Singletini Review

Singletini by Amanda Trimble is an entertaining novel that follows the lives of four single women in Chicago. Victoria Hart is a professional “wingwoman,” or rather a matchmaker hired to help inexperienced men find Miss Right. A singletini is a “curious type of female typically found living in urban settings; possessing an unusual, some would say deathly, fear of growing up and getting married,” as well as an alcoholic drink Vic and her friends created. When Vic starts to fall for one of her clients, she becomes busier than ever. Her 25^th birthday ends up being more drama than excitement. When her life is suddenly swarmed with wingwoman gigs and a wedding to help plan, she has to decide what is important to her. Will she be able to handle grown up life after all?

Amanda Trimble grew up in Illinois and is an award-winning copywriter. Singletini is her first novel, and her second is in the works. Her writing can be seen in Teen magazine. She currently lives in San Francisco.

Singletini is a humorous and entertaining novel. The characteristics of each girl are so vivid that it is easy to visualize Vic, Gwynn, Kimmie, and Julia. Each girl is just like a friend every woman has. There is the organized, overly anal one, the goofy immature one, the studious one, and the pushover. Think of these characters and visualize the hit TV show, Friends. There is one Monica, one Rachel, one Phoebe and a combination of all three in one. The book is a quick, easy, and enjoyable read.

The only negative about the book is it jumps right into the action. The reader does not have any insight to the characters in the beginning. The action starts right away and then it returns to before the action and explains how the event happened. It makes for an interesting read, but is a little unclear in the beginning.

I found this book to be more enjoyable than books written by Emily Giffin. The reader is left in angst to find out what Vic decides to do. She is such a character that is easy to relate to and I grew attached to Vic and her life. While I was reading, I found myself responding to her actions out loud. I would yell “What are you doing!?” or I would gasp at shocking and outrageous information. The material is compelling and relates to real life. Although some of the scenes are drawn out for reaction, I definitely responded in the way that Trimble envisioned a reader would.

Singletini is similar in style to books written by Sophie Kinsella and Emily Giffin.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/11/08/183754.php (Link to publication)