Book Review: Seeing Me Naked

Hello again, readers!

I'm sorry to have gotten so far behind in my book reviews! This is a really busy time for me in the realm of Higher Ed. Classes begin next week so I'm catching up on everything that must be done before students arrive, and am working 10 hour days to do so. I'm trying to spend time with the fiance before I hit the road the middle of September. Somewhere in there, I'm trying to squeeze in as much reading as possible, so I stand a chance of meeting my annual reading goal. I apologize for falling behind on my book reviews. I've got a couple to catch up on, so hopefully that'll be done soon :)

At the beginning of the month I read Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer. This is another one from my B&N binge in June. Here's the Goodreads Summary:


Elisabeth Page is the daughter of Ben Page, yes, that's right, THE world famous novelist. And yes, she's also the sister of Rascal Page, world famous novelist in his own right. So what does Elisabeth do? Much to her family's disappointment, Elisabeth is a pastry chef. And a pretty damn good one, at Beverly, the hottest restaurant in LA.
The last relationship Elisabeth had was with Will, a man she grew up with and whose family ran in the same social circles as her family. But Will's constant jaunts around the world have left her lonely and brokenhearted in L.A.
That is until Daniel Sullivan bids on one of Elisabeth's pastry tutorials at a charity auction. Daniel is everything her family is not: a basketball coach, a non-intellectual, his family doesn't summer on Martha's Vineyard, and the only metaphors he uses are about passing the ball and being a team player. But somehow they fit.
Between her family, Will, and the new cooking show that Elisabeth is recruited to star in, Elisabeth's life is suddenly incredibly new and different—the question is, can she embrace being happy or has her family conditioned her to think she's just not good enough?
Liza Palmer expertly depicts a woman trying to come to terms with professional success, personal success, and finally dealing with a family that might love her from the bottom of their heart but doesn't necessarily have her best interest always at heart.


This book interested me because it sounded as though the story told would be about a strong female character overcoming obstacles and creating her own expectations, rather than following those of society. What I found was a highly bland novel. Elisabeth is not a character I fell in love with. She was underdeveloped and just kind of "there". The storyline seemed too cliche, and the ending didn't develop enough for the reader to see the main character triumph and succeed.

Put simply, the book is 290 pages of background, talking about the main character's family, and depicting the strange family dynamics. The other 6 pages are about Elisabeth, her struggled, and her successes.

While I made it through this novel, it's certainly not one I would recommend.

My stats:
Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer
Rating: 2/5
Pages: 296
2011 Reading Goal: 7,180/12,500

Just last week I posted my first book giveaway! It's got two rules:
1. You must be a "follower" of Leah's Literature and Coffee
2. You must have a US address (sorry, my international friends)
To enter this giveaway or find out more details, visit this post: Giveaway: Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook

I'll be sure to post again as soon as possible. Thanks for following, everyone! :)