and romance just wasn't convincing. There was also a lot of dull back story - for something that is supposed to be a fast-paced read, it seemed out of place. And, as others have said, the ending was... well, it just ENDED. It was like someone had specified a word count and the author knew he was getting close and just rounded it all off.

I also felt like there was something a little off about the whole book - it just didn't convince me, I never felt taken away into the moment. Maybe knowing it was written by a man has prejudiced me, but it did feel like he'd nicked quite a lot of ideas from SATC - like Miranda considering storing her eggs - and didn't really know how a woman would feel about them. He'd also nicked lines of dialogue from films - Cruel Intentions, "you can put it anywhere" cropped up!

And, if you're buying it for the sex, don't bother - the descriptions are clinical rather than sensual, and there's nothing we haven't all seen / heard of before. I think the publishers have tried to hype up it being a dirty book, but I wasn't shocked or particularly interested. Sex is only interesting if you know the characters.

Why the 3 stars then? Well, it's better than Platinum (which I gave 3 stars, but am now regretting!) & Guilty Pleasures (which I can't even be bothered to review, it was so dull). Tan Lines is an easy read, and the guy does seem like a good writer. Maybe next time he'll think more carefully about the characters and storyline though?

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars fantastic book - excellent beach read!
i took this book on holiday last year and i could not put it down!

Published 1 month ago by LMW

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic beach read
I recently bought tan lines with an open mind that this book would be ok for an easy read whilst on holdiay. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Marmaduke

5.0 out of 5 stars tan lines
A good summer/beach read. takes a while to get into it, but a very good book. unexpected ending.

Published 1 month ago by R. west

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
What a load of rubbish. The whole thing just talks about drugs, and over uses offensive words. Not that i'm a prude or anything, just some of it is inappropriate and doesnt need... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Ms. L. K. Goddard

3.0 out of 5 stars A great beach read!
Tan Lines tells the story of three women who have been friends since college. They have little in common and yet they stay in touch, usually meeting up for the occasional girly... Read more

Published 6 months ago by L. Felthouse

4.0 out of 5 stars Trashy but good
This more than lived up to its promise to be a trashy sexy summer read. It's perfect beach fodder and should be read with this in mind: don't expect anything more than that. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Net

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment
I have totally waste my time reading this book! I thought about giving up half way through but persevered. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Ms. Kj Newton

2.0 out of 5 stars ok BUT a bit disappointing....
After reading the 1st few pages i couldn't wait to read the whole story.
The story begins at the end, so i was eager to read on... Read more

Published 8 months ago by L. Thomas

4.0 out of 5 stars A great holiday read
Really enjoyed this book, it's an easy, holiday read and I found it to be a real page turner. I think some people are looking into it a bit too much. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Roxy

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard going...
Read this whilst on holiday and found it really hard going! Not one that i got into which was a shame as it had been highly recommended!

Published 9 months ago by Becky

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	35% buy the item featured on this page: Tan Lines: A Novel of Sex and Sunburn 3.5 out of 5 stars (28) �5.49
	25% buy Guilty Pleasures 4.8 out of 5 stars (16) �3.86
	18% buy Platinum 4.4 out of 5 stars (15) �3.99
	11% buy Original Sin 4.8 out of 5 stars (6) �7.01


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Tan Lines: A Novel of Sex and Sunburn (Paperback)

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