God-Shaped Hole: A Novel

I had high hopes - but alas they were dashed. From the first few lines at the beginning of the book you know how it will end...but I held out hope that maybe it was trickery....nope...predictable, boring left me saying..."really that's all you got?"

This book is terrible. Don't waste your time. There are plenty of excellent reads out there & life is too short for bad books. The writing was like reading a grocery list, the characters were unrelatable jerks, the story was boring & predictable. If you're looking for a beautiful, timeless, well-written love story, put Outlander in your cart instead.

If your intentions are pure
I am seeking a friend
For the end of the world....

These words started a beautiful love story between Beatrice Jordan and Jacob Grace, who met when Beatrice answered a personal ad in the newspaper Jacob worked for and he had placed the ad. They meet for coffee and then after spending time together, they realize that they are soulmates.

However living in Los Angeles, they both just wanted to find a peaceful place to live like Tennessee, and have a couple of kids. Jacob is a good writer and they are waiting to pick up and move when his novel gets sold. Jacob has great friends and a good mother, whom he loves with everything he has, but his father walked out on his mom and him when he was barely two years old and never made contact again. This really deeply affected Jacob down deep inside of him.

On the other hand Beatrice, who Jacob calls Trixie, grew up in the Hollywood Hills, with her mom and dad and two brothers, until her dad left when she was in her teens and she felt so angry with him. Trixie is almost 30, and has not spoken to him since. So Trixie has a problem about trusting men and she is afraid to love one until Jacob comes along. They both live life to the sound of their own drum, and they are both creative and yet they are broken in their own way.

I do not want to say anything else except this book made me laugh, but it also made me feel inconsolable at times, and I have been thinking about how this book ended for hours. The joy I got out of this book was reading about how sometimes we do find that one person in life who is our soulmate and makes life worth living, but if we don't, how hard it is to fly solo through this life!

I gave this book 5 fantastic stars!

Early on in the book, there's foreshadowing as to how the story will end. So I strapped myself in for the ride and simply enjoyed the journey and words in the meantime. Beatrice Jordan, or Trixie, answers a personal ad phrased differently than most, in the paper and that's how she meets Jacob Grace. Right off the bat, it's apparent that Jacob isn't the typical book boyfriend material. He's not this extremely sexy and handsome guy who is built like he lives in the gym while being a CEO on the side. But Jacob shouldn't be discredited just because he is in fact underrated, because he totally appeals to Beatrice. He's a writer, with this depth to his soul and earnestness in his curiosity for life and living in the moment. He has an intensity and honesty about him that totally fits with Trixie and they are like two matching puzzle pieces. Their relationship really fuels Trixie and sparks life into her to go on adventures and to try new things and to be spontaneous as well as to confront buried issues in the past. The writing has a quirky and brilliant flair to it, therefore so do the characters and their view of the world, where the reader can picture being alongside them with these experiences and looking through their eyes. I wouldn't have minded a bit more closure with regards to the ending, but I do understand why it stops right where it does.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person – Female

"If your intentions are pure I'm seeking a friend for the end of the world."

Beatrice aka "Trixie" Jordan was a free spirit kind of person; an artist at heart. She occupied her time making and designing her own jewelry and she made it from the heart. They were precious to her. Her talent was well known and very fast her business bloom big time. Trixie loved music and wasn't the type of person that could deal with peoples crap. She just didn't feel that she had time to deal with people if she didn't have to and so she focus on what she liked best, books, music, making jewelry and having sex. The essentials of course (my type of girl) hehe.

Jacob Grace was a writer with dreams and super cool character. He was simple yet complicated because he knew what he liked and he was extremely honest. He spoke his mind and heart and that's why his circle of friends adored him. He was also a free spirit that loved to live in the moment making memories.

One silly newspaper add changed both of these two forever. They knew from the first day they met that they were meant for each other; they have found their soul mates in each other. Their relationship was super cool, fun, hot, real, and adventurous.

“Here’s the thing. I feel like we grew in the same womb or something. Like we’ve been connected from the beginning by blood and veins. Someone soul lovers, if there could ever be such a thing.”

