Is There Still Sex in the City by Candace Bushnell

Hello lovely readers!

Sigh. 

So...this book. Sigh.

“In the middle-aged softening, you can’t really tell who was a beauty in their twenties from someone who was plain; nor can you believe that the bald guy who now looks like a potato was once a hot stud. And vice versa. He can’t believe you ever had long hair and a body someone would want to see in a bikini. In this syndrome, it’s common to go to parties and run into old friends whom you haven’t seen for a while and who don’t recognize you. Happily, you’ll find yourself able to return the favor all too often.”

Let me just preface this by saying that I'm a huge Sex and the City fan. I loved the book and the original series. No comment on the movies or the reboot And Just Like That...

I love being sucked into "rich, white people drama." It's like an escape from my daily life. Think Gossip Girl, The Hills, Sex and the City etc. I love it!

I should've known this book was going to be a mess based off the title alone. People would always say Sex in the City instead of Sex and the City. I found it peculiar that Bushnell would use the wrong title (although I know that it makes proper grammatical sense as she's posing a question). However, it just didn't sit right with me. 

The original SATC book was sexy and witty.

This book on the other hand is just boring and depressing.

SUMMARY
The book takes place 20 years after the first Sex and the City. It's set between the Upper East Side of Manhattan and this out of the way "country" place called The Village. 

The story follows a group of female friends known as Sassy, Queenie, Kitty, Tilda Tia, Candace and Marilyn. They're navigating midlife dating and relationships  and shenanigans ensue (vaginal restorative surgery and dating apps like Tinder.)

MY THOUGHTS
I finished this book fairly quickly and I wasn't impressed in the slightest. I feel like there's better ways to write about a midlife crisis without the reader feeling like they want to throw themselves off a cliff as well.

Everything that happened to her (her dog's death, losing her home, divorcing her husband, dating etc.) It had such a lack of personality and empathy for me throughout the book that I really couldn't connect with it. I know I'm not the targeted demographic for this book (I'm in my early 30s and the characters in the book are mid 50s), but there wasn't any kind of pizazz from any of the characters that could've served as at least a saving grace.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. But it won't stay on my shelf.