How to Be a Boss B*tch by Christine Quinn
Calling all Selling Sunset fans! How to Be a Boss B*tch is Christine Quinn’s debut novel. Christine is the villain in Selling Sunset, a real estate show with very low stakes drama on Netflix. Seriously, I think most of the show follows a script of two people having a conversation, then more people have a conversation about the first conversation, and then everyone argues over what was originally said.
Christine has a confidence that is enviable. She walks into a room despite all of the haters. One day, an article about her popped up on my Google feed. When I opened the article, there were so many negative comments, and I felt really bad for her.
So what did I think of her book?
How to Be a Boss B*tch is a nice first effort, but the self-help market is really competitive. There is another really famous female self-help author by the name of Rachel Hollis. She encourages women to own their power and reach for their dreams. She would frequently use herself as an example. Essentially, “Look what I did! If I can do it, you can too!” Rachel was a very successful businesswoman with a large family and a husband, somehow making it all work. However, it didn’t really work, and she ended up filing for divorce after giving all this advice. So needing something to fill this void, I wanted to turn to Christine.
First of all, Christine needs a new editor. How to Be a Boss B*tch is poorly structured. In Rachel Hollis’s book, Girl Wash Your Face, she had a certain number of lessons or tips, and each tip had a little story about her life. It is really fascinating, a great example of storytelling. In How to Be a Boss B*tch, the book is almost a free-flow of consciousness with extremely long paragraphs. It would have been much more compelling if it had some tips laid out and then a story from her personal life.
Alright so now for some of my comments on her advice and stories…..
Some of her advice is confusing. She advocates getting a sugar daddy but always keeping your own money, keeping separate accounts, but be honest from your first date about what you want. Why can’t people just say, “I don’t want to be controlled financially. I’m going to spend money on certain things, and I don’t want to be hassled.” If your partner starts crying because you purchase an ice cream cone or starts bawling because you eat a meal at Olive Garden, you clearly know that your partner is unhinged, and you probably should not pursue that relationship.
Christine recounts how she had a sugar daddy, but she felt too controlled by him, how he wanted to do everything together. You can’t exactly just tell someone, “Leave your credit card at the door and go away.”
Christine has a chapter, “Never Pay Retail” which is about looking for bargains. However, she really knocks her parents for using a coupon. What is wrong with coupons? I love coupons. Once someone told me a story about how her date pulled out a coupon to go to the movies and how she was simply appalled. For me, I was like, “Hey, do you know where he got that coupon? Because I would really love one.” If you are going to buy a product or service anyways, why not save money? I have literally walked into a car dealership and negotiated a $600 per month payment down to $300 per month with a warranty and three years of free oil changes.
You better believe that when I spend $10,000 on hotel charges, I am calling up my hotel asking for free water and breakfast. If I am staying on an island, breakfast can run $50 per person. This is a huge savings!
In one of her stories, Christine talks about how she purchased a Louis Vuitton purse, fully intending to return it within the return period. However, the salesclerk would not accept her return. Her problems were all solved when some drunk guys at the bar gave her a large tip. This is not a power story.
If this was me, I would immediately call American Express and put a block on the charge. Secondly, Christine was not very creative in her money-raising efforts. She essentially got lucky. When I was at Michigan State, strolling along Grand River, I saw a little table set-up on the sidewalk with two students and a box of brownies. They had a sign, “M.I.P. Bake Sale.” For those of you who may not be up on the lingo, M.I.P. stands for Minor In Possession, these are college students who were ticketed for underage drinking. This bake sale was overwhelming popular! These two students quickly had enough money to cover their ticket. It would have been a really awesome story if Christine had a bake sale on Sunset Boulevard for her Louis Vuitton purse.
“We knew that we didn’t need to memorize a thousand digits of pi or some [redacted]–that’s what the calculator on our phones was for.
-Christine Quinn in How to Be A Boss B*tch
And there are so many creative ways to earn money especially these days. Now, you can turn your passions into a YouTube channel. Recently, I saw a post where there is a company paying people $200 to read a book. However, Christine just recommends saving money. But lots of people don’t earn enough money to save properly.
Christine also talks about being rich. However, I think Christine is defining rich as having lots of money. At least according to me, being rich is more than just having lots of money. If I am working 100 hours per week, my health is failing, my bank account is full, but I never have anytime to pursue my passions like reading, am I really rich?
If you are reading this looking for some insight about Christine’s Selling Sunset co-workers and clients, you will be disappointed. There are no such stories.
Overall, I am looking forward to Christine growing as an author and spreading her confidence to others, but Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis is more entertaining and has a better format.
Check out what other books are being released in May here!