I really liked all the side characters from heroine best friend who was hilarious and hero's circle of friends. Jacob struggle internally for not growing up with a father; things happened and he felt he couldn't opened up so he leaves Trixie for few weeks without telling her. Oh boy was she angry?! yes she was but so was I. I was so angry at him it really upset me. However when he comes back it was hard not to forgive him, still he left a sour taste in my mouth because I don't forget easily haha. The words he said; the things he did though made him so unique and special.

“We’re all searching for something to fill up what I like to call that big, God-shaped hole in our souls."

The end; well ever since the beginning and based on blurb and title I already knew how this was going to end. So when it happened I didn't cry; however the aftershocks effects were painful, the memories, what could have been gutted me till no end. I kid you not I cried in the shower for an hour, I cried myself to sleep that night and I'm crying as I'm typing this right now…but Shhh don't judge whatever. Haha!

"Everyone feels that void. Everyone who has the balls to look inside themselves, anyway. It's what life's all about…A search."

This book is unique, the writing is phenomenal, the characters are awesome, there are sexy times, hilarious stuff I laughed so hard reading this book. I can honestly say it is not for everyone though because if you are looking for a "HEA" you best stay away from this book. One thing I know for sure is that this story will stay with me forever.

An ecopy was kindly gifted to me, thank you so much. I also own a copy of the Paperback.

Living and working in fast-paced LA, Beatrice Jordan is a jewelry designer. Tired of being alone, she responds to a personal ad. On a whim, writer Jacob Grace had posted, “If your intentions are pure, I am seeking a friend for the end of the world”. She could not resist an ad like that.

Perhaps by fate, these two develop a real relationship. They even help each other come to terms with unresolved feelings from their difficult childhoods. That is quite a feat in itself. But, they also awaken new feelings in each other, some that are even harder to tame.

This is a love story for the lonely, quirky, creative people in the world. It speaks to those who are looking for something, someone, to hold in the middle of their hurricane. They seek someone that is like them, and they believe, deep down, they are out there.

Fifteen years ago, this book was published by Sourcebooks. With a cult-like following, God-Shaped Hole has survived to become a classic in its own right. Come and read the bittersweet novel that helped define and shape a generation. Celebrate the elements of life and love, because these are the things help us become who we were meant to be.

When Beatrice (Trixie) Jordan answers a personal ad in the paper - “If your intentions are pure I’m seeking a friend for the end of the world.” – she doesn’t know that her whole world is about to change. In Jacob Grace, she finds what she didn’t know what she was looking for: a friend, an ally, a lover. These two creative souls – Trixie makes jewelry, Jacob is a writer – join together so they don’t have to face their demons alone.

I really liked this book, a lot more than I would have thought. It’s not something I normally read – I usually (not always) don’t read books categorized as “romance” or “chick lit” – and honestly, I chose it because I’m a sucker for a beautiful (especially colorful) cover. But this book was different. On the surface, it was a love story between Trixie and Jacob: how they met, fell in love, and helped each other through tough times.

But underneath, it was so much more.

God-Shaped Hole is about the journey we each take to fill that “god-shaped hole” (which doesn’t necessarily need to be filled by God) to make our lives feel complete. "We’re all searching for something to fill up what I like to call that big, God-shaped hold in our souls. Some people use alcohol, or sex, or their children, or food, or money, or music, or heroin. A lot of people even use the concept of God itself."

This book was both laugh-out-loud funny and serious, often in the same breath. The characters were well-developed and complex. I loved both Trixie and Jacob – their insecurities, their idiosyncrasies, their personalities. I enjoyed watching the progression of their relationship, from the honeymoon phase to the deep, long-lasting love phase. I actually also liked Trixie’s mother, who had always seemed uptight to Trixie, but really had so much more depth than her daughter ever realized.

The writing itself was beautiful – both subtle and powerful. There were so many great quotes, both beautiful imagery and questions to provoke deep thought. This book would be a great pick for a book club because there are so many layers there to dissect. It’s beautiful, poignant, joyous, uproarious, deep, all mixed into one. It really was a great book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review!

