OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "surreal estate" by sugar.]

I don’t know too much about real estate. I have always assumed that the agents acquire houses to sell, promote said houses, and get people to buy them. Author and real estate agent, Sugar, writes an intriguing story with suspense and drama surrounding the elite and privileged residents of Palm Beach, Florida. Surreal Estate follows Terri, a meek realtor who manages to land a prestigious mansion owned by Lola May. While beginning to get the mansion into a marketable condition, Terri meets local busybody and neighbour to the May Estate, Vanessa Vaughn. The two women find themselves in hot water after closing up the servitude between the two properties, which leads them to question the severity of their punishment; which, in turn, leads to more questions. Slowly, they unveil secrets that could change the social structure of Palm Beach entirely.

The conversational tone and light-hearted nature of this book made it great fun to read. The author has an amusing way of describing some of the despicable people in her story. An example of this would be the very first line of the book, describing one of her clients:

Terri tried not to stare at Ursula Lurie’s lips, but they were visible from every angle in the slow, mirrored elevator. They were huge. And they weren’t there four days ago. Now they were in some kind of competition with Ursula’s boobs. Anywhere else in the country someone would have already stabbed Ursula with an EpiPen.

This type of humour is found throughout the book, and it made me relate to the characters even more.

I loved the characters. Terri had a very definite development arc. The author built her up only to break her down again. Her constant fight with herself was evident and gave the story layers which I didn’t expect. My favourite character was Ms. Vaughn. In fact, I think she may be one of my favourite characters in a book, ever. She was so easy to imagine, and her personality and brash nature made the story all the more enjoyable. Even the smaller characters were elaborately built to form a wonderful base of people.

The story lagged a bit in the middle. While Terri was trying to get the property into a good enough state to sell, there were a few portions that I felt were drawn out too much. As a realtor herself, Sugar explains the intricacies of what was being done to the house in great detail. Because I don’t have a budding interest in real estate, and because I struggled to picture exactly what the place looked like, I found myself slowing down with my reading through these parts.

Even with the lag, Surreal Estate follows a steady course and builds up to a fantastic close. It is deserving of none less than 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend it to anyone in the real estate industry, as well as to anyone who enjoys really well-designed characters. The characters drive this story – and what a fun ride it was!

******
surreal estate
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I like authors with a good sense of humor. They tell intense stories with a light-hearted vibe that I find very appealing. I like that this book has well-developed characters, character-driven books are a favorite of mine. Thanks for the review.

Sounds like a fun read! I like the author's sense of humor from what you shared. I also don't know much about real estate. Itd be interesting to read a book from their point of view.

I don't have an interest in real estate thing, but I do love character-driven books with good humour. Hope it's s a great book.
Thanks a lot for the review

Thank you for your review. Surreal Estate sounds like a fun read from your description. I enjoy character-driven plots, and if the author can make me laugh, it's even better. It definitely sounds interesting, especially with the characters you describe.

This sounds like a premise I have never heard of. That's good that the characters are so well developed. Thanks for the well-written review!

I too don't have much knowledge about real estate, but your review creates a curiosity to read this book.

I read this one as well. It was interesting, but I'm not sure it was extremely memorable. The descriptions you gave are the best part of the book. Thanks!

Your quote from the book is hilarious, Bianka. Thanks for the laugh--I needed that today!

This sounds like a book I could enjoy reading. I mean what is there not to love and I am not all that into real estate. Good job on the review.

Michelle Fred wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 06:28 I like authors with a good sense of humor. They tell intense stories with a light-hearted vibe that I find very appealing. I like that this book has well-developed characters, character-driven books are a favorite of mine. Thanks for the review.

Thank YOU for reading my review

Helene_2008 wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 07:20 Sounds like a fun read! I like the author's sense of humor from what you shared. I also don't know much about real estate. Itd be interesting to read a book from their point of view.

It was interesting! And definitely fun
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Aniza Butt wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 07:56 I don't have an interest in real estate thing, but I do love character-driven books with good humour. Hope it's s a great book.
Thanks a lot for the review

If you like character-driven books, this would be a good one to dive into
Thanks for stopping by.

KDJ wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 09:54 Thank you for your review. Surreal Estate sounds like a fun read from your description. I enjoy character-driven plots, and if the author can make me laugh, it's even better. It definitely sounds interesting, especially with the characters you describe.

I also enjoy light-hearted humour. It's nice amoungst the serious books I usually tend to read.
Thanks for popping past

reneelu1998 wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 12:03 This sounds like a premise I have never heard of. That's good that the characters are so well developed. Thanks for the well-written review!

Thank YOU so much for commenting