Pretty in Ink

Title: Pretty in Ink Author: Lindsey Palmer
Genre: Woman’s fiction Publisher: Kensington Books Publish Date: March 25, 2014 Pages: Kindle version: 305 pages ISBN: 0758294336 Obtained: Free review copy from Netgalley Synopsis: “For years, Hers magazine has been a fixture on newsstands--relatable, reliable, and ever-so-slightly frumpy. But with sales slumping, Hers' editor-in-chief soon finds a pink slip in her inbox. And her ruthless, blisteringly high-heeled replacement may not be finished cleaning house yet. . . Leah Brenner suspects she won't be on the payroll much longer either. A telecommuting, breast milk-pumping mom of three doesn't mesh with her new boss Mimi's vision of a sleeker, younger-skewingHers. Not content with nabbing Leah's office, Mimi's protégée, Victoria, is itching to take over Leah's duties too--and she's not alone. As the summer rolls out, and staffers are asked to give up even their sexiest secrets to save the brand, everyone at Hers--the sycophantic new assistant; the photo editor who's sleeping with her boss; the Ivy League intern with oversized aspirations--will fight to keep her career, and some shred of dignity, intact. Smart, perceptive, and hilarious, Lindsey Palmer's debut delivers an all too true-to-life tale of very different women faced with high-stakes choices in a rapidly changing--yet utterly familiar--world. . .”


I'm fairly certain the world of magazine creation can be busy and at times crazy. At least I'm sure it is. Don't ask me, I don't work at one. “Pretty in Ink” does kind of capture my imaginings of such work. But not in a good way.

 The book suffers from two issues. One of which is the chapter formats. Each chapter changes to a different characters view point. This has been done before of course and would not be a problem if they the author did not choose to have so many different characters to have a viewpoint from. Three to four would be fine. But more so is just confusing.

 It doesn't help that many of the characters don't really stand out and blend together. This only serves to make more confusion honestly. And don't even get me started on the likeability of some of these characters. I'm fairly certain I was suppose to root for one character when I felt that she did not earn her happy ending
the way she went about it.

 The concept of the book was interesting but the execution needs a lot of work. RATING: 3 out of 10