Mating Rituals of the North American WASP...Review

About the book:
After arguing with her live-in boyfriend about his inability to commit, Peggy Adams flies to a friend's bachelorette party in Las Vegas, and wakes up next to a man she can't remember. Hung-over and miserable, she sneaks out of the sleeping man's hotel room and returns home to New York, where her boyfriend apologizes for the fight and gives her a Tiffany box containing a pre-engagement ring. Not what she expected, but close enough! The next day she receives a phone call from the Las Vegas one-night stand, Luke, claiming she's already married to him¬-and he faxes her the license for proof! Both are ready for an annulment, until Peggy arrives in quaint New Nineveh, CT, where Luke cares for his Great Aunt, and the old woman makes Peggy an offer she can't refuse.

After a drunken evening in Las Vegas, Peggy Adams wakes up next to an unknown man, horrified to learn they're married. Luke is East-Coast WASP royalty in Connecticut and Peggy is pre-engaged to her live-in boyfriend,and lives in New York. When they attempt to get an annulment, Luke's eccentric great-aunt offers them a chance to make millions of dollars by remaining married for a year. Agreeing, Peggy soon finds herself immersed in the posh old-money world of the WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) on the weekends and keeping it all a secret during the week.

A cute, light, summer read, this was a slow starter for me, but one that I ultimately ended up enjoying. As I read, I did find myself getting frustrated with the inability of Peggy and Luke to communicate. As well, Peggy, especially, wasn't the most likable person, but she kind of grows on you towards the end. Luke is almost too conservative and there is the expected clash of culture. I did like that the author poked fun at the WASP culture: never showing emotion, preppy and conservative dress, pride in the old-American heritage, the competition among Ivy League graduates, etc. There were some laugh-out loud funny parts. While the characters remained shallow and undeveloped, overall this was still a light, if slightly predictable, enjoyable read.

There is very mild, unnecessary use of the "F" word.

Thanks to Miriam Parker at Hatchette Books and the Early Bird Blog Tour for the opportunity to review this book. For a summary of the book and a list of other book bloggers participating in this tour, go here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 5/09

* * *
3/5 Stars

Comments

  1. Your blog has won an award, link to my blog to see what you won! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Holly!
    Very nice new theme for your blog. It might be just me, but the type is tiny on my screen. Thank you for writing a review on this book and I am going to get it as it sounds really good!
    www.thesocialfrog.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree, I was getting frustrated with Peggy and Luke already too. All in all though, I really enjoyed this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I totally agree with your assessment - the book was fun and enjoyable, even though it was predictable.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment