Book Review // The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing

I recently finished reading The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank and before I share with yall my opinions of it, here is a quick synopsis. The book is centered around Jane and snippets of her life from being a 14 year old on the Jersey shore, to being a 30-something in the big city looking for love. It weaves in and out of her life, from her time spent with her brothers older girlfriend, to a teeth clenching weekend spend with her boyfriends ex, to a tumultuous relationship with an older man, to her final adventure with the supposed man of her dreams and two imaginary book authors misguiding her courting.

Honestly, the collections of stories left me wanting more semblance of a novel. And two random short stories thrown in the mix about a woman with cancer and a man who impregnates two women, were nothing short of confusing. I kept waiting for it all to come together. In the final story, the narrative voice changed so drastically that it felt like a completely different book. The title of the book didn't make sense until the last chapter and the last chapter was my least favorite.

I'm trying to be kind, because I have already heard that several people I know liked this book, so if you liked it, please don't take this personally, but it drove me crazy that there was no real story line. I wasn't rooting for Jane to find love, I was just annoyed that she was in a relationship with a crappy guy, and that she had a crappy job, and that the book was more about the relationship she has with her father and brother than anything else. If that's the case, don't make a book about relationships. Make it a book about a semi-normal family.

The only thing I really liked about this book was the way it was written. It is easy to read and draws you into the world the characters live. It took all of three evenings to read, in short moments and it wasn't unenjoyable, it just left me wanting a lot more and not really wanting anything at the same time.

Have you read this book? Did you love it or hate it? Why?? This is my first real attempt at a book review and I always try to stay neutral about things that may hurt someones feelings, but I want to be honest too. I hope I wasn't too harsh.

Happy Reading!

xo,

Beca