2 Stars
Oh Chuck . . . I have a disappoint : (
I’ll admit that I requested Beautiful You before ever even glancing at the synopsis. That’s how positive I was I would enjoy it. I’m a loyal fan and am prepared for whatever Palahniuk wants to throw at me. Even if those items are sex toys. The premise of this book actually sounded pretty promising – a middle-aged genius (C. Linus Maxwell – a/k/a “Climax-Well”), known for having some serious voodoo when it comes to the punany, has worked his way through models and actresses and has now set his sights on one special lady.
Sound familiar????
What that lady (Penny) doesn’t realize, is that she is being used as guinea pig in order to test Maxwell’s latest money-maker – a line of sex toys that will be mass-marketed under the name “Beautiful You.”
Once these new products hit the shelves, women find themselves unable to resist the temptation of endless pleasure, men find themselves obsolete and Maxwell has his sights set on world domination. Can Penny stop this madness before it’s too late????
Beautiful You started out like typical Palahniuk fare – pushing the limits of what is “okay” for the average person to read about with his trademark brand of dark humor and featuring a plotline I should find offensive, but somehow didn’t (the only explanation for this is “because it’s Chuck - of course he’s going to try and offend me”). Unfortunately, Chuck got so wrapped up in the science and grotesquery of sex that all I ended up being was bored.
Luckily this was a short read – and I’d read enough Palahniuk in the past to keep chasing the dangling carrot that is his signature twist ending – but the experience as a whole was “meh.” Have no fears, though, I’ll jump right to the front of the line for his next book and cross my fingers that it is better.
(Sidenote: If I could only rate the cover, it would get 1,000 Stars)
ARC provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
I’ll admit that I requested Beautiful You before ever even glancing at the synopsis. That’s how positive I was I would enjoy it. I’m a loyal fan and am prepared for whatever Palahniuk wants to throw at me. Even if those items are sex toys. The premise of this book actually sounded pretty promising – a middle-aged genius (C. Linus Maxwell – a/k/a “Climax-Well”), known for having some serious voodoo when it comes to the punany, has worked his way through models and actresses and has now set his sights on one special lady.
Sound familiar????
What that lady (Penny) doesn’t realize, is that she is being used as guinea pig in order to test Maxwell’s latest money-maker – a line of sex toys that will be mass-marketed under the name “Beautiful You.”
Once these new products hit the shelves, women find themselves unable to resist the temptation of endless pleasure, men find themselves obsolete and Maxwell has his sights set on world domination. Can Penny stop this madness before it’s too late????
Beautiful You started out like typical Palahniuk fare – pushing the limits of what is “okay” for the average person to read about with his trademark brand of dark humor and featuring a plotline I should find offensive, but somehow didn’t (the only explanation for this is “because it’s Chuck - of course he’s going to try and offend me”). Unfortunately, Chuck got so wrapped up in the science and grotesquery of sex that all I ended up being was bored.
Luckily this was a short read – and I’d read enough Palahniuk in the past to keep chasing the dangling carrot that is his signature twist ending – but the experience as a whole was “meh.” Have no fears, though, I’ll jump right to the front of the line for his next book and cross my fingers that it is better.
(Sidenote: If I could only rate the cover, it would get 1,000 Stars)
ARC provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
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