Catherine_S

Starting out, it's hard to like such an unlikeable character as Tilda who unremorsefully exhibits such bad behavior. As the story progresses, however, the author provides insight to readers so that might see Tilda as a more sympathetic character. She is painfully honest and direct and sees the world so differently than do others. Much of her behavior – although truly unorthodox and maybe psychopathic – is in response to others' bad behaviors.

Tilda is a game designer; over the years she has gained extensive experience successfully developing all types of board games and uses her skills to create a well-organized plan for her games: Friendship, Love, Endgame, and Revenge. Her inspiration for these games comes from her own new experiences with a handful of characters she tries to befriend and date. As her efforts with friendship and love are thwarted, she turns to the final endgame – revenge.

No matter how you feel about Tilda, the book is intriguing. We learn about board games and how they are engineered to satisfy the consumer base. We learn about Monaco and the people who live there. And then there are the bad dating behaviors -- easily relatable to many. To me, the most entertaining aspect of the book may be the impressions that Tilda has in making her way through life. Painfully direct and honest, she says whatever she thinks and the inner conversation is delightfully refreshing.
This book is worth a read – it's different, it's fast-paced and (darkly) funny at times, and ends with a bit of salvation for the characters. The author provides a tidy ending with a Post-Revenge wrap up. It might be suitable for a book club discussion if readers can get past the initial impressions of Tilda.

I’m not sure I have ever liked a book as much as I did this one while at the same time disliking most of the major characters. Kate and Jack, who we are introduced to first, have been married for thirty years and personify the worst behavior in baby boomers – the kind of people who can’t wait until you turn your back to say something bad about you and entertain “friends” they don’t even like. Kate and Jack's past behaviors are equally troublesome. They share their thoughts in their own often malicious code which has bearing on the evolving plot. Representing in a somewhat stereotypical fashion the millennial generation, are Phoebe and Tony. Phoebe has developed a hit Netflix series called “Cheating” which appears to be created solely to exact revenge, and Tony, her partner, has his head in the sand until it’s too late. Add in the various other characters who are indulgent, mean, inconsiderate and downright criminal, with a twisting, turning and overall surprising plot, and we have a suspenseful, entertaining and fast-moving novel. There are a few coincidences that are a bit hard to believe, but the author doesn’t dwell on those and they seem well-placed and further the plot. As far as I could see, there were no winners in this story. But since I didn’t really care about the characters, it was a more than satisfying read!

Such an entertaining read. Mebel learns her husband of 40 plus years is leaving her for their private chef. With her can-do attitude, and her general approach to life that says she can do anything that money can buy, she decides to learn to cook as well as the private chef, so that her husband will come back to her. This self-proclaimed "Chinese-Indonesian princess" is focused on only the finer things in life – Berkin bags, Louboutin shoes, Hermes suits – with little emotional attachment to family and friends. As the story unfolds, however, and she experiences numerous mishaps at the not-in-Paris cooking school in which she enrolls, and with individuals she meets along the way, she reinvents herself, developing into a sympathetic woman with emotional attachments and a better understanding of herself and her place in her new world. Mebel becomes the type of person the reader can admire. The description of her journey is fast-paced, colorful and engaging (and she learns to cook!).