UnrequitedOne Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka by Christy Heron

UnrequitedOne Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka Reviews

• 
  Holly Newhouse

  This book is definitely in a class all of its own. I could relate to the story having lived through the age of the main female character myself. The journey she takes is easy to relate to either in our own lives or having heard about it in a friend's life. This book describes the real world where men are no longer the gentlemen they were in the 50's and women are no longer the quiet, shy, stay at home housewives of the same era.
  
  Walk side by side with the main character, January as she experiences emotions all women have faced at one time or another and as she tries to find an acceptable balance concerning her self-esteem, what her morals truly are, and what character she will be or play when she walks out the door. Walk with her as she wades through the worst of the worst men to finally find the one worth all of the turmoil she had to fight against just to find....him, Mr. right for her.
  
  A great read I highly recommend to others!
  
  Purchase this Book on Amazon Today!
• 
  Valerity (Val)

  3.5 of 5.0 stars This took a bit to get into but once I got used to the writing, I found myself hooked on the story of this writer/personal assistant to a wealthy couple, named January who can’t shake her obsession with a man (Jack/SFF) who only gives her the time of day when he wants to hook up. This goes on for several years, despite job changes, moves to and from LA, other relationships on both sides, and it darn near wrecking January’s sanity. Does she get this guy out of her system once and for all? Or does she finally win him in the end? You’ll have to read this quirky, nick-name filled anti-romance to find out.
• 
  Toni

  3.5 stars. love can either destroy you or save you. This is not a typical love story. it's honest and gritty, and at times very frustrating. It's a train wreck I couldn't look away from and what kept me reading. At times I wanted to shake January and tell her to snap out of it. Thankfully, we watch January evolve through out the book. And even though she's emotionally stunted and does things that have you shaking your head, you can't help but route for her. It was a good read, a little slow at times, but definitly worth it.
• 
  Connie Lafortune

  What would you do for love?
  
  If you are January Estlin, you wouldn't give it a second thought. Since she has her sights set on Jack and nothing or nobody will stand in her way...
  
  I must admit, the name of the book made me very curious. And I'm glad it did. Unrequited-One Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka is a tongue-in-cheek roller coaster ride. It will make you laugh, cry and bring out emotions that many of us haven't felt in years.
  
  Ms. Heron did a fantastic job of portraying the twenty or thirty something generation and I look forward to reading her next 'not so typical romance."
  
  Author: Connie Lafortune
  
• 
  Melissa Kaiserling

  This book is written very well. It reminded me as a cross between Chelsea Handler's "are you there vodka it's me Chelsea" and "50 shades of Grey" . She tells little stories of herself that I can relate to... Boys and vodka
• 
  K.B. Rose

  This book has an inventive, stylish writing style and stands in a class by itself. It's definitely not like your average women's lit. It's lyrical, darkly funny, and unabashedly crude, all at once. It's easy to relate to for any girl in her twenties (and beyond) who's experienced the current bar/dating scene. You'll cringe at times watching January obsess over the clearly unworthy Jack, but it might strike a chord in your memory of a time when you loved someone who wasn't deserving of it. January is a frustrating character at times, but you can't help but root for her, because she's emotional and real and holds nothing back. She's a very authentic, well-developed character. The other characters are all equally well written and believable. I loved the nicknames used for all the characters in this book. They were funny and helped to keep all the supporting characters straight. My only small complaint would be that January isn't exactly your every day girl, as the blurb suggests. She may not live in New York, but she lives in LA (or close to it) and has a well paying job. And the ending falls a little more into women's lit territory than I wanted it to. But I really enjoyed reading it. It was unique and insightful. I can't wait to see what the author comes out with next.
• 
  Tamara Epps

  This review is also posted on my book blog,
  Captivated by Books
  
  January Estlin is like any other woman in her twenties – lost, in love, and trying to find herself. Of course, it would help if she wasn’t so in love with the unattainable Jack (or SSF ‘Short Fat Fuck’ as she and her friends call him), that she moves back to her hometown ‘for my writing’ (at least, that’s what she tells herself). Between sleeping with Jack when he gets away from his girlfriend, a succession of men January dates, and plenty of alcohol and swearing, January’s life is confusing, chaotic, and completely relatable.
  
