| Title | : | Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 313 |
| Publication | : | First published February 14, 2017 |
B01H3MU5ZW
She'll need a triple-barreled name for the castle one. She'll need a gallon of glitter for the woodland one. She'll need a lobster-shaped hat for the Shoreditch one. Laura Lake longs to be a journalist. Instead she's an unpaid intern at a glossy magazine—sleeping in the fashion cupboard and living on canapés. But she's just got her first big break: infiltrate three society weddings and write a juicy exposé. Security will be tighter than a bodycon dress, but how hard can it be? Cue disappearing brides, demanding socialites—and a jealous office enemy who will do anything to bring her down.
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings Reviews
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We have Laura Lake, yearns to be an investigative journalist. She wants to follow her late Fathers footsteps.
Shes offered an internship with a glossy magazine in London, yes, result for her, foot in the door.
She grabs her chance with both hands although shes reluctant to leave her Grandmother.
Somehow Laura finds herself in London with no money, no phone, lots of misfortunes for Laura along the way. Eventually she gets stories of celebrity weddings, missing brides, brawls and disasters to report.
Lots of scandulous reportings for Laura.
An enjoyable read. I found it quite entertaining and easy to read.
My thanks to Head of Zeus for my personal copy. -
Thank you to Netgalley, Head of Zeus and wendy Holden for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance reader copy of this book.
You can find my review on both Goodreads and Amazon. On Goodreads from today under Karen Whittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard from publication date.
This book is hilarious. It is rip roaring, side splitting funny. Super sharp and extremely highly entertaining, and it is guaranteed to lift your spirits. I absolutely loved it and what an eye opener. This is the first book that I have read from Wendy. But it certainly will not be my last. I wish you a huge amount of success with this book. Wonderful and uplifting. Lose yourself in this fun and entertaining novel.
Happy reading everyone -
I don't know what made me buy this at the op shop, I am not a big fan of chick lit but I thought it would be an easy holiday read. I read it on a plane and it was a real dog's breakfast! So many stupid storylines, unbelievable and unlikeable characters and unrealistic situations. 1 star
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Hilarious and refreshing, THREE WEDDINGS AND A SCANDAL by Wendy Holden, is the perfect book to curl up with to put a smile on your face.
Laura Lake longs to follow in her father's footsteps and become a journalist. So when she gets the opportunity to move to London to intern at a glossy magazine she jumps at the chance. It might not be investigative reporting but it is a good start and Laura is determined to make it work. But it's not long before the shine wears off and Laura finds herself in all manner of mishaps and when she must infiltrate some of society's most anticipated weddings who knows what madness will ensue?
With characters that are really engaging and dynamic and plenty of mayhem that will make you laugh-out-loud, Wendy Holden has written a gem of a book that cannot help but entertain the masses. Laura is a great character who is feisty and adventurous while still being really relatable and likeable at the same time. The pace is a little slow to start but soon picks up and I found myself reading this book in one sitting which is always a sign of a great story.
If you want a juicy plot, quirky characters, and a book that will make you howl, then THREE WEDDINGS AND A SCANDAL by Wendy Holden is a must for you.
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher -
Such an incredibly entertaining story, that had me loving every second of the book. One of the things that struck me most was the incredible amount of imagination Wendy Holden used in naming some of her characters, the majority of them have at the very least surnames that are rather clever, and the others have some quite different first names to the normal ones you see in most books.
The book isn't just full of imaginative names, but the three weddings that are featured, plus the art installation at the beginning are all very creative, and just so different. Laura Lake as the assignment of a lifetime when she is given the chance to write about the new trends of hipster weddings for Society magazine.
She needs to somehow infiltrate each wedding to try and get the best accounts, and in doing so manages to have run ins with an old nemesis from her school days. There is the wedding that has easily the most unusual location I've ever seen for any sort of function, there is the one that involves a hand fasting ceremony and a lake and the other in theory is more traditional but what a creepy location.
We first meet Laura when she is living in Paris and being part of an art installation to earn extra money, along with Caspar. From the early chapters we get a great idea of what Laura's grandmother Mimi is like, full of advice on how to be a Parisenne lady. So its a a wrench for Laura to take up a job offer in London.
What you soon realise with this book is nothing ever goes according to plan, and that Laura has a lot more guile and cunning than it first appears, as she gets herself in a whole variety of situations. In places you do have to suspend your grip on reality and accept there is definitely some artistic licence being used, but that just added to the fun of the book for me.
