Book Review: How To Look Like You by Rose McClelland

Rose McClelland is a relatively new author from Belfast who was previously a blogger and a reviewer. How To Look Like You is her second book and will be released as an e-book on 5^th July. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of the book for review. I enjoyed the book. It is of the chick-lit genre and is a perfect summer read. I actually thought it was quite short at 178 pages, but this makes it ideal for reading in a day on the beach.

The story revolves around two girls, Chloe and Ella. Chloe is a stereotypically perfect size eight blonde bombshell who is in a steady relationship with a great all round guy who is in a band. Ella is a bubbly talented and likeable girl who quickly falls in love with the guy from the band.

The story is told from each girl’s perspective alternately by chapter. I thought this was a pretty good way of telling the story and it made it much easier to follow than it might have been otherwise. It was quite good to see both sides of the story as it happens and in the first person, I think it made the characters more believable. This also made me a little frustrated with the characters as well because the main thing for me in the story was that the two girls were both perfectly likeable and if they hadn’t been so busy convincing themselves that the other was a bitch, they might have actually been good friends. Listening to both sides of the story made me feel like I was actually one of their friends kind of caught in the middle and so it was quite engaging in that respect.

The other characters in the book were pretty cool as well. I especially liked the respective love interests of the two girls; Alex and Simon. Alex has a laid back easy charm that you instantly warm too, you can tell he is a fun guy and you want to be around him and read about him. Simon on the other hand is a perfect gentleman and is equally lovely to read about. Throughout the book I found myself hoping that they would all get the girl in the end. There are a couple of other characters in the story that add the villainous aspect to it. They are there to suit their own needs and they are the ones that you love to hate.

Like I said, it is a fairly short story and I did like that, but I thought that it made it seem a little rushed in places. The story kind of hurried along a bit and it would have perhaps been even better if it had been slowed down a bit more. I felt that I had just got into the story and to know the characters before it was all over.

Overall I’d definitely recommend the story because it is a fun summer read and a great way to pass a few hours. If you love Marian Keyes and the like, you’ll love this!