  This book is not light on the profanity, sex, or drunkenness; so if that bothers you, you can move on now – but you’ll be missing out. In this ‘anti-romance’, Christy Heron is witty, unforgettable and, un-put-downable. In my mind, her writing has a contemporary female Kerouac feel to it (only more interesting). Personally, I found for once, the swearing actually amplified the story, and my only issue with it was that halfway through the book it seems to almost disappear (and not because the character has a big change of voice).
  
  The book is told through the voice of January, and so at times doesn’t completely make sense, but let’s face it, no one’s mind makes complete sense. Somehow Heron has captured the state between desperation and complete mental break-down the character imagines herself having, without making the novel difficult to read.
  
  January, like any other young woman, wants to be loved. The problem being that her love is unrequited to the point where it seems Jack is just using her. While obviously my life is completely different to January’s, I believe we all have thought ourselves in love with someone, when clearly they’re not interested, but that doesn’t stop us from pursuing the object of that love. And so January does. She knows it’s futile, but no matter what is going on in her life, she is always dragged back to the turbulent ‘relationship’ with Jack.
  
  The main problem I had with this book was the use of names. January assigns everyone nicknames (B1, B2 for the boyfriends. ‘childless Brad Pitt’ for her brother, etc), which can at times make it a little confusing as to who she’s talking about, but for the most part this didn’t have too much of an impact on the story.
  
  When I started reading I wasn’t sure what to expect, but found myself unable to put the book down. Honestly, I can say it’s one of the top, if not the top, books I’ve read this year, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Heron’s next book. No matter whether or not you know what it’s like to be a writer, cheat on your boyfriend, struggle to get up due to a hangover, Unrequited – One Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka will finally allow you to see that the craziness going on in our heads isn’t something that only happens to us (at least I hope not!). While I think this book is probably aimed at women, I’m sure men would enjoy it just as much, if for no other reason than to get a little insight to a woman’s mind. In general, my advice is go and buy this book right now and start reading, you won’t regret it.
  
  [Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
  
• 
  Danielle Evans

  I am probably one of the few women who can't fully relate to January, the main character in this book. For starters, I have no idea what it's like to be a single adult. I have been with the same man (who I am now married to) since I was seventeen years old. So, while I've certainly gone to bars, I've never been there for the purpose of finding anyone, and I've never made a habit of frequenting them either. And January is in love with Jack, a guy who sees her as a friend with benefits. She is hoping for a real, committed relationship with him, while he just wants to have sex with her occasionally and when it's convenient for him. I would never be attracted to a guy like that--he treats her like crap, but honestly, she lets him so she's at fault too. I kept thinking, what in the hell does she see in this guy?? So even though I am very different from January, I still enjoyed reading her story. And there were some things I could relate to - I do know what it's like to have mental health issues (the reasoning is different, however).
  
  I really liked that January was so flawed. It made her a very believable character. Sometimes I get tired of the "strong" female character because let's face it, a lot of us aren't able to be strong all the time. Most of us have gone through periods of weakness and depression, and this book captivates that very well.
  
  I loved Christy Heron's informal writing style - it was truly unique. It was haphazard and a bit crazy, just like January herself. The author shows that there really are no rules for writing--as long as you can convey a good story, that's all that really matters. And that's what she's done. She also wasn't afraid to hold anything back, which I admire as well. This would definitely be a book to avoid if you're prude! But if you don't mind the grittiness of reality, then you'll appreciate this.
  
  While I really liked the ending, I found parts of it to be unrealistic, which was in direct contrast with most of the book. I'm not saying that any of that couldn't happen; I'm just saying that I don't think it's likely for the average person. The majority of the book was very realistic, so the ending was honestly not what I expected.
  