I can already see the start of potential story arcs for future books in this series, specifically around Laura Lake's parents, as it would be lovely to learn more about her background.
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings has a fresh new main character and is the start of what promises to be a fabulous series. It feels a bit different to other books by the author, but still is very easy to read and I loved it all.
Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for this copy of the book which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily. -
I am a big fan of Wendy’s books and has always she doesn't disappoint with this quirky loud out loud story where we meet Laura Lake on her hilarious journey.
She longs to be a journalist and is given the chance to write an article about wedding trends for society magazine. These are not just any weddings though they are celebrity weddings. Nothing is plain sailing for Laura and something always seems to go wrong. But Laura is so determined to get a paid job rather than do an unpaid intern,she always finds a way of getting out of tricky situations.
This book is full of fun characters each one of them is unique in their own way. Laura is just a darling I loved her and cannot wait to read more of her. This is certainly set to be a very entertaining fun series.
I love Wendy’s style of writing her descriptions are very creative and clever. I couldn't read this fast enough wanting to know what was going to happen next.
This is a must read for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Bridget Jones. If you're looking for a fun laugh out loud story this is the book for you which I highly recommend, giving it 4 stars. -
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is a romp of a book that really could have you laughing out loud as you follow Laura and the funny situations she gets into as she investigates celebrity weddings. Laura longs to be a serious investigative journalist, following in her late father's footsteps. When she is offered the chance of an internship at a glossy magazine in London she jumps at the chance. Things don't go quite as she expected though, not helped by the fact that her arch-enemy who bullied her at school, Clemency, also works at the magazine. If ever there was someone misnamed, it is Clemency!
It took me a wee while to get into the story at first but from when Laura moved from Paris to London, I was hooked. Through an unfortunate combination of circumstances, she is left stranded in London with no money, no phone and nowhere to stay. I couldn't help but feel for her, as she really thought this was her big chance and everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong. I had to admire her resourcefulness as she tried to find a way out of her situation.
I must say that I really hope that the glossy magazine industry and the celebrity culture it reports on isn't as shallow as it appears in this book. The weddings that Laura attended were truly awful though did provide many really funny moments. The 'ironic' wedding taking place in a public loo was truly hilarious for many reasons. Many of the 'celebrities' attending the weddings had names suspiciously similar to real people and I had fun guessing who they were possibly meant to be. There were certainly some memorable characters throughout the book from the rap star with a secret fondness for crafting to Lulu, a socialite famous for being famous. Lulu provided some of the funniest lines in the book as she often made mistakes with her words and I certainly snorted out loud when I read that what she wanted more than anything was happiness. Now that may not sound funny but when you read that part of the book you'll know what I mean! Lulu's butler Vlad was also an unforgettable addition to the story.
As well as Laura researching the weddings, there was also a mystery regarding her father's death which isn't resolved in this book, the small matter of a jewel thief targeting the weddings and just what was mysterious reporter Harry Scott working on? No doubt some of these will be resolved in the next book to feature Laura (Laura Lake and the Celebrity Meltdown due out in 2018) and if it's as entertaining and witty as this book, I'll look forward to reading that too. -
Laura Lake lives in Paris with her grandmother. Laura wants to stay there to take care of the stylish woman who always has the best advice, but when she gets an opportunity to work for a magazine in London Laura's grandmother encourages her granddaughter to go. Society is a glamour magazine and Laura's first assignment is to cover a series of society weddings. This might be her big break, which she needs to become a paid journalist instead of an unpaid intern. While nothing is as it seems and things never go according to plan Laura tries to keep her head above water. Even if that means sleeping in a fashion cupboard, having no money to buy food and competing against her arch enemy. Will Laura be able to make her dreams come true?
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is a fantastic funny story. I loved Wendy Holden's humoristic tone of voice. Laura is smart, creative and daring. She's determined to get a paid position at the magazine she's working for. That means interacting with socialites, chasing thieves and going to the weirdest kind of weddings without being invited by the bride or groom. The competition is stiff and not sympathetic enough to play fair. There's a lot going on in Laura's life and all of it is fascinating, entertaining and eccentric. She needs to be intelligent and attentive to survive, which is something I liked very much.
