Book Review: Bond Girl by Erin Duffy

Bond Girl
Author: Erin Duffy
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary: 

When other little girls were dreaming about becoming doctors or lawyers, Alex Garrett set her sights on conquering the high-powered world of Wall Street. And though she’s prepared to fight her way into an elitist boys’ club, or duck the occasional errant football, she quickly realizes she’s in over her head when she’s relegated to a kiddie-size folding chair with her new moniker—Girlie—inscribed in Wite-Out across the back.

No matter. She’s determined to make it in bond sales at Cromwell Pierce, one of the Street’s most esteemed brokerage firms. Keeping her eyes on the prize, the low Girlie on the totem pole will endure whatever comes her way—whether trekking to the Bronx for a $1,000 wheel of Parmesan cheese; discovering a secretary’s secret Friday night slumber/dance party in the conference room; fielding a constant barrage of “friendly” practical jokes; learning the ropes from Chick, her unpredictable, slightly scary, loyalty-demanding boss; babysitting a colleague while he consumes the contents of a vending machine on a $28,000 bet; or eluding the advances of a corporate stalker who’s also one of the firm’s biggest clients.

Ignoring her friends’ pleas to quit, Alex excels (while learning how to roll with the punches and laugh at herself) and soon advances from lowly analyst to slightly-less-lowly associate. Suddenly, she’s addressed by her real name, and the impenetrable boys’ club has transformed into forty older brothers and one possible boyfriend. Then the apocalypse hits, and Alex is forced to choose between sticking with Cromwell Pierce as it teeters on the brink of disaster or kicking off her Jimmy Choos and running for higher ground.

Fast-paced, funny, and thoroughly addictive, Bond Girl will leave you cheering for Alex: a feisty, ambitious woman with the spirit to stand up to the best (and worst) of the boys on the Street—and ultimately rise above them all.

My Review:

I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I am a huge lover of the chick-lit genre and this one sucked me in from the very beginning. The characters were dynamic and interesting and the plot was so different than what I’m used to seeing from chick-lit, especially with the emphasis on Alex’s career. Chick-lit authors tend to make their main characters flighty and silly, getting involved in the stupidest situations but Alex was not like that. Sure, she got involved with a guy who treated her like crap and didn’t seem to have the self-esteem to ask for better but I think this plot line made her so much more real, believable, and someone I could identify with. (Plus, the pinata scene definitely made up for all the times I said, “Alex! Come on!”) She was smart and sassy. She could hold her own with the boys and yet was still vulnerable, still prone to mistakes, still just a girl on a journey to figure out herself and her path.

There wasn’t much I disliked about this story. The characters stole the show and the plot flowed along perfectly. It was the type of book where I was still thinking about and missing the characters days after I finished the story. For me, that is the mark of a fabulous story.

If you enjoy a good chick-lit story, I highly recommend you pick up this book and give it a try. It’s fabulously written and an easy, fun, light read.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.