This title may seem familiar to many. This is because this is the 15th anniversary reissue. It involves Beatrice Jordan and Jacob Grace who become friends. They each are looking for a way to escape and they find it though each others creative gifts and their insecurities.

I did not read it the first time around and I count that as me great loss. From the first page, the writing caught me and I did not want to let go. There are heartbreaking moments that I will remember for a long time. That is not all, though. There are funny moments also.Beatrice and Jacob's relationship read as a real-life one, including the imperfections. The writing was so intelligent and wonderful. However, even these words do not do justice to this book.

If you did or did not read this book the first time, I most highly recommend you pick up a copy and read it now.

I received this book from NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for my honest review. I thank each of them.

Apparently this is a reprint from a book published in 2002. I did not read it then. This is the first book that I have read by this author.

From the reviews that I read, I was supposed to be mesmerized. It was supposed to be the love story to end all love stories. Well, that's not what happened to me.

I thought it was a decent read and a nice love story. I remember thinking that after I read it and was at a loss as to how to review this book. All these raving reviews, and I thought it was okay. To be honest, I finished this book 12 days ago and I remember parts of it, like the Craigslist ad, but that's about it. I've written reviews today for books I've read as far back as 17 days ago and I remembered all of them except this one.

Thanks Sourcebooks and Net Galley for approving and allowing me to read and review this book.

I should have hated this book. Nothing really happens, other than a love story. But there was something about the writing that made this book compelling...once I started reading it. It took me a while to get through this book because when I had other things to read, this book wasn't the one I would pick up. But when I did sit down with it, I would fly through the pages.

It's written almost like a journal. It's an account of a young woman falling in love. Beatrice had been warned by a fortune teller when she was twelve that she would have a great love, but that he would die young. At 30 (I think), she responds to a personal ad on a whim. She meets Jacob, and it's instalove, which is unusual in an adult book.

Their relationship progresses quickly. They both have issues with their fathers, and they help each other deal with them. Jacob is writing a book. Trixie makes jewelry. They live in L.A., but they dream of moving to the South, which I found amusing. Who wants to move there?

I enjoyed the raw honesty of Trixie's voice in this story. It showcases the vulnerability of falling in love. And her thoughts and explanations of why she does certain things, even things she doesn't really want to be doing, are so real. So even though I didn't love this book, I would definitely read another book by Tiffanie DeBartolo.

http://momsradius.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-god-shaped-hole.html

Apparently this is a reprint from a book published in 2002. I did not read it then. This is the first book that I have read by this author.

From the reviews that I read, I was supposed to be mesmerized. It was supposed to be the love story to end all love stories. Well, that's not what happened to me.

I thought it was a decent read and a nice love story. I remember thinking that after I read it and was at a loss as to how to review this book. All these raving reviews, and I thought it was okay. To be honest, I finished this book 12 days ago and I remember parts of it, like the Craigslist ad, but that's about it. I've written reviews today for books I've read as far back as 17 days ago and I remembered all of them except this one.

Thanks Sourcebooks and Net Galley for approving and allowing me to read and review this book.

I should have hated this book. Nothing really happens, other than a love story. But there was something about the writing that made this book compelling...once I started reading it. It took me a while to get through this book because when I had other things to read, this book wasn't the one I would pick up. But when I did sit down with it, I would fly through the pages.

It's written almost like a journal. It's an account of a young woman falling in love. Beatrice had been warned by a fortune teller when she was twelve that she would have a great love, but that he would die young. At 30 (I think), she responds to a personal ad on a whim. She meets Jacob, and it's instalove, which is unusual in an adult book.

Their relationship progresses quickly. They both have issues with their fathers, and they help each other deal with them. Jacob is writing a book. Trixie makes jewelry. They live in L.A., but they dream of moving to the South, which I found amusing. Who wants to move there?

