This is too stupid and boring to finish. ( )

The book itself isn't exactly great literature, but the concept is hilarious. Cassandra French is your typical "chick-lit" heroine: she has a high-powered job working in the media, a dickish boss, and a clingy, annoying mother. But Cassandra is unlike Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood in that she also has three men chained in her basement who have been forcibly "enrolled" in her de facto finishing school. Yes, Cassandra keeps a container of chloroform in the trunk of her car and whenever she goes on a date with a guy who turns out to be an asshole, a prick, or just plain lacking in manners, she knocks the dude out, drags him to her basement, and forces him to partake in lessons in how to treat a lady right before releasing him back into the wild.

The juxtaposition of chick-lit cliches and the themes of kidnapping, bondage, and some seriously effed up female empowerment make Cassandra French transcend other books in the same genre to offer something truly original and funny. I wish more chick-lit had this kind of tongue-in-cheek bite. ( )

I originally rated this book 2 stars because I said I was finding it hard to read. However, in a very dull spell during my day I tried again and I have to say the middle of the book picked up. The premise of the story is promising, Cassandra kidnaps men and keeps them in her basement to make them better me. The author could have done more with it, developed the story and the characters more. I did not like the end at all, it tidied up way to neatly for my liking. ( )