Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Capital Girls by Ella Monroe


Capital Girls by Ella Monroe
Expected Publication Date: August 7th 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: ARC from ALA
Goodreads synopsis:
CAPITAL GIRLS by Ella Monroe is the first book in a glitzy, fast-paced, fabulous new young adult series set against the backdrop of Washington, D.C. In it, we meet four young women, best friends forever, who must navigate life as the children of some of the most powerful people in the nation. With that life comes not only awesome vacations, beautiful clothes and A-list parties, but also scandal, heartache, danger and the ever-present paparazzi who seem to have a knack for catching them when they're up to something bad!

The Skinny: Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars mate and have a child named Capital Girls 

A group of friends navigates the world of politics, love, friendship, and betrayal in this story. We have a cast of characters that includes the First Son’s girlfriend, the southern belle, the wild child, and the token diversity member. This is a light read that fans of Gossip Girl will enjoy. 

I enjoyed the multiple points of view and the storyline, but I felt very little connection to the characters. Jackie, our main character, starts off as a sympathetic gal who is stuck in a mundane relationship while trying to cope with the loss of her best friend. Her character loses all sympathy during the next ten pages, and I feel that Monroe aimed to add complexity to this character, but rather than developing a layered personality, Monroe created a character that was difficult to understand. There are a few aspects of the story that leave lingering and frustrating questions (i.e. who keeps calling the First Son?!?). They read more like plot holes than cliffhangers.

The end of the story was the most interesting part of the book, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel just to find out what precipitated a specific event. 

If you are interested in reading a story about privileged girls and their scandals, this one is for you.


5 comments:

  1. Hmm, sounds like a Gossip Girl type read. "privileged girls and their scandals"...

    I really dislike when authors do that with cliffhangers. For me personally, it doesn't make me want to read faster, it just makes me want to drop kick the book in frustration.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This book sounds like something I'd pick up at the airport if I were desperate but wouldn't otherwise. And it totally bugs me when I can't tell if something is a loose end or a cliffhanger! The cover's kinda cool though :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the cover, but sad the characters didn't live up to what you wanted.
    Thanks for review.
    Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's too bad the characters didn't stand out a bit more. I'm character girl and for this type of story it's especially important. Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't heard of this book before. It annoys me when a book is left with unanswered questions so I will have to keep that in mind.

    Thanks for the review :)

    ReplyDelete