I enjoyed the raw honesty of Trixie's voice in this story. It showcases the vulnerability of falling in love. And her thoughts and explanations of why she does certain things, even things she doesn't really want to be doing, are so real. So even though I didn't love this book, I would definitely read another book by Tiffanie DeBartolo.

http://momsradius.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-god-shaped-hole.html

This book was originally published in 2002 and is being released in 2016. It's still a good and relevant story except for the fact the characters don't have cell phones. Trixie is a nice person who designs jewelry and tries to ignore her family. When she meets Jacob her whole world changes. They were meant to be friends and lovers from the chance reading of a newspaper ad. They clicked like they were meant to be. The story is wonderful and easy to read. From the gypsy warning to Trixie you can almost see where the story is headed but you keep putting it aside. I read somewhere that Trixie is in Ms DeBartolo's 2nd book which has me looking for How to Kill a Rock Star. I think this book has wide appeal for many readers, young and old. A true old fashioned love story.

God-Shaped Hole by Tiffanie DeBartolo

I've never been to a fortune-teller, but the protagonist of this book, Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan, has, and more than once. Trixie's story starts with a flashback to being 12, having her fortune told at a party. She's told that her "one true love would die young..." leaving her all alone.

Is that what happens? You'll have to read it to find out.

The Basics: it's a contemporary love story set in LA. It's quirky and mostly lighthearted, but it has some serious content, as well.

I enjoyed the storyline and DeBartolo's writing style. Her prose was, mostly, very pleasing and her descriptions were fun and unique. I was amused by the ever-present anti-Los Angeles theme, done in a fairly humorous way.

The main characters, Jacob and Trixie, are subject to the occasional whimsical thought and action, in good, quirky ways. They are a unique couple, dealing with their own philosophical and life issues. I thought they were developed well...it felt like I knew them.

The one sticking point for me was that it felt like I would read several beautifully written pages and then hit something jarring, usually a single sentence that felt out of synch with the passage leading up to it. Several of those single sentences were random, vulgar bits of commentary. It wasn't that this sometimes-crude humor was shocking, it was that it was misplaced in the novel. I'd be reading, pulled into the rhetoric, only to be shaken loose by an oddly placed sentence. If you read it, look for the chili con carne remark...that's exactly what I am talking about.

So, that was a little strange, but that's my only negative critique...

I enjoyed this book...it was a fun read. I struggled to decide whether I thought it should be a 4- or 5-star review. Oddly enough, it reminds me in a very small way of this novel Fluke that's out there...

**OVERALL 4.5 Stars**

EXTRAS

Be advised, I would say this is Rated R for language and adult situations/actions. If you don't like cursing or a few explicit scenes/descriptions, read something else.

Fave Quotes:

"I guess the feeling that came over me could be described as joy, but only if joy can be profoundly painful."

"...there are certain sorrows that never fade away until the heart stops beating and the last breath is taken."

(metaphor about people filling the void in their life and keeping it filled...)
"That's the real trick, isn't it? It's easy to plant a seed and sprinkle it with water, but once the sun scorches the ground, and the earth soaks up all the moisture, you're left with nothing but a thirsty little flower trying desperately to make it out of the dirt."

"If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world."
God-Shaped Hole is brilliant. This was my second read through of this wonderful book, and it's still as raw, honest, and provocative. It speaks to me in the same way that Singles the movie and Reality Bites did. If I could give it a soundtrack, it would be every great alternative band from the 90's.

It's described as depressing, but I think it's so much more than that. Sure there is heartbreak, but there is growth. Especially with Trixie. It's really hard to put into words how this book makes me feel.

I picked up this book after seeing Ginger from Greads! rave about it. I saw her amazing review and immediately requested the book from my library. Once it came it was a 4-week loan and I had lots of other books to read so I kind of forgot about it. Last weekend I had a good friend visiting and she saw the book sitting on my shelf and said she couldn't believe we'd never talked about it before, that she and her friends had passed it around to each other in college, and that she really liked it. When I picked it up this weekend to start reading it I was kind of appalled at the condition of the library book. I debated not reading it, but my curiosity and belief that if I returned it I'd never read it got the better of me and I decided I'd take the chance of getting bedbugs or god-knows what else was that was undoubtably lurking between the pages.

