Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista by Aven Ellis

Recent college graduate Avery Andrews is ready to begin a new life in the big city. She’s landed an apartment in Chicago’s famed Lincoln Park neighborhood–and has her eye on the cute commodity trader just a floor above.

If Premier Airlines knew about her fear of flying, they never would have hired her to be their marketing assistant—but it’s not like Avery wants a lifelong career. Right now she simply wants a job to pay her bills . . . and fund a few little shopping excursions, too.

Her new lifestyle comes with a price tag, as Avery is not only faced with paying a ridiculous rent but finds she’s perceived as one of the vacant, husband-hunting fashionistas who live in the area. Avery resents this stereotype. So she doesn’t want a lifelong career, and she loves fashions she can’t afford, but that doesn’t mean she is empty-headed and spoiled, does it?

When an opportunity to participate in a documentary at work arises, Avery finds a two-fold solution to her problems. She’ll earn extra money for it, and the documentary will show her as a serious career woman, enabling her to shed that husband-hunting fashionista label for good.
When the camera is on, Avery attempts to be a motivated professional woman. But when she is challenged by Deacon Ryan, the videographer assigned to cover her story, Avery finds herself wanting things she was never supposed to want—like a lasting career—and Deacon. And Avery might just gain more from the experience than a perfect career image and extra cash to put in her Tory Burch wallet . . .

Wow, I have no idea what to say about this book and definitely no idea how to start this review. I read this book in less than 24 hours, I didn’t mean to read the book so quickly as it was just supposed to be a book I could read on my Kindle when I didn’t have my paperback book with me. However, once I started this book I just got sucked into Avery’s life and couldn’t get out of it. I felt like crying when the book was over because I wasn’t ready to stop reading.

Avery is a recent college graduate who when we first meet her has just survived the first month in her own apartment by managing her money and has splashed out on a ridiculously priced pair of sunglasses. I loved the was Aven introduced Avery to us because from the first few lines and paragraphs you think of her as a bit of a vain, self-centred, air head. That is until she is asked to take part in a documentary for the airline company she newly works for, this gives us an insight into the real Avery, her life and her personality. She wants everyone to believe she is a career focused ambitious young woman that is dedicated to her job, not just a husband seeking fashionisa. She is pretty sure she has everything figured out, or so she thinks until Deke, the videographer assigned to record the documentary, enters her life, making her question everything she wants, needs and is supposed to do. What makes it worse is that he can see right through the façade she is putting on for the camera. At first Deke and Avery do not get along at all, their first impressions of each other aren’t the best and they just don’t like each other much. But as their relationship develops they learn more about each other, Avery may be falling for him although Deke isn’t anything like the man she thought she would marry, he isn’t successful and he doesn’t have a great dress sense. As the story goes on we learn more and more about Avery and she grows up in front of our eyes. We realise she isn’t a self-centred fashionia at all, she is a sweet, loving, strong woman that you can’t help but like and want to support.

I loved Avery and Deke, their personalities both together and apart, the way Deke encourages and supports Avery even though he is just her cameraman. Avery is the perfect lead character and has you laughing with her and so badly wanting her and Deke to get together! We don’t get to see much from the other characters such as Avery’s flatmate Sasha, neighbour Sullivan or best friend Dee, however from the brief parts we do see I couldn’t stand Sasha or Sullivan, especially Sullivan he made me want to vomit! He was so arrogant, annoying and obsessive.

There are so many great points to this book that I don’t want to give away because this book is one of those books that you can’t find a fault in. It is perfect. There was one line that made me feel so many emotions as if I were Avery, it made me so happy, want to cry and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I think it was just because I was enjoying the book so much and this just confirmed that everything I hoped would happen was about to. That line is ‘She wasn’t you, Isabel couldn’t be you’. Ahhhh!

Aven Ellis is such a talented writer, her writing seems so effortless, she has the power to make you smile and feel good just from reading her book. I can’t believe this is the first Aven Ellis book I have read, I have heard so many good things about them but just never got around to picking one up, well I most certainly will be now! If you are looking for a feel good, romantic novel then pick this up!
 

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