Simply Irresistible by Jennifer Banash

Ex-small-town girl Casey McCloy finally feels like she’s starting to fit in among her neighbors of the Upper East Side. And it’s not just the newly straightened hair, the growing designer wardrobe, or a starring role in the hot new reality show De-Luxe, it’s the confidence from all that and being a member of the Bram Clan that makes Casey feel like she belongs in the Big Apple—much to the dismay of her rival and reality costar, the reigning queen Madison Macallister. Madison absolutely refuses to give up her lofty position to social climbing Casey, even if—especially if—she has to dig her manicured talons in somewhere to maintain that status. Madison will do anything to ensure that she—and not Casey—is the next reality “It Girl.” Since the rest of the rest of her life seems to be falling apart, Madison feels she at least deserves this. But Madison’s not the only one trying to keep what’s left of her life from further breaking down. There are a lot of people in the Big Apple. How can anyone be sure of anything—friendships, family, trust—when everyone has their own agenda?

Though I absolutely adored the first two installments in this series, The Elite and In Too Deep, I felt Simply Irresistible didn’t quite live up to its name. For me, this time around, the Bram Clan and other supporting cast were a little too “he said she said” for my taste. This over load of gossip as well as other annoyances such as the designer name dropping so frequent it became white noise and the fact that women were wearing sunglasses indoors in the dead of winter really distracted me and prevented me from really taking a liking to the story or characters. Yes, Drew caught his dad messing around with another woman, Sophie doesn’t know what to make of her real mother, Phoebe just wants to fool around with Jared, Madison is as ruthless as ever, and Casey keeps trying to blend in, but what else is new? This whole novel, the cast just seemed to be talking along the same lines as they had been in the earlier novels. I was looking for something bigger because the same old was getting boring and unfortunately, the reality shows was more in the background than I hoped it would be. The characters are too inwardly conflicted throughout the entire novel; I would’ve liked to see some progress in at least their conviction in their lives. Maybe it’s just me, but Simply Irresistible lacked a certain oomph I know Banash has in her.

I know that’s not exactly the most positive review for Simply Irresistible, but dedicated fans of The Elite series and guilty pleasure lovers will most likely want to read this novel. Though I was slightly disappointed in Banash’s latest work, I’ll probably still read the next installment in this series with high hopes.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from publisher Berkley JAM