I loved this book, I really did. I loved Beatrice and I loved the overall tone of the book. Even though Beatrice and Jacob's relationship was so insta-love, something I'm normally not a fan of, I still believed it and wanted them to be together even though it's not a relationship I would ever want to be in myself. And Jacob is not a guy I would ever want to date, he's way too artsy/broody/out there for me, but I absolutely loved the way he was with Beatrice.

My love of Beatrice goes deep. I saw a lot of myself in Beatrice, both good and bad and big and small. We both have lingering distrust and fear of abandonment from crappy relationships with our parents and we both tend to push people away because of it. And we also both have a highly developed sense of smell that sometimes causes us to do strange things. I loved her commitment to her work and how she was proud of her business and never apologized her for success. I also really loved her attitude towards sex. She wanted sex, she liked sex, she had sex. Overall I really loved the way that the sex in Beatrice and Jacob's relationship was depicted. It just felt so real to me.

Going into the book I knew it was going to destroy me. I knew Beatrice and Jacob's relationship wasn't going to have a happy ending. In one way I'm glad I knew this because I don't think I could have dealt with that coming out of no where but in another way I spent so much of the book dreading what I knew was coming and guessing how it was going to happen (I never guessed correctly until right before it happened).

One of my favorite things about this book was the quotability. I'm not one who normally pulls quotes out of books, but this one had some real winners, both because they were profound or because I related to them so well. Some of my favorites:

"I usually prefer my own company to any old idiot, unless I'm really horny."

"He winked at me when he walked by and, for kicks, I almost tripped him, but I held back. I didn't want Jacob to think I was mean."

"I had visions of becoming the twenty first century's answer to Anais Nin. When I'm dead, I want strangers to read about all the awesome sex I had and wish they could be so lucky."

"That's why I always thought if I ever had to go to jail, I'd rather get thrown in for life as opposed to say, thirty years. With life, you just sit back and chill and get on with whatever it is you do inside a prison for the remainder of your days. Thirty years, and you're counting the years by the minutes."

"All I could think of was, why can't I be as stupid as Lucille? Why can't I blame all my successes and all my failures in The Lord Jesus Christ Almighty? I would be so freaking* happy if I lived like that."

"...You can't put life on pause and then catch up when you have more energy to give. You have to play it all the way through to the end."

"But I believe in the possibility of everything."

*Word changed because of the store's foul-language policy

"Dawn makes a sound. If you listen closely right as the sun starts to come up, you'll hear it. It's like the echo of birth; silence, followed by a gentle push, moans, and then the sloppy deluge of life. On good days I like it because it reminds me that I am alive. On bad days it makes me feel like dust."

For a first novel this was amazing. Absolutely gorgeous with words which spill off the page like poetry. I would love to be inside the authors head to have these thoughts, these phrases that stay inside my head and resonate in my soul.

Once again I am blown away by the words of Tiffanie DeBartolo. I knew going into this book that it would be an emotional read and I was not let down. Having read How to Kill a Rock Star first, I had an idea of what I would be in store for and while this had similarities to HTKARS it was different, it was its own story. I can't compare the two.

"Seeking a friend for the end of the world.

I couldn't have put it better myself. Except to add one question: Where the {heck} have you been all my life?"

Beatrice answers a random ad from the LA Weekly and meets Jacob Grace. Jacob, the soul searching philosophical writer who intrigues "Trixie" as he will call her, from the moment their eyes meet. The instant attraction with a couple is usually unbelievable for me but with these two, it works.

I won't call this a love story; though love is present this for me was more about life. A life quest if you will; "We're all searching for something to fill up what I like to call that big, God-shaped hole in our souls." The love story adds a dimension that is needed and yet isn't the whole story. The complexity of relationships and how we deal with them really is the backbone where the love story is simply the heart.

Beatrice and Jacob have a relationship that caters to the things that bring them together, music, books and their strange but endearing families and friends. I love that it was set in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area; the essence was rightly captured down to the fact that the 405 Freeway is indeed HELL! I can't forget the music in this book either.