Wendy Holden has a fabulous classy writing style. She combines it with funny remarks and witty dialogue. I immediately loved her dynamic and sparkling descriptions of her characters and the situations they find themselves in. Laura Lake is a marvelous main character. She's always in the right place at the right time and her observation skills combined with inventiveness are making sure she acts exactly when and how she should. That regularly made me grin. Laura goes from complex situation to really complex situation and I couldn't read fast enough to find out what her next adventure would be.
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is a comic and gripping story with plenty of surprising elements. Laura Lake's enchanting personality makes it easy to like her and her story. I loved how she enters the world of glitter and glamour like she's always belonged there and was amazed by how wonderfully lighthearted and bizarre it all felt. I read the story in one sitting and enjoyed every single page. Wendy Holden's engaging writing combined with plenty of amusement made me absolutely love this book. -
Having read a few of Wendy Holdens' books I was intrigued to read this one as it looks fab from the cover, and sounds fun from the blurb. So I don't know what happened as I started to read but I just couldn't connect with any of the characters - her 93 year old nanna was quite the character though and I wish there'd been more about her! - and the story just seemed to flit all over the place never sure whether to be a full on comedy, a mystery involving jewellery heists or a farce!
Laura Lake had the makings of a fascinating character as she was the daughter of a respected journalist, who was killed while reporting, and she wanted to be just like him but hadn't seem to have found her way and ends up seemingly falling into a job at a magazine in London which leads to her gatecrashing weddings in disguise!
It was an easy to read book and there will be another in the series due out in Spring 2018, so I might be tempted to see what the character will be up to but will be hoping for more laughs and less farce! -
Laura Lake works in Paris for an estate agency but she dreams of becoming a journalist like her father. And when she gets the opportunity to be an intern for the glamorous magazine Society, she takes the first train to London. But her new life doesn’t go as planned when her money is stolen and she has to sleep in the office closet and borrow clothes from the fashion department. In addition, her arch-enemy from boarding school is her new boss and she seems intent on making sure that Laura’s life at the magazine is short-lived. From becoming friends with party girl Lulu to kissing Prince Henry lookalikes, from going to high-society weddings to investigating a series of jewellery thefts along with handsome investigative journalist Harry, Laura’s life becomes more and more interesting.
Laura Lake is smart, ambitious and resourceful, although a bit naive, but the character I loved most is her grandmother Mimi whose snippets of advice on how to be a perfect lady are simply brilliant. The novel is hilarious and entertaining as Laura finds herself in absurd and unlikely situations. A cast of colourful and eccentric characters create an intriguing and fast-paced novel, perfect if you are looking for an easy and funny read. -
I love a bit of Wendy Holden, she never disappoints.
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is what is usually described as a 'romp' and it is no lesser book for that; sometimes you want to read a twisty thriller, sometimes you are in the mood for a dark historical piece, but sometimes a 'romp' clicks all the right boxes so why not just spoil yourself and read one? I certainly felt better for the experience.
This book is extremely silly and very funny, it is full to the brim with wild plot twists and madly grotesque characters, it is escapism in its purest form - perfect to read on your holidays, or perhaps just if you need cheering up because you're not on your holidays.
A little gem. -
Meh. I have loved all of her other books... but this seemed rushed? or not edited properly? or ghostwritten?
It just didn't have the usual panache and a few stretched out scenarios... a bit odd and disappointing -
I am sorry. Getting into 20% took me a week. 7 days. But I thought I'll keep reading. However, I'm at 35% right now and I can't waste more of my time for this book.
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This is another book I picked up at the library when I was in a hurry. I liked the look of the book and brought it home. It was not a book that I enjoyed particularly.
The book has its moments, and the writing was quite good, which is why I expected more from it. I even sat through the entire book without giving up, hoping that my opinion would change, something I do not often do.
Laura Lake wants to be a journalist like her father. At the beginning of the story, she works for a homestay (kind of) company and catalogues the houses they have listed.
She participates in an odd artistic installment which has her meeting some people who will change her path in life. She finds her courage and moves to London to work for a magazine and faces innumerable hardships on the way. It is also a book that mocks the fashion industry while constantly talking about it. This was the second thing that bothered me; the first was Laura's fickleness. She is supposed to be wanting something and working towards it, but apart from the smart comments and thoughts (which were fun to read), she did not actually act on those thoughts for the most part. The continuous romantic liaisons to the absurd run-in with an old nemesis added little to the plot, except for the chaos.
