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Review: Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes



Blurb from Goodreads:
From the bestselling authors of The Knockoff, an outrageously funny novel about one woman's attempt--through clay diets, naked yoga, green juice, and cultish workout classes--to win back her career, save her best friend, and lose thirty pounds.

When Janey Sweet, CEO of a couture wedding dress company, is photographed in the front row of a fashion show eating a bruffin--the delicious lovechild of a brioche and a muffin--her best friend and business partner, Beau, gives her an ultimatum: Lose thirty pounds or lose your job. Sure, Janey has gained some weight since her divorce, and no, her beautifully cut trousers don't fit like they used to, so Janey throws herself headlong into the world of the fitness revolution, signing up for a shockingly expensive workout pass, baring it all for Free the Nipple yoga, sweating through boot camp classes run by Sri Lankan militants and spinning to the screams of a Lycra-clad instructor with rage issues. At a juice shop she meets Jacob, a cute young guy who takes her dumpster-diving outside Whole Foods on their first date. At a shaman's tea ceremony she meets Hugh, a silver fox who holds her hand through an ayahuasca hallucination And at a secret exercise studio Janey meets Sara Strong, the wildly popular workout guru whose special dance routine has starlets and wealthy women flocking to her for results that seem too good to be true. As Janey eschews delicious carbs, pays thousands of dollars to charlatans, and is harassed by her very own fitness bracelet, she can't help but wonder: Did she really need to lose weight in the first place? 

A hilarious send-up of the health and wellness industry, Fitness Junkie is a glorious romp through the absurd landscape of our weight-obsessed culture. 
My Review:
 
This was a fun, fast read - perfect for summer. It follows one fitness/health cliche after another set against the back-drop of NYC.  It was very similar to these authors' first book in terms of woman of a certain age at a professional crossroads, compounded by the city in which she lives.  This one, however, dealt with weight/health rather than mere fashion but I found very similar threads through both books.  This one didn't really make me think but I did like Janey quite a bit.  She voiced a lot of those struggles we all feel but I couldn't help but think I wished she were a bit deeper.  I think I had this same criticism of these authors' first book so maybe this is an area for improvement.
Fitness Junkie comes out tomorrow on July 11, 2017, and you can purchase HERE.  My review of these authors' last book, The Knockoff, is HERE.
She made a few taps on her iPhone to start playing Dr. Dre's Chronic album. Nothing got a roomful a middle-aged white women up a hill faster than gangster rap out of Compton.

Comments

  1. Sometimes just a good escape read for a few hours is all we need right? Glad this was a good one even if it wasn't mind blowing. ;)

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  2. Oh I wanted to read The Knockoff and never got around to it. This sounds like something i would like too. Maybe I'll pick one of the two up - Great review!

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  3. I picked this one up cause it sounded fun, I'm glad to see you enjoyed it Eva :)

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  4. This sounds like it would be interesting, but not for me. I'm glad it was a good summer read for you and great review!

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  5. Great post! I just followed your blog! Mind checking out my latest review on "The Book Thief"? It can be found here: https://armchairbythefire.blogspot.com/ 😃 Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What does this sounds like some kind of eat, pray, love? lol

    ReplyDelete

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