Review: The Intern

The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: a self-purchased copy

Aaaah… you know that feeling… that wonderful, warm, cuddly feeling at the end of the novel when you found a big silly smile on your face? Yeah, that’s the one! That’s what The Intern has left me with and I can’t seem to get rid of it.

The story kicks off by talking about boobs and… exposing yourself (accidentally, of course!). What a great start and totally funny. I like the name Josie Browning; it’s just so down to earth and unassuming and that’s just what Josie is. She’s charmingly clumsy, lovable, naïve, considerate and kind. She’s just utterly adorable (despite some moments of frustration although now I’m speaking from an older woman’s perspective! I was probably just as naïve & clumsy as she was, at that age).

The Intern is a very easy read; the everyday English language combined with consistent light humour throughout the book easily makes it to be a read-in-a-single-sitting-book. I love pretty much all the characters here, the nice and the not-so-nice. I can’t say how true a reflection it is of the magazine world although if I have to take a stab, some characters are so stereotypical which is probably part of the humour of this story. The humour really does warm up the heart but the sweet romance will melt it.

There were 2 main instances where Josie frustrated me though that is part of her character which I just can’t understand. One instance was the time she was being so nice and forgiving –maybe this is more of a reflection of my character (rather angry & vengeful in comparison to Josie, I suppose)… Then there are also 2 more serious themes which I wish were explored deeper. These issues affected many teens out there and I believe would make great components to the book.

The Intern is a delightful debut by Gabrielle Tozer and I have really enjoyed this light innocent contemporary read (which is different to my usual reads). I’m looking forward to the sequel!

View all my reviews

Teaser Tuesdays: The Intern

I hung my head in my hands as the smell of toast filled the apartment.  I wasn’t going to be the one to explain.  It was bad enough that James had seen the kiss in real life; he didn’t need an encore performance.

~page 206

I’m featuring another Aussie lady author this week with her very recently released debut!

The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer

Josie Browning dreams of having it all.

A stellar academic record, an amazing career in journalism – and for her current crush to realise she actually exists. The only problem? Josie can’t get through twenty-four hours without embarrassing her sister Kat or her best friend Angel, let alone herself.

Josie’s luck changes though when she lands an internship at the glossy fashion magazine Sash. A coveted columnist job is up for grabs, but Josie’s got some tough competition in the form of two other interns. Battle lines are drawn and Josie quickly learns that the magazine industry is far from easy, especially under the reign of powerful editor, Rae Swanson.

From the lows of coffee-fetching and working 10-hour days, to the highs of mingling with celebrities, scoring endless free beauty products (plus falling for her cousin’s seriously gorgeous flatmate James) this is one year Josie will never forget.

Totally fresh and funny, this debut novel from industry insider Gabrielle Tozer reveals just what is behind the seeming glamour and sparkle of the magazine industry.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Reading Week

It has been one of those eventful period for me… bad news on one front, good news on another, catching a cold one week then caught up with the busyness of Chinese New Year!  By the way, Happy Chinese New Year to you all 😉  And just for fun (because I don’t actually have any faith in this), this is what the horoscope says the year of the Horse will bring us Monkeys…

… So Monkey will face some pressures in the year of  Horse.

Monkey is a smart animal. It should accept the challenges from Horse. If  Monkey can get on the horseback, then Monkey can go as anywhere they want…

Career: …, then the job pressure will  continue in 2014. You might have more errands. You might need to travel more.  You might have tighter schedule. Monkey people should use their intelligence to  challenge the stress…

Money: …There is no easy money in the Horse year, you must  spend your energy, sweat and time to exchange your reward. To travel out of town  might be a better idea  to locate your treasure…

Love: …If  you are married, then minor quarrel is possible, but that’s easy to avoid using  your wisdom.

Health: …Monkey people need to enough sleep and good rest for  their coming challenges. Monkey people might spend more time outdoor or away from  the home. You should drive very carefully on the road and try to avoid dangerous  sports.

There is minor unlucky star regarding family members in 2014. If you have seniors  in your family, then you should say hello to them often and make sure they have  good mood and health. If someone you love away from you, then  it’s nice to give them a call once for a while.

Oooh… dear, it’s not shaping up to be a good year for me!  BUT… I did end the year of the Snake with a very good luck.  You may recall, just over a week ago, for Truth or Dare, I went on a hunt for the elusive red cover of The Intern.  Well… I found ONE on Wednesday (the second last day of the year of the Snake! When I think back on it, I should’ve bought a Lotto ticket (lottery) -LOL).  The office was just so cold on Wed and as I still recovering from my cold, my nose was all stuffed up so all I wanted to do was to take a walk outside to thaw out somewhat.  As Dymocks bookstore was only a few buildings down the road, where else would my feet take me but there…?

I almost always visited the Young Adult section downstairs so as I approached the section, I spied something red sitting on the shelf… I really thought I was seeing things though I couldn’t stop myself from walking faster, my hand reached out though slightly hesitated just before I touched it (just in case, it WAS all in my head, you know…) then I grabbed it off the shelf.  I continued walking around the store with half my head in the cloud and the other expecting somebody… anybody… to come up to me about the special book I was hugging to my chest.

The next evening was the book launch so I begged the lovely people at Harper Collins to let me in despite the last minute’s (and very late) RSVP.  They were very kind and I managed to squeezed in along with a hundred other people!  It was a totally packed out event!  I mean, seriously, who would want to miss out on those cupcakes?  Or the Champers!  Seriously though, CONGRATULATIONS, Gabby, on the successful launch of your debut novel.  And yes, I am reading it though a little slow as I haven’t had much reading time…