The Fabulous Emily Briggs    by Jacqueline deMontravel Order:  USA  Can Kensington, 2004 (2004) Paperback Read an Excerpt    Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Emily Briggs works as an artist in New York City while contending with friends, relatives, and boyfriends. Her best guy friend has just hooked up with a smart and sexy blond, while her best girl friend is pregnant with her second child. Surprisingly, life is going well for Emily too - she has just met a shy yet sexy bad boy named Henry Phillips, who shares her artistic talent and her agent. To top it off, Emily has been given a monthly comic strip in Vogue. However, the bliss does not last. Henry goes back to LA to his ex, Emily's overbearing cousin announces her engagement, and Emily's parents disclose that they will be moving to Europe. Emily is not out of the loop long before she and her best guy friend take their relationship to a different level. Not surprisingly, this does not work out. But eventually everything ends on a happy note for Emily, when her comic strip is turned into an animated movie character. Emily's character vacillates constantly, going from smart and friendly to ditzy and mean. There are moments when she more closely resembles the nemesis in a chick lit novel than the heroine. Her character is just not as strong as that of protagonists in similar books. The writing is uneven - in some chapters, I searched compound/complex sentence fragments trying to discern a verb to make the meaning clear. And the story is riddled with inconsistencies. On one page, Emily laments not having any shoes in which to run, and then on the next page, she's happy to be wearing her Pumas so she can go to the gym with her boyfriend. Also, as in many single girl in the city stories, the author throws in references to celebrities - Britney Spears (mentioned once) may be popular in the current decade, but Claudia Schiffer (mentioned quite a few times) is past her prime in American pop culture. Though I hate to say it, I didn't find The Fabulous Emily Briggs fabulous, but rather a run-of-the-mill chick lit novel. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews