Skinnydipping

A Novel

By: Bethenny Frankel

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

This outrageously entertaining and bawdy roman à clef from popular reality TV star Bethenny Frankel follows a business-savvy, would-be actress in hot pursuit of the perfect man, the perfect job, and the perfect body. Burning through men like she burns through calories, our sexy, loud-mouthed heroine grasps at any opportunity that might take her to the top.

Listeners will jump at the chance to hear about the thrilling highs and cringe-worthy lows of Bethenny’s first shaky steps into adulthood, told here in a fictional format. Fans know Bethenny won’t shy away from the nitty-gritty details of her career failures, romantic faux pas, and wild stories of “only needing a Tic Tac and a coochie” to have a good time on the town - and she will deliver them all with the biting wit her fans have come to love through her TV shows and best-selling non-fiction. While it may be a novel, there is no doubt that this is Bethenny, straight from the hip.

©2012 Bethenny Frankel (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Love her and this book!

I love Bethany and I feel no different about this book! I now want to look into which parts are true and what the actual chronological order things happened in. I only know 80% of it! Easy, fun read!

I genuinely liked this book

I like Bethenny Frankel. I’ve never read any of her books before but this one was great. This was a fast paced fun book.

Loved the book

What made the experience of listening to Skinnydipping the most enjoyable?

I didn't expect to even like this book but I read it in 2 days. It was lots of fun and a great light read.

Fun For 'Real' Bethenny Fans

Even if you've never heard of Bethenny Frankel, listeners will be entertained by this glittery underdog story. "It's Sex and the City" meets "The Apprentice".
Bethenny fans will be preoccupied with discerning fact from fiction, and beguiled by many familiar characters.

An amusing story that may have already been told

I have followed Bethenny Frankel since Housewives. I've always enjoyed everything she has ever said and done. This book is written as fictional but is clearly based on her life. It allows you to see where her anxieties comes from and why she is always so driven.
It was an entertaining book with Bethenny's sense of humor and funny take on the world and people in it.
I felt as though I knew where the story was going from the very beginning and I was right. No big surprises and the story line was OK. Watching Bethany Ever After, I feel as though I know the story line for part two already. It's not the best book I've ever read but if you like Bethany, you will like the book.

Strong, fun beginning, kind of a "cop-out "end!

Where does Skinnydipping rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Unusual in that I could see the "reality show" in it (as it actually was a combination of a few of them)

What did you like best about this story?

I thought the narrator's performance was excellent. She had to do a variety of voices/styles (often in the same paragraph) and it was fun listening. I especially enjoyed the "Martha Stewart-like" character - dead on!!

Which scene was your favorite?

I thought the primary character's early years in LA were a blast. I can definitely see most of those things happening

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not "Skinnydipping" that's for sure. I actually don;t know why the book has this title - did not make sense to me. I don;t think I would make this book into a movie

Any additional comments?

Overall, a lot of fun to listen to. I really liked the beginning and middle, but was a little disappointed in the end where everything kind of magically fell into place (that part with Harris). The narrator's performance was top notch and I will seek her out for other books.

Fun listen for Bethenny fans

Would you listen to Skinnydipping again? Why?

Yes-it was entertaining and fun. The narrarator was fantastic and was able to keep with Bethenny's, er Faith's, sharp tounge.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Girl Gone

What does January LaVoy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

If you are a fan of Bethenny's, January LaVoy brings Faith, the character based on Bethenny, to life. Super fun, great voices, spot on Bethenny.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

The first and second part are very disjointed. Very little from the first part carries over or leads up to the second part. You are left wondering what happened to characters that were given lots of focus. I'm sure this is in part due to this strange mix of autobiography and fiction. There is also a huge gap between where part one ends and part two begins...I'm learning every minute detail of the character's love life in part one and we skip over a MARRIAGE between parts one and two? Strange. Of course being a fan of Bethenny, I understand this is a part of her life she'd like to skim past. Overall I liked it, because I love Bethenny. Although I kind of wish she would have stuck more to an accurate portrayal of her story, or invented something new altogether. The mix is a little odd and left me wondering quite a bit about what is fact and what is fiction. An entertaining and light read.

well written, well read

I finished this book within days. I just couldn't stop listening. Riveting. love me some Bethenny Frankel. shes such an inspiration to me. Always has been. love you BF. Keep your head up. Everything is better with time. The rusty parts always fall off and only the brightest metal is allowed to remain. You shine bright!

Enjoyable and humorous

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the humorous and realistic portrayal of Hollywood. The main character was captivating.