Although this book took me a while to get through, It was through no fault of its own. This book was actually right up my alley, and was probably one of my favorite chick-lit books i've read in a long time. I could relate to Lorianne (the main character) because i'm almost done with hairdressing school right now, and have big dreams for my future, similar to what she had for herself.

Lorianne's romantic situation, although fustrating at times, was relatable, everyone has either gone through or knows someone who can't get over a relationship that was toxic in nature, and that always ends in hurt, because of disapointment, cheating, etc. I like how Lorianne's decisions played out in the end though.

The aspect of the Princesses in this book was a bit mean girl-esqe, which was ok with me because I loved that movie, but it also reminded me of the show "You're Cut Off", and showed this level of society girls that are used to getting whatever their hearts desired, whenever they wanted it. I love that high-society kind of story, maybe because thats so far from my own life, but I enjoy reading stories that involve that kind of character for some reason.

Overall, I really enjoyed the storyline, Lorianne's career was one that intrigued me, I've never read a chick-lit novel that's main character was in the beauty industry, in fact I feel like they are always in the jouralism or editorial fields, and thats about it, which personally gets a bit dull after a while, because it's so repetitive. I also loved the characters as well as Lorianne's romantic interests. If you like fun, hilarious, and a modern chick-lit story you'll love this one. ( )

You can also read my review here: http://www.turningthepages.ca/2012/01/review-princess-of-park-avenue.html

"Jenny from the block" is a perfect song to listen to while reading Princess of Park Avenue. A girl from the 'other side of the tracks' making her way to the big city with nothing but hope and a prayer.

We have all been there, snubbed by someone who we have put our everything into, someone we invested more than just blood, sweat and tears. Lorraine is not the first girl who has run away from her problems and shown them who's boss. This was one of my favourite parts of the novel. I loved how strong (even though sometimes wavering) Lorraine was. To pick up and start fresh in the 'unknown' just seems so scary. To see her move up the ranks to the upper-crust of Manhattan was a journey made of dreams.

Putting Lorraine aside, I found the characters in this novel to be a bit over-the-top. A group of almost thirty-somethings still hanging out at the school? Guido, the owner of an amazing salon who just 'lets' a newbie take over and rise to the top. The 'Princesses' drove me bonkers... I wanted to punch them in the face everytime they were mentioned. But no character made me as mad as Tommy. That boy makes the stuff on the bottom of my shoes look good. All-in-all, it felt a lot like an episode of Jersey Shore gone bad.

Overall, the whole story felt a bit too long, I felt that this book has a lot of promise and with some refining, it could become a definite must-read. ( )