  Another thing that I wanted to point out is that very few people are named in this book. Most of the characters are given nicknames, and that's all they are known by (which was a bit off putting at first when used in dialogue). I found it to be amusing though how all of her boyfriends were numbered as B1, B2, B3, etc.
  
  Overall, this was an entertaining story with a crazy but fun main character. January's kind of slutty, but I could see myself being friends with her! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a really good and unique reading experience!
  
• 
  Allyn

  A story of addiction. Not to drugs or alcohol, though Ms. Heron is not shy in her characters ability to drink. A lot. But about addiction to love, to the desire to be loved. January convinces herself what she feels for Jack is the real thing, the big wow. She pursues, she pleads, she text stalks, drunk dials and makes all the poor decisions regarding the guy who doesn't deserve her. Jack doesn't deserve any woman really, he is the guy without a heart or conscience. But January still wants him. This story is painful to read at times, the raw honesty reaching out from the page and shocking you with all the things women do, think and feel when it comes to bad relationships. I won't lie, I did my share of chasing Jacks, unrequited was a fresh reminder of that pain.
  Christy Heron writes with a passionate, descriptive hand. She doesn't shy away from telling it like it is, giving her characters real life flaws and weaving dark and light humor together to deliver a story with a punch.
  I love the writing in this book. I think if had not been so well written I may have put it down, the view of January was so sad and I wanted to shake her, tell her to let the slimeball go, but the pros and descriptive were so full, so colorful and unique I had to read more.
  It is refreshing to read a story that is all it's own genre. Not a fluff romance or a tragedy, but a true to life journey of bad decisions, self discovery, learning to accept, heal and find your own worth. January is a piece of every woman really. We all want love, we have all been rejected. We all get back up, sometimes with vodka to numb us.
  Excellent job, I will be keeping an eye on Ms. Heron!
• 
  Eric S. Jackson

  That is an excellent story.I really enjoyed this book so much because it was a realistic story. I already read many romantic story but this is the best one. Most romantic stories that I read all have similar plots and they are unrealistic; making them pretty hard to relate to.The story focuses around January and she has fallen helplessly in love with Jack. Her and Jack have hooked up previously. January decides to move to LA to capture Jack's heart. She finds out after that Jack already has a girlfriend. January is heartbroken and she doesn't really know what to do. She tries dating and going out to get rid of the pain. I felt the emotions when I read this book.You must read this amazing book.
• 
  Kathy

  Unrequited - One Girl, Thirteen Boyfriends, and Vodka
  by Christy Heron
  
  First of all, I have to say that the cover and the title threw me off and to be honest I was hesitant to read it. The phase "you can't judge a book by its cover" totally applies here. How wrong I was and I should have stopped what I was doing, sat down and started reading it as soon as I opened it in my mail!!!!
  
  Did you ever read a book that you wanted to shake the character at the same time cheering her on? Well this is it! You can't help but love her and I know a few of my friends who could be her that I love dearly! I was impressed and couldn't put the book down!
• 
  Kyrstin Pull

  Let me introduce January Estlin. You will definitely be given a bird’s eye view of her world in this novel. No holding back, no filter. January is a 20 something, extrovert with emotions considered outrageous, however deep down inside we all know we feel, or have felt them at one point in our lives as well. A wave of sexual encounters, combined with a waterfall of Ketel One. This youthful social-light lets us view her life the way it really is, not just how she wants people to see it, an honesty that most of us experience but never admit to. Must read!
• 
  Bonnie Blue

  Sorry could not get past 2% just too much confusion going on. l'd suggest an editor. I could see some positive elements to writing style but too many errors and too many convoluted sentances for me to be able to follow or care abt characters. I was over both of them by 2%.
• 
  Amelie Woodford

  Really enjoyed this. January is a bit of a car crash... You want to look away but can't! One of those books you just can't put down :-)