Friday, July 17, 2009

Amateur Book Review - Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley

Thanks to my amazing contact over at Hachette Book Group I as sent a copy of Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley.

This book was the most fun I have had in a long time.

Here is the book description from Hachette's website

PhD candidate Mitch Samuel's life isn't going exactly according to plan: his girlfriend just dumped him (to be fair, he did forget to pick her up at the airport), his estranged father has landed in the hospital, and his literary masterpiece-one part Shakespeare, one part Steinbeck, and all parts lyrical epic-has been rejected for the umpteenth time.

However, after a chance encounter at Starbucks with the queen of women's fiction- Katharine Longwell-who seems to take a liking to him, he senses an opportunity for literary riches, if not reputation. After telling her that his (imaginary) female cousin is an aspiring chick-lit author, he secures a promise from her that she'll help his "cousin" get published. The only problem is, Mitch needs a manuscript, and fast.

Unfortunately, try as he might to get inside a woman's head by reading Vogue and Cosmo, watching Oxygen and Oprah, nothing seems to work. That's when his roommate Bradley suggests that he try a dance class at the studio where Bradley's sister Marie takes lessons. Self-conscious about his own skills, and unwilling to reveal his true intentions, Mitch attends the first class under an alias: Jason Gallagher, pharmaceutical rep. What could go wrong?

Nothing, except that Mitch/Jason quickly finds himself hooked on dancing, and on the charming Marie. Who has no idea who he really is. Or that he knows her brother. Or why he's there. Suddenly, his novel-writing project is becoming a lot more than he bargained for...


In A Nutshell: Dan Begley should only write Chick Lit. For a first book this is a wonderful read and a damn funny book. I loved everything about it. This book read like a movie. The dialogue was great, funny, witty and real! The character's were likable and attractive even on paper! The storyline different and amazing. I love the banter between the characters and think Dan did a fabulous job in the little details that are so important in chick lit character establishment. I saw Matthew McConoughy as Mitch/Jason! This book should be made into a movie!!!!

Based on the premise of the book and the author's bio, I would love to know just how close to non-fiction this book actually is. Good job Dan! Can't wait for your next book

Check out Dan's site here to see photos of him and his lovely wife and ginormous dog!

Unfortunately, I don't have one to share but here is where you can get one of your own.

2 comments:

  1. I really want to read this book, even more so now that I'm picturing Matthew McConaghey without his shirt on....

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  2. This sounds like a really great read... I can't wait to read it, your review is fabulous and doesn't sound "amateurish" at all, thanks for all your hard work!!

    ReplyDelete

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