There is so much I want to say about this book but will not spoil it. I just want to gush, jump up and down and cry at everything that happens. From Jacob looking up at a window standing in the middle of the street, to Mangoes, Pete Townsend, love, hate, heartbreak, all the way to Needles and to a Victorian Townhouse my heart was left shattered by the range of emotions I felt.

"I wanted to be enough to fill the universe indie of Jacob Grace. But I guessed that no matter how strong it was, love alone couldn't turn a speck of dust in to a galaxy of stars."

God Shaped Hole is one of those books you NEED to read and experience. I took my time reading this so that every word could be savored and stored away. It hasn't left me, Jacob and Trixie haven't left me and I cannot let them go.

"I could tell by the look on Jacob's face that he found me amusing.

I kept talking. "So far, I've discovered four things that make life worth living for me. My work is one of them."

"What are the other three?" Jacob wanted to know.

"Music, books, and sex," I said. "Not necessarily in that order."

His eyebrows rose an inch and he smirked. "What else do you need?"

This is my first Debartolo book. I thought that it was a great book! I think it is a book that can have a different meaning for everyone. It has a lot of feels thought-out the book. I loved Trixie and Jacob’s journey through love. I think they worked well on figuring out life and pushing each other to be better people. Great story, totally recommend it!

There aren’t enough stars in the world to describe how much I love this book. I’ve had it in my to read pile for a long time but I was so afraid of all the things I would feel. Now after finishing it I was right to be afraid. ? I am a mopey mess.

I loved the other version of this called The Shape of My Heart. I wouldn't buy this version just for the extra content. I hate having to do stuff like that. Already spent enough on the other book! It is an excellent read. I couldn't put it down. So if you've never seen this or the old version before, then I definitely recommend that you buy this

When Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan was 12, a fortune teller told her that her one true love would die young and leave her all alone. Now it's 15 years later and the successful young LA jewelry designer has had several relationships but no "true love" until she impulsively answers ad in the "males wanting females" section of the LA Weekly. There she meets writer Jacob Grace. It doesn't take her very long to know that he is the one for her. Not that things go very smoothly. They both bring a lot of baggage into the relationship.

This was a different little book. I did enjoy meeting Jacob and Trixie's friends, hearing about what young adults in LA are doing and where they are going these days. But all the emotional baggage they had (mainly abandonment by their fathers) really bogged the story down. Does the fortune teller's prediction come true? Well, that would be a big spoiler. I think for someone who is closer to the age of these characters (instead of the age of their parents) would likely enjoy this more and I will be passing this along to my daughters to read. There was nothing really all that wrong with it, the writing was good, the pacing great and I read it in one sitting, but the subject matter and like I said the emotional baggage of the characters just made it not exactly the book for me

This book came very highly recommended to me. I'm only halfway through it, but based on the rave recommendation and reviews I have to say I'm disappointed. I find that the characters are incredibly pretentious. The tortured writer theme is tired. The situations presented throughout this book are very stereotypical. Rich lawyer dad who cheats on wife, wife who spends his money, rebellious trust fund hippie daughter, tortured writer and his tortured writer father. Gag me. I agree with another reviewer about way too many pop culture references...it is tiresome. And the sex scenes are just plain old gratuitous and uninteresting. I'm still gonna finish it though...I'm just waiting for the good parts to come along, I mean, there has to be something good in this book after all the reviews. We'll see.

A really deep thinking book that was beautifully written and I LOVED it, couldn't put it down and then the ending just killed it. I can't stop thinking about it, it broke my heart and put me in a bad mood all day long. I wanted to give it 5 stars, but because of the last 30 pages I just couldn't do it.

I really liked How to Kill a Rock Star by this author, she is a tremendous writer with unique story lines. BUT I must have a strong HEA and didn't feel it with this book.

This book needs a freaking warning label. Will make you bawl like a baby but also laugh with the same abandon.
I can not believe it's possible for a writer to capture this story as well as Tiffanie did. The poetic words, the laughter throughout and the sadness all over will capture you and hold on for a long time to come.
This is not the type of book you read and put down. This
book stays with you. I find myself already wondering when I'll pick it up again.

There are not enough stars to rate this genius of a story. I am spent!

