Terrible. I finally followed the 50 page rule, where if it's not good by the first 50 pages, dump it. This was the worst book I have ever attempted. I picked it up at a garage sale for a quarter because I enjoy "chick-lit", and Sex and The City was a hit show, I thought the author would at least have something worthwhile. Big mistake! The storyline and characters were so unrealistic, fake, and BORING! Don't bother.

So I read this book with no expectations, one way or another. And then I came on here and was shocked to see every review was so horrible. The problem with Candace Bushnell is that everyone expects her to be fluffy chick lit because Sex and the City is the epitome of chick TV (and don't get me wrong, I love the show). Even the cover design of this book just makes it look like a beach read. But when I read Sex and the City (the book) I realized that's not the kind of writer Candace Bushnell is. When I first tried to read Sex and the City, I hated it because I compared it to the show and stopped after reading 20 pages. I, too, expected her books to be a certain way because of the show. When I picked it up a second time, I stopped comparing it and learned to love Bushnell's writing. She's smart, edgy, controversial. I love writers that take risks and write about things in a way I don't expect.

That being said, I liked Four Blondes, but it did have problems. Every time I would start to care about the character, it would switch to another one with no resolution. By the end of the book, I was frustrated. There would be enough pages to get me to be intrigued by a character, and then I'd turn the page and it'd be onto the next blonde, out of nowhere. So, it gets three stars, because I really love Bushnell's writing, but was disappointed by this book as a whole.

“James is scared about his work. Every time he finishes a piece, he's scared he won't get another one. When he gets another assignment (he always does, but it doesn't make any difference), he's scared he won't make the deadline. When he makes the deadline, he's scared his editor (or editors-there are always faceless editors lurking around in dark little offices at magazines), won't like the piece. When they like the piece, he's scared that it won't get published. When it does get published, he's scared that no one will read it or talk about it and all his hard work will have been for nothing. If people do talk about it (and they don't always, in which case he's scared that he's not a great journalist), he's scared that he won't be able to pull it off again.”
― Candace Bushnell, Four Blondes



What a gloomy book. This book "Four Blondes" is by Candace Bushnell who of coarse wrote "Sex and the city". I liked that book and love the series so I was curious about this book.



It is a Series of short stories about different women. The only thing they have in common is they are all blondes. It did look interesting.

So this is pure chick lit and I enjoyed maybe one of the stories (the first one). But surprisingly, rather then being fun, I found this little book to be rather dreary.

Very few of the women in these stories are likable and the stories were on the dull side. There was a sadness to a few of them that surprised me but other then that there was not anything memorable and it was sort of a let down. Actually scratch the "sort of".

It is readable and it's short to but honestly I did not get much from it. This is not a book that I personally would recommend unfortunetly.

I tried to come up with something positive to say about this book... but it's just not possible. This book contains 4 different stories of 4 blonde girls, but I didn't like any character. They were all involved with drugs, lots of sex and generally just hated life and everyone around them. And I totally understand that a character can have a "I'm feeling kinda down" moment, but this was too much. I also felt annoyed by the style of writing: the characters went from one place to another without even properly mentioning it and the whole book just felt chaotic.

il m’a coûté 2€ à la librairie de 2nd main et je suis contente de pas avoir payé plus.. le livre était bien mais long et à un peu mal vieilli.. mais bon je l’ai payé 2€ donc ça va c’était bien pour un livre à ce prix là!

I didn't even want to finish this, but I forced myself to. The characters are terrible, the plots are lacking, and it's just a dull novel all around. I wouldn't recommend it.

Alors, je n'avais pas compris qu'au final, on avait 4 mini vignettes mettant en avant un personnage différent à chaque fois. Même si certains personnages sont transverses à travers les histoires, on ne peut pas considérer qu'il y a un fil conducteur.. Je vais donc débriefer chaque vignette


* La vie facile : Ou l'histoire d'une femme qui couche pour passer l'été dans les Hamptons... J'avoue que je me suis un peu perdue au niveau du nombre de personnages et je n'ai pas éprouvé beaucoup de sympathie pour l'héroïne, cependant, j'ai adoré la fin : sans la moindre morale mais je n'en aurais pas voulu une autre

Ma note : 6,5/10


* Clairs-obscurs : Ou l'histoire d'un couple qui finit par se mépriser... J'ai beaucoup aimé l'histoire et la manière dont James craint sa femme... J'ai apprécié le rôle joué par Tanner et la manière dont les personnages s'entrecroisent

Ma note : 7,5/10


* Platine : Ou comment il n'est pas si facile de devenir princesse et de vivre dans un monde qui n'est qu'apparence. Le personnage principal est attachant et je trouve que ses angoisses sont bien exprimées par l'auteure

Ma note : 7,5/10


* Célibataire : Ou comment une New Yorkaise pédante et bourrée de préjugés décide d'aller chercher l'amour à Londres. C'est l'histoire que j'ai le moins appréciée, la journaliste est pédante et je n'ai pas réussi à la trouver ympathique

Ma note : 4,5/10


Ce que j'aime : la manière dont les relations de couple sont décrites


Ce que j'aime moins : des personnages assez superficiels, très "New-yorkais", il est difficile de s'intéresser à eux


En bref : Difficile de s'intéresser aux histoires de ces New-yorkaises prétentieuses


Ma note


6,5/10

Maybe I'm predictable but I'm a sucker for a good party girl book. I enjoyed reading the perspectives of each main character and the New York City gold digger lifestyle. It was also interesting to read a book by Ms. Bushnell herself after watching Sex and the City.

Before I launch into another diatribe about the enormous amount of crap that is this book, let me say that chick-lit CAN be smart, it can be fun and it can YES PLEASE have a protagonist that, while interested in dating and mating, isn't obsessed over it or derive ALL of her self-esteem from it.
...the problem is that's ALL this novel is about. I get the Sex and the City thing- I even loved the show for the first few seasons before they became walking cliches of superficiality and excess, but that's exactly what this book is about.
Spare yourself this or any of Bushnell's tripe and go read some Marian Keyes.

HORRIBLE - Can you give negative stars? I read this for a chick lit book group - will never read this author again.

The protagonists of these stories are connected not only by their blonde hair but also by their isolation and desire for change. While each story can certainly stand alone, the author, Candace Bushnell, shows why she published them in one collection. Some of her characters exist in more than one of the stories. Bushnell does this to show that everyone, both in her stories and in the real wold, is connected in some way. These women may never meet, but they could. These stories could in fact be real. In some way, they are. Bushnell uses these stories to give readers an inside look at the lives of the wealthy and the elite. She shows us that no matter who you are you can be dissatisfied with life but she also shows us that it is never too late to make a change for the better.

While I might not become friends with any of these women if I met them in person, Bushnell has the ability to make me feel sadness for what these girls have to endure. She makes me want good things to happen for them.

I look forward to reading more of her work, and I highly recommend these stories. I must add that these stories do describe vulgar acts in vulgar language, but everything Bushnell writes is necessary. She simply writes what her characters do. The thoughts and actions of her characters cause these stories to be for mature audiences only.

This 3 star rating is based on my much younger self who loved these kinds of books. Me, as a reader today, would probably not even give it 1 star because I don't think I'd be able to finish it.
However, if you're into this genre, it's one of the better kind, in my opinion, if you like girly chick-lit kinda girl who likes a bit more substance and not entirely appalling writing, such as I find Cecelia Ahern and Sophia Kinsella, this might be your thing.