Twenty Times a Lady was an easy read because it felt like your average rom-com film- which I love. It was written almost like a diary entry; you get to see how fast-paced and somewhat erratic Delilah’s mind is. Then, just when you think that’s a terrible idea, it slips into the first person and you get to cringe and laugh at just how awkward a situation she can make for herself. The great thing about Delilah is that you can never truly guess what she will do next and she has you laughing every time something inevitably goes wrong; there’s a scene in particular in Chapter Thirteen that had me practically bark a laugh so loud in the dead of night that had me queried and I couldn’t not share what happened. Despite how much I found Delilah and her life to be crazy and funny, I couldn’t help but love her for how real she felt. More than anything else, it was her own self-critical judgement, worry and regret that bought her on this journey, and along the way, I think she finally realised that setting herself ridiculous unnecessary standards had done nothing but make her dwell upon regrets and prevent her from looking forward; which I found a rather touching point for Karyn Bosnak to make because we are all little guilty of doing the same from time to time.
There wasn’t much I didn’t like about the book but when I first started it was slightly jarring to understand the change from ‘reading Delilah’s Dairy’ to jumping into her person, but I believe that’s just personal taste. I also had to remind myself that it was written in 2006, and some things I do not believe would have been allowed to be printed in this day and age. However, once I adjusted I flew through the book as I stepped into Delilah’s world for a brief time.
I rated this book Four out of Five stars, because even though the personal discovery for Delilah was wonderful to read and the brilliant, everything-is-tied-neatly-in-a-bow ending, with humour right until The End was great… I was just expecting a little more of a Delilah surprise, but in saying that, I think she deserved some happiness.
I was initially drawn to this book because I had watched the film adaptation ‘What’s Your Number?’ And I was slightly surprised to find out that it’s not all that similar to the book, but I think that’s why I liked this book so much. The film and the book feel like different extensions of Delilah and that means I can enjoy both as they are…separately.
Karyn Bosnak makes this book so easy to dive into, that it’s perfect for any setting; whether you want a light summers day read or you prefer to be snuggled up on the sofa and get lost for a few hours in the chaos of someone else’s love life. I’d recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the glorious mess of a chick flick that is solved with the happiest of endings. This was the first time I had ever read Chick Lit and I’m looking forward to trying out some more in the future.
Favourite Quotes
“I’ve become one with the hairy toilet.”
page 43
“-his purple face, Dustin Hoffman’s blood-curdling scream, and of course the partially chewed piece of ham flying at my face.”
page 172
“Just because someone loves you is no reason to love them back.”
page 341
“If you’re going to remember anything from your past, then do so fondly because you can’t change a thing about it.”
page 359
Finer Details
Title: Twenty Times A Lady
Author: Karyn Bosnak
Pages: 384
Publisher: Corgi Books
Publication: 2006
Language: English
Rating: 4/5