What I Did for Love

De: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Narrado por: Julia Gibson

How did this happen?

Georgie York, once the costar of America's favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband, her film career has tanked, her father is driving her crazy, and her public image as a spunky heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? Not go to Vegas . . . not run into her detestable former costar, dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard . . . and not get caught up in an ugly incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she knows it, Georgie has a fake marriage, a fake husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.

It's a paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie's nonsupporting cast doesn't help. There's Bram's punk-nightmare housekeeper, Georgie's own pushy parent, a suck-up agent, an icy studio head with a private agenda, and her ex-husband's new wife, who can't get enough of doing good deeds and saving the world. As for Georgie's leading man, Bram's giving the performance of his life, but he's never cared about anyone except himself, and it's not exactly clear why.

Two enemies find themselves working without a script in a town where the spotlight shines bright . . . and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.

©2009 Susan Elizabeth Phillips (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

The narrator ruined the book

So spoiled by Anna Fields. Hard to listen to the narrator. She was awful. Read the book instead of listen

The music is terrible

Where does What I Did for Love rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Compared to other books I've read this one had extremely distracting music at the end and beginning of each chapter. I listen to books to hear someone read, not to listen to crappy music. Just read the book.

Any additional comments?

I loved the book overall but the music is distracting and unwanted. Take it out.

Cute Story

I enjoyed the story. It was lighthearted not as complex as some of the other SEP books. I definitely missed Anna Fields but I thought the narrator did a good job. My biggest complaint was the terrible music between chapters. Please get rid of that...very annoying.

I liked the anticipation and emotions I felt.

STORY BRIEF:
Georgie and Bram starred in a TV sitcom for eight years. Bram was unreliable due to drugs, alcohol and sex. Georgie initially liked Bram but he hurt her during his bad boy days. Now they dislike/hate each other. Georgie is a good girl. Everyone loves her. She married Lance an A list movie star. Lance had an affair, divorced Georgie and married Jade (think Angelina Jolie). Georgie is tired of everyone feeling sorry for her and believes that if she gets married, the tabloids will leave her alone. Bram and Georgie accidentally show up at the same party in Las Vegas. Someone drugs their drinks, and they wake up the next morning shocked to find they are married. They decide to stay married for awhile; each has their own reasons.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I love this author’s talent. She doesn’t churn out books as fast as I would like, because she writes quality which takes time. Georgie and Bram insult and lie to each other. The conversations are clever and entertaining. I loved the character development. There are several characters who change, grow, become better, or become different by the end of the story. Whenever I put the book down to do something else, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. It’s a little longer than most romance novels, and I enjoyed every minute.

REVIEWER’S COMMENT TO OTHER REVIEWERS:
I noticed some reviewers complained that it was too much like the Jen/Brad/Angie saga, but I say who cares what it was like. It was entertaining. There are only a limited number of story lines out there for romance novels. Every story I’ve read has already been told by someone else. The key is the author’s voice, and this author’s voice is one of the best. Some reviewers said they didn’t like Georgie and Bram. I didn’t think about that as I was reading the book, but I agree that some of their early actions were not likeable. However, by the end of the book they both had gone through changes from who they were eight years earlier. I liked the people they became and many of the things they did for others. The best part of the book was all the changes that various characters went through, not just Georgie and Bram, but others as well. In addition, the period of dislike created some interesting conflict and entertaining dialogue.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Julia Gibson did an excellent job. But for some undefinable reason I think I preferred reading this instead of listening to it.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 401 pages. Swearing language: strong but not often used. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 7. Setting: Los Angeles area, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mexico. Copyright: 2009. Genre: contemporary romance.

The cleanest my house has ever been

I loved this book and couldn't stop listening to it. I used the time to clean parts of my house that haven't been clean in years! I was saddened when I heard the dedication to Anna Fields and following some research learned that she had passed away. Ms. Fields brought so much life to SEP's books, but Julia Gibson is a worthy succesor.

Good but not the best

I liked the story but it is not as good as Natural Born Charmer or Match Me If You Can. The ending seemed rushed to me. Georgie and Bram were at odds for a lot of the time and then "poof" they realized they were in love. It just didn't unfold in a believable sequence for me. The narrator was not bad but no one can hold a candle to Kate Flemming/Anna Fields...I really miss her. I'm a BIG fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips so I can't rate this lower than 4 stars.

Entertaining

This was entertaining, and I liked the narrator. It wasn't her best book, but I didn't regret using a credit on it!

Not my favorite SEP

This was just ok for me, but if you are a big fan celebrity gossip and entertainment drama, you'll probably get a kick out of this book. I thought the reader did a very good job.

Good not Great!

I have read all of Susan's books. This is not her best. I think Anna Fields might be whats missing. Narration can change the book. This one is still a good listen, but dont even think you will laugh like you did with Natural Born Charmer......

SEP is still my favorite author!

I loved this book, in fact I have listened to it many times since I downloaded it in January. I just read the other reviews and I was shocked to see how many people didn't like it. I have been a fan of SEP since I listened to her first recorded book IT HAD TO BE YOU. I have loved them all. I've listened to them all more than once, but WIDFL might be my favorite. I listened to it when I first purchased it and enjoyed it very much. I've left it on my i-pod, and take it to bed with me every night to listen to until I fall asleep. I loved the story, the characters Georgie and Bram, and the secondary characters. As far as SEP using the concept of the Brangelina/Aniston breakup, who cares? Writers do that sort of thing all the time. Did you ever watch Law & Order? Most of their stories are ripped from the headlines. Lastly the narrator...no one could ever replace Anna Fields/Kate Fleming. She was great. But I thought Julia Gibson did a very good job and I enjoyed her narration.