Friends or Lovers

Friends or Lovers by Rory Ridley-Duff

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Hmm, what a bold, brazen, strange read. This book seems to have an agenda with a fictional front.

The author clearly has an interest in workplace gender relations as it's also stated in his "about the author" section. I must say, I found this book to be offensive, do people really behave as the characters of this book do? Is this meant to be fiction based on firsthand knowledge or seriously over the top fantastical fiction? If the knowledge this author states he has, I'm thinking it's really supposed to be the former. If it truly was the latter, then I may have been able to like it a bit more.

Firstly, I had a very difficult time getting past the fact that it was a male author writing from a woman's point of view. I think he made the main character, Penny Leyton, a sex crazed, feminist, lonely, selfish, vain, yet weak woman. Yes, all of those in one. She was a very conflicting character to me. She acts as if she's god's gift to man by staring them down inducing them to shag her. At work she thinks her male boss, subordinate and equals alike are attracted to her and vice versa she fantasizes about them. It's either she has some serious insecurities or she's a sex addict. The whole married but shag whoever fancies you and have no faith to your spouse story-line was extremely aggravating.

By the end of the book you realize that Penny has learned much about herself but obviously she never puts faith into a lasting relationship, it's all about what feels good in the here and now. Tacky in my opinion. No, I do not feel I got to know the character by the end of the book, it didn't feel like anything was truly resolved. Seriously though, most of this went over my head. I have never worked in a large office so I haven't a first clue if everyone flirts and shags each other as much as he's trying to state they do in this book.

I won this book from Goodreads First-Reads giveaway. I'd be more than happy to pass this book onto someone else who would have an interest in reading about relationships in a horny London office.

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