There is so much fluff out there now, it's tough to find a book with truly unforgettable characters with a story that physically makes you weak. I got lost in Trixie and Jacob. I finally found a heroine that I love (it's been awhile) and Jacob, I have no words.

I read somewhere that Tiffanie DeBartolo is no longer writing, too busy with music. I hope this is false, please. I would be heartbroken.

I usually sit down and write reviews for books immediately after finishing reading them. This one completely dropped from my memory as soon as it was out of my hands. Well, not entirely. I DO remember how much I didn't like it! It's been over a week since I finished it, and I forced myself to write this review simply because I felt I had to balance out all the positive reviews here. I am actually shocked that there are so many! I guess fans of chick lit would like this book. Unfortunately, I found it completely shallow and a waste of both time and paper. It was my book club selection, which I always (well, almost) finish, so I did force myself to sit through this whole book even though I wanted to chuck it aside for most of the time. How many times can we read about sex? I'm no prude, and the occasional sex scene or innuendo here and there is fine. Here, though, it's ALL she writes about; if she deleted all the sexual references from this novel she'd have a short story!!! I hated the main character, and hoped that there would a "twist" from the outcome forecasted on the cover and that SHE would die instead of her "soul mate." I guess you'll have to read it to find out. Personally, I think the author was trying too hard to seem smart and deep. Unfortunately, I don't think she is either.

The beginning and the end of the book were amazing. The middle was a bit slower but still very readable and good; de bartolo's writing style is very fun and lyrical, and her characters are unique in the way that you never knew you wanted to be. It made me wish for a love like that, for a soulmate like that even though I wouldn't necessarily find the characters in the book "my type" etc.

A great read. I laughed, sobbed, and basically couldn't put it down.

Have to say though, that How to Kill a Rock Star (by the same author) was better in all aspects: the story, the writing style, the character, the amount to which it affected you (I was in heaven for the first third, toe-curling for the second, sobbing in the third, then cycled around again).

It might not make sense but even though it was nothing like Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's wife in tone, story, or character, if you like that book, you'll probably like de Bartolo's books.

i really loved decartolo's other book. this one- i just didnt connect with as much. at times it felt predictable, maybe like the characters were trying to much to be this particular persona. i found it ironic that they labeled memphis a their promise land...

Good lord- I don't have words. But Tiffanie DeBartolo sure does and knows how to use them. My husband and daughter just walked in the door to tears running down my face and a stopped up nose. This book is incredible. It is so well written and it just made me feel so so much. I will not forget this book for a very long time

i really loved decartolo's other book. this one- i just didnt connect with as much. at times it felt predictable, maybe like the characters were trying to much to be this particular persona. i found it ironic that they labeled memphis a their promise land...

Good lord- I don't have words. But Tiffanie DeBartolo sure does and knows how to use them. My husband and daughter just walked in the door to tears running down my face and a stopped up nose. This book is incredible. It is so well written and it just made me feel so so much. I will not forget this book for a very long time

I finished this book last night. I liked the middle enough, but the beginning and the end were not my cups o' tea.
I have no problem with the writing itself. Superb prose. Excellent observations and glorious glorious dialogue. But the plot! Yikes. If you enjoyed the sappy Lurlene McDaniel books when you were a teen, you'll love this. DeBartolo's tear-jerking string manipulation is almost mechanical. It didn't feel real.
Some of the issues brought up could have been explored more. Trixie's "hole", religious issues, parental issues.... I got caught up in the concepts, but there was no resolution. It felt incomplete.
Jacob was a wonderful character, though. He's the sort of fictional guy a girl can fall in love with. All of the characters were well thought out and fully developed.
So, the characters and the writing itself is good. It's just the plot that left me unsatisfied. (And I'm not saying that because of what happens at the end. The end was expected. But it could have been fleshed out more.)

Well enough people have raved about this book. It was so beautifully written and so poignant. Exceptional. I might add that having lived in LA I found the descriptions of places - from Fred62(the place where Trixie and Jacob meet) to the Santa Monica Farmers Market; to the "pricey restaurant down on Ocean Avenue" (p.109)... was it Ivy at the Shore? And when Trixie and Jacob were at the City Lights bookstore in SF I felt like I was with them. This book was heaven to read and savor. Read it now!
You won't regret it.