The mystery itself was quite apparent from the beginning, with the clues right in front of us every time!
I need to iterate that the author wrote it all with entertaining language and a few funny commentaries that had me reading till the end. I would pick up another book by the author but not another of this series. -
I haven't read a Wendy Holden book before but I'd heard good things so I was looking forward to starting this one. It took a few chapters for me to get in to the story at all, before that I could have happily put it down and left it. Once I got in to the story I found bits of it entertaining but a little bit too slap-stick and obviously funny for my liking. I can't fault Wendy's imagination - how she came up with some of the story I have no idea! It was just a little bit too unbelievable at points so I found myself rolling my eyes a bit. I was also a little confused by the storyline of Laura's father - I understand that this is the first of the series so I guess we will find out more in the next one - but it would have been nice to get just a snippet more information about him. I found it quite frustrating that Harry and her grandmother seemed to know something important but the book finished and still nothing!! All together it was very well written but it just wasn't the kind of book for me.
I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and Head of Zeus in exchange for an honest review -
Laura Lake is a fantastically written character who is witty and very unique, she is one of these people who is quirky and bring the story to life just reading about her. Living in Paris, Laura had the world right outside of her front door and being able to share that experience with her grandmother Mimi makes it even better.
Although sometimes life throws you a curve ball, in Laura's case that curve ball is a brilliant job in London. Something Laura would jump at the chance to take but she can't help be think about Mimi as well. Being hundreds of miles away from her grandmother and the city that make her believe in her dreams, is not something she ever imagined. So when Mimi tells her she must go and take this chance as she may not get another one, Laura takes flight to London.
Working for a glamour magazine should be full of celebrities and posh lunches, but Laura feels it is more of a chore than a job she could fall in love with. Throw in having no money and coming face-to-face with a blast from the past. Laura wonders if giving up her life in Paris was worth it after all.
I loved Laura's character, she was so likeable and down to earth. Someone who thinks of others before herself and dreams of the day when she is finally living her dream life. I also have a soft spot for Mimi, Laura's Grandmother. Her encouraging was the think that made Laura decide to follow her dreams and her wisdom and strength is something that you can see has rubbed off on Laura as well.
Laura Lake & The Hipster Weddings is a hilarious book about finding your dreams, following them and everything that comes after. You will laugh, cry, fall off your chair and cheer, your way through this book, just like I did.
Three Words
Inspirational. Hilarious and Charming. -
Author's ability to create dialogue in this book is almost as poor as main character's ability to function in everyday life. Laura Lake is one useless human being with no particular talent or ability.Calling herself a 'journalist' while losing her possessions and material for her 'ground breaking' article more often then actually writing one, had me thinking; Where could be the limit to her uselessness? Through the book I made simple assumption, that she actually has not limit in being waist of space, and I had to dig deep into my stubbornness in order to keep reading this 'thing'. Her grey personality and lack of ability to make interesting conversation is more than insulting for the unlucky reader.
This book set me on really uncomfortable journey of anger and annoyance of all shapes and sizes and planted the idea of not finishing this book into my brain. Although it was more than a hard work, sometimes even slightly painful, I managed to finish it. Disappointed but not surprise by the flavourless 'plot twist' and ending of this novel I consider this piece as THE WORST book I've ever read. -
Ok - I am in no way averse to chick lit (a phrase I hate but a genre this book slots into). I don't read loads of it, but sometimes it's nice just to skip through a book and have a bit of a laugh. So if that's what you want, I suggest you stay well away from this piece of absolute dross.
This book is just fundamentally lazy. I'm not familiar with Holden's work but if this is a fair representation of it then I have no inclination whatsoever to read anything else by her. Her character development is practically non-existent, and if you have even the tiniest feminist bone in your body - you know, those tiny little bones in the ear - then you are going to HATE Laura Lake and the way she has to call up a man whenever she finds herself in one of her ridiculous pickles. The charicatures of celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Taylor Swift that pop up in the novel are appalling, and the storyline is both predictable and utterly stupid.
I lost count of the number of times I rolled my eyes reading this book, and I'm so glad I'm now done with it. Utterly awful. -
Funny, witty and entertaining. It was like a merging of Bridget Jones and The Devil Wears Prada. Plenty of antics as Laura strives to get the scoop on 3 celebrity "Hipster" weddings. It had comedy and a bit of mystery as Laura also tried to work out who the wedding thief was. Great easy reading.
