Book Review : The Dating Detox by Gemma Burgess

Title : The Dating Detox

Author : Gemma Burgess

Publication date : 29th December 2009

Publisher : Avon

Source : Purchased

 

If you can't date anyone nice, don't date anyone at all...

Dating is a dangerous sport. So after her sixth successive failed relationship, romantically-challenged 20-something Sass decides she's had enough.

The Dating Detox is born. No men, no break-ups, no problem. The result? Her life -- usually joyfully/traumatically occupied with dates, clothes and vodka -- is finally easy. Chastity rocks. No wonder nuns are always singing. Everything falls at her feet. Especially men.

Will Sass break the rules? Why does fate keep throwing her in the path of the irritatingly amusing -- and gorgeous -- Jake? Will she ever roll the dice and play again? Or is a love-free life too good to risk losing? For the post-Carrie Bradshaw, post-Bridget Jones, post-credit crunch generation of singles, life isn't beautiful, a bitch, or a beach. It's a party.

Recently, I went to a book sale in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and had the best time of my life, shopping for well, BOOKS! I had a couple of hundreds and I thought, I'll splurge it ALL on books. I know, I'm that crazy. It was a day I would remember for the rest of my life. Okay, until next year when I go again. It was probably THE BIGGEST book sale I've ever been to.

And the best part was, all fiction titles, hardback and paperback, were only RM8, which means less than £2. It was that cheap and I went completely over the top and bought about 15 chick lit titles, sadly I would buy more, but I was soon broke after picking up the last book. Sigh, so I spent about RM175 (£35) on books in a day, less than 3 hours. And... Gemma Burgess's The Dating Detox was in my pile! Hurrah! *happy dance*

Okay, so sorry for the extended preface/epilogue/complete rubbish talk, so here's the deal: The Dating Detox was the amazeballs of modern-day chick lit, where single ladies are free, independent and always on the dating scene, either pulling gorgeous men or picked up by sleazy bastardos (new word, thank you, GKB). Fed up with the perils of dating and getting her heart broken, she and her best friend Bloomie, come up with a list, all the things she shouldn't do in order to get her life around, thus, the Dating Sabbatical was born.

The Dating Detox is about Sass, or Sarah (she hates being called Sarah), who has sworn off dating men because they are all cockmonkeys (new word) and sadly, being dumped 6 times in a row by unsuitable men. Sigh. The funniest thing was, at the first few chapters, Sass tells you about all the bad men who broke her heart. I almost felt sorry for her, but of course, I was busy laughing and grinning like a loon. Okay, here's the reveal: for me, Sass was a cross between Gemma and Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl - ooh! You know, in the season finale of the final season, the identity of Gossip Girl was revealed. Shocking, OMG! Super shock with jaw hitting the ground!) and Jake was... Andrew Garfield. Shoot me.

All right, let's talk about Sass! Personally, I loved her, the way she carried herself in the book, the way she flirts (RAWR) and her OCD-ish behaviour when she gets ready for work. I don't know why, specifically, but I really liked her, as in, the feeling you get when you see some popular senior in school and all you think about is "I would love to hang out with her!". Yep, that's exactly how Sass was for me. She's a really funny character, in fact, hilarious! Her sarcasm is unparalleled to all the other chick lit heroines I've read about. The dialogues in the book are a bit tongue-in-cheek and it never failed to crack me up. I really adored Sass, pre- and post-Dating Sabbatical.

And of course, what kind of chick lit book would it be without the help of the wonderful best friends? *Enter Bloomie and Kate* Both of them were so supportive and caring. I'd love to have them both as best friends, strangely, the trio reminded me of the girls from Sex in the City, minus the expensive designer clothes and Cosmos. Minus the sex ("There's no sex in this city").

The flow of the book worked for me. I wasn't bored throughout the book because in every chapter, you'd definitely have something to laugh about or gasp in shock! Exciting it may seem, but there's a part, where Sass and Jake were really into each other and I thought it was really beautiful - relationships don't need sex to bond the pair together, it's all about chemistry/compatibility and the gut feeling.

The Dating Detox is the new Bridget Jones's Diary, where Sass is the HOT Bridget and Jake is Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy - fun, witty and utterly charming. Oops. Sorry, Helen Fielding! This book is perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk, Lucy Robinson and Lucy-Anne Holmes. Loved it, get your copy, you won't be disappointed!

Rating : 5/5