"God Shaped Hole" was mesmorizing. Tiffanie DeBartolo will take your mind and turn it inside out with her love stories that are interwoven with desparity and tangled with self-doubt.

Then, once your mind is totally consumed with the fire she's tented to, she washes you down with a pile of ocean water, drowning you in sorrow and pain and grief.

But, not to be let down- there is a bit of understanding in there too!
Great read. Very entertaining and very lovely.

I love the pop culture references.

I absolutely love this book! Even though I guessed the ending at the beginning of the book, I enjoyed every page in between. I have read both of Tiffanie DeBartolo's books but God-Shaped Hole is the best.

This reader imagined a man much like Brandon Boyd (lead singer of the band Incubus) as the character Jacob Grace.

I don't have any witty review or stunningly descriptive words that will make you want to read this book. Just take it in laymens terms, it is a great book. Enjoy it!

Ils sont terribles ces ricains, terribles !
A chercher la 'tite bébête & leurs propres poux dans leur propre tête.
A se renvoyer en pleine poire leur prétendu 'background' culturel, justifiant des avis définitifs sans recul aucun.
Mort de rire, Yankees !
Que Tiffanie s'inspire de Jeff Buckley pour le personnage de Jacob, where is the problem ?
C'est chasse gardée ou quoi ?
C'est réservé aux seuls aficionados enculeurs de mouches qui n'ont rien d'autre à foutre qu'essayer d'étaler
leurs pseudo-connaissances musico-littéraires ?
Du balai les clampins !
Moi y'en-a pas connaître le sieur Buckley.
Si on me dit 'JB', je dit 'Jeff Beck', lequel n'est pas vraiment le genre tourmenté du bulbe, et qui question
gratounette, saurait plutôt aligner les accords sans même y penser.
(oui, oui, référence à la fin du book, dugenou !)
Alors, comme çà, c'est un bouquin pour ados ?
Pour celles qui kifferaient grave sur Holden Caulfield, rêvant de tomber sur un mec à son image ?
(cherche 'kiffer' dans ton dico, mon gros, vas-y ! cherche, cherche ...)
Alors, comme çà, c'est de la guimauve pré-machée, recyclage de copies des années-lycée, la fraîcheur en moins ?
Bande de blasés, au cerveau & à l'imagination atrophiés; à force de ne pas s'en servir, voyez le résultat !
Lamentable...
Y'a encore du boulot pour réveiller les consciences des neveux de Sammy.
Wake -up America!
Tiffanie n'a sûrement pas à rougir de ce premier roman, encore moins à s'excuser auprès des blaireaux de
service qui hantent les forums à défaut de vivre pleinement hors-matrice.
Oops ! Une allusion d'initié !
M'en fout !
Vive Tiffanie DeBartolo.
Vive God-Shaped Hole. ("L'amour sorcier". trad. navrante mais, bon ! j'peux pas m'occuper de tout, OK ?)
Oops ! Une deuxième !
M'en re-fout !
Vive RUSH !
Vive la France !
Vive l'amour !

I think this book should be recommended reading for every twenty-something out there. I just reread it, and found that I loved it even more the second time around. Also, check out the other books available by the author, they are great. I wish she'd write faster!

...DeBartolo is our Century's Hemmingway. She's that good. And God-Shaped Hole is the best romantic novel since Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. Except that it's also more erotic than Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire and funnier than George Carlin, Dennis Miller, and Jim Carrey all put together. But the best part about the book is not DeBartolo's writing style, but the fact that she puts her heart and soul into the book. The book wanted to get out of her, and she brought its characters, Trixie and Jacob to life. They are real. Real for Tiffanie, and real for her readers. Every page makes you wipe your eyes, every page makes you laugh out loud even if you are all alone in the room.
If you want to enhance the experience, you should also buy the CD "Grace" by Jeff Buckley (and listen to "lover, you should've come over"). And also buy the video "Dream for an Insomniac," which Tiffanie wrote and directed...