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Saw this book mentioned on a book group that I am a member of on facebook so thought I would give it a whirl - different genre than I usually read. It was ok - wasnt anything too interesting to me - some parts were funny. Quick and easy read.
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Laura Lake leaves Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist like her father. Upon arrival, one thing after the other goes wrong. She is penniless and homeless on the streets of London but not all seems lost when she lands a job as an intern for a glossy magazine. Unfortunately, her new boss just so happens to be someone Laura had 'differences' with at school and this person is NOT about to make life easier for her. Desperate to prove she has what it takes to be an investigative journalist like her old man, Laura dives into a world of high-society weddings and socialites in an attempt to write an article that will kick-start her career.
Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings reignited my love for fluffy chick-lit. This book is far from groundbreaking and certainly won't be changing lives but it's entertaining in its ridiculousness.
The perfect escapism. A great book to lift your spirits which is exactly what I needed. It's full of travel mishaps and adventures that you cannot help but laugh at.
In many ways I found it similar to Sophie Kinsella's books with the crazy silly situations our MC ends up in - so if you're a fan of Kinsella, you've got to check Holden out.
What niggled at me was Laura Lake as a character though. Personally I want to be a writer / journalist... I know what that yearning feels like and I also know, as she does, what it's like to have a family member that was a respected journalist but you cannot get any connections from them because they passed on. Nonetheless I felt that Laura did not take her ambition seriously. It's an ambition that runs deep through my veins so I was really looking forward to connecting with this character over this shared passion but alas we did not. She was exceptionally naive and daft - extremely disorganized and all over the place.
A light, quick read full of imagination and over the top humor.
Thank you to Jonathan Ball publishing who sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. -
Wendy Holden’s Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is a fabulous laugh-out-loud romp of a story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next book in The Laura Lake series.
At times, as Laura Lake lurches from one escapade to the next, I felt that I was holding my breath! Thank goodness for the dashing reporter Harry Scott, who has impeccable timing! ;-) I must admit though, I do not want to try their version of rose wine…
Laura is an adorable character and I just wanted her to succeed in following her dreams. She’s so sweet, determined and adaptable. The other characters are also deliciously described, from Laura’s French grandmother Mimi – with her fascinating advice about everything from fashion to positive mental attitude – to her new fashionable friend, Lulu. Yes, there are some stereotypes, but that’s part of the fun and displays Ms Holden’s wit and sparkly sense of humour.
The book also made me long to visit Paris because of the beautiful moving descriptions that seemed to come right from Laura’s (and possibly Ms Holden’s) heart.
The three weddings are delightful and provide some very funny moments. My favourite was at the castle and involved naked flames and eyebrows. I’ll let you read it to find out what happens but it made me chuckle.
Read this novel for pure giggle-a-minute escapism with a deep and sweet underlying warmth. -
I unfortunately didn't enjoy this book much at all. The storyline of the three weddings was only part of the book and she didn't really have to sneak into them the way the blurb suggested. A lot of things that happen in the story were way too far fetched and there were too many things going on. Laura was an okay character but I didn't love her and although Harry seemed okay I didn't find myself wishing for them to be together the way I do in other chick lits, partly because Harry only appears for a page at a time then disappears again. The best character was Mimi but she's barely in the story after Laura moves to London. I also wish there'd been more said about her dad because that at least sounded like an interesting storyline. I ended up skimming the last 50 or so pages just to finish it quicker.
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Even after finishing this book, I can't tell whether this is purposefully tongue in cheek, was made as ridiculous as possible because the author hates herself for writing it, or is seriously written and just plain vapid. The characters all seem like caricatures: none, not even Laura, with any real depth whatsoever. The plot seems the only real driver in this book - and it's a good thing that the plot was the most interesting part. After all, who doesn't love the drama of a jewellery thief terrorising society weddings?
That said, a fun but in no way memorable read. -
This book is just silly on top of silly. The names are too crazy to be even funny ((Buzzie Omelet? Really?)) And Laura doesn't seem an engaging character at all. She trips off to London with no definite idea of where she is living and she would never get away with living at work, the security guys would suss her out right away.
The job is ridiculous and the way she gets into each wedding, apart from the last one, is totally implausible.
Sorry, not my cup of tea at all but each to their own I guess.
