Styling Wellywood (Wellywood, #2)

by Kate O'Keeffe

[Angie]

Styling Wellywood is one of those books where I love the premise, but ultimately the characters ruined it for me. Jessica has just returned to her childhood home after four years in London. Her Visa has expired, and she has nowhere else to go, so she's back with her mom. Luckily, her best friend has invited her to take part in her personal styling business, so things are looking up. At least until Morgan takes off, leaving Jessica to run the business on her own after just one day on the job, not to mention her mother has a new man, and the man in her own life is a lying scumbag. Jessica is struggling to get her life on track, while letting the past go and grabbing her future.

I really liked Styling Wellywood in the beginning. I could total relate to Jessica living at home while trying to find a stable job, watching all of her friends move on with new partners. I also really liked watching her and Morgan work. Personal styling isn't a career I've come across in fiction before, so that was nice. Jessica does fumble through it at first, making some major mistakes in her haste, but it all works out for her in the end. But I couldn't help but be annoyed at how she doesn't really take anything too seriously, causing her to make these mistakes in the first place. It isn't until she nearly screws everything up and Morgan leaves her on her own that she starts whipping herself into shape.

Jessica also has the uncanny ability to make everything about her and not take responsibility for her actions. This is why Styling Wellywood started going downhill for me. Once I thought she was learning and growing, but then she'd say something that just made me groan. The weird thing is, I totally believed her character. It didn't feel like she was behaving this way for plot. That's just how she is, and that's fine, except she's not the type of character I can find myself cheering for. You screw up, own it! Don't blame everyone else, or just run away, then whine when someone does the same to you. Jessica also doesn't like when things get awkward (but who does?) when she's the one who made things get awkward! I'm all for sharing your feelings, but there is a time and a place for that! Think before you speak!

In the end, I kind of like Styling Wellywood. I loved the idea of a grown woman, crawling back to mommy and finally starting to follow her dreams a bit later in life. The personal stylist angle was also fun and refreshing. But ultimately, I could not care about Jessica and her problems, which she created for herself. Her best friend Morgan was also the definition of flaky, but Jessica doesn't really do anything about that except pick up the slack.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.