Twisted Sisters

of this book before I started reading it, while I was reading it, and I still am after I have finished reading it. And so many of the reviews have made me sad, especially those by people who consider themselves Jen's loyal fans…. Do I prefer reading Jen Lancaster's memoirs? Sure I do…They are like having coffee or a glass of wine with an old friend and catching up. Is body switching unrealistic? Yes it is.. But that is why this book is fiction… And is Regan a hard character to like. You bet.. But that is what made her so enjoyable to read…. I started reading Twisted Sisters on a plane and I was thankful I had the row to myself because I kept laughing out loud. Twisted Sister was hysterically funny. I laughed throughout the entire story. I loved the return of Deva and while I hated much of Regan I did understand her and sort of fell in love with her...

I'm kind of surprised at all the hatred toward this book. I'd read the reviews and was kind of sorry I'd bought the book, but I'm a huge Jen Lancaster fan, so I decided to get it over with. Maybe since my expectations were lowered, I found I actually enjoyed the book a lot. Yes, the lead character is obnoxious and obtuse and the plot is fairly predictable, but it breezes along. There are a lot of funny lines, and I felt like it read like a rom-com movie. I still prefer Jen's non-fiction, but this really isn't a bad book. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a light, fun read.

Reading this reminded me of a quote from an episode of Will & Grace, where Taye Diggs' character says: "If this isn't the theater showing 'Memoirs of a Geisha' then why are all of these people coming out going "eh"?" Yup, that's all I could think about when I thought about writing this review. Eh. Eh. Eh. There's no question in my mind that Jen Lancaster is a talented and funny writer when she is writing about her own life, though some of those tomes have gone astray as well. But when she tries to write fiction, it just always feels so forced. This book follows Reagan Bishop, who is a psychologist on a reality TV show called I Need a Push. Reagan believes that her life is fairly perfect, other than missing out on Mr. Right. She looks down on her family, particularly her two sisters. One of her sisters is a SAHM mom to a passel of children, while her other sister is living in their parents' basement as she flits between beautician jobs. That's as far as I'm going to go for recap, because it's all going to boil down to this: 1. There is nothing original in this book. Nothing. The TV show's original host is obviously based on Oprah. The celebrities that appear on the show are obviously based on people like Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes, Britney Spears, etc. 2. Reagan, for much of the book, is a deplorable person. If you can't root for the main character, you don't have a hope of enjoyment in the book. 3. There's a very quick wrap-up at the end, which is actually where the book SHOULD have started. Reagan is likable at the end. Had the book started where she is given a reality check and then proceeded through her fixing of her relationships (which is wrapped up in about 2 pages), then it would have been redeemable. I don't know Jen personally, of course, but I almost feel as though the fiction books are something she feels like she HAS to do in order to keep an audience. From reading her other books, it's clear that losing her job before her first memoir and the ensuing struggle was traumatic and left a mark. I get that. I think that she is pushed to write as much as possible now out of fear of going through that again. However, she's not remaining true to her own self, and that shows. You can feel the desperation in the fictional books. They desperately want you to like them and it's a total turn-off. I do wish her success and I hope that there are more non-fiction entries coming.

I enjoyed Lancaster's first realistic fiction novel featuring Deva the magical new-age woman. Here I Go Again was a well-paced, well-plotted chick-lit novel that was not quite as shallow as it originally seemed. Unfortunately, Twisted Sisters has some serious problems that made it a major disappointment. In a good body-switching book or movie--and there have been many of them, including three Freaky Fridays--there must be some time spent with the characters in their original bodies to get to know them and what their issues are, of course. However, the switch usually comes fairly early on. Not so in this book. Literally the first 75% of the book or so (I have a kindle, so I know % read) is spent leading up to the main story twist. By the time the plot kicks in, the book is almost over. So what happens in the first 3/4 of the book? There are a couple of funny scenes that are merely vignettes, but mostly it is a monologue of a very bitter person. I'm not sure if Lancaster is parodying a certain "type" or if these are her own opinions ( I believe it is the former, but it's hard to tell), but it just goes on and on. We never meet any of the people she carps about until well into the book, including her sister Geri or either of her ex-boyfriends. Their characters aren't developed at all, simply from not having enough scenes. There was a lot of potential here for a funny, entertaining book, but it seems to have fallen victim to poor editing. It almost seems like it was either much longer at one point and was chopped up or it's two books that were melded into one. Lancaster's sarcastic voice can be funny, but books need plots, too.

I've read all of Jen's books. I feel like I've witnessed her growth from a new writer to an experienced, creative writer. I like to read her books slowly so I can savor them and make the experience last longer. I like that the characters in this story were relatable but not completely likable. This is a unique story with fun twists. Too sleepy...

I’ve loved all Jen’s memoirs. First time reading one of her novels. Loved the story line. Sibling rivalry at its best!

Good beach reading. Easy, fast, silly, superficial. No violence or offensive language. I knew what was going to happen by about halfway through the book, only there was one little twist at the end.