Friday, May 1, 2009

Book Review: Mating Rituals of the North American WASP

Author:       Lauren Lipton

Publisher:    5 Spot/Hachette

ISBN:          978-0-446-19797-7

Website:      www.laurenlipton.com

Type:         Fiction:Women’s/ChickLit

Pages:        302 Trade Paperback

Release:      May 29, 2009

Purchase:   $9.75 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The Story

“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.

But the next day she receives a phone call from the Las Vegas one-night stand, Luke Sedgwick, who claims she’s already married – to him! Both Peggy and Luke are ready for an annulment, until Peggy arrives in quaint New Nineveh, Connecticut, where Luke cares for his great aunt, and the old woman makes Peggy an offer she can’t refuse.”

(Above excerpt is from www.laurenlipton.com)

The Review

Although similar stories have been told, in other ways and with other characters, Mating Rituals Of The North American WASP is sweet and sweeps you into hoping that there is such a thing as love at first sight and believing that people can be destined to be together despite unlikely circumstances.  In this story of accidental marriage, Peggy and Luke decide to stick out their unconsummated marriage for purely financial reasons.  The time-frame they agreed to is 1-year and thereafter they will both free to move on with their separate lives, hopefully with over $1 Million apiece in hand. 

Outside of the “marriage,” Peggy is involved in a relationship with a complete tool named Brock who has kept her “on the line” for over seven years with no engagement ring in sight.  As Peggy’s friends marry and start having babies all around her, she puts the marriage ultimatum to Brock.  Brock comes through, but only with a promise ring (did I mention “TOOL”?).  With a few added difficulties, Peggy finds the chops to leave Brock and move in with her best friend and business partner, Bex.  There, in New York, she resides Monday through Friday, however she travels to Connecticut on the weekends to live out her “fake marriage” to Luke for the sake of convincing his rich, ailing aunt that theirs is a “real” marriage.  The rich aunt has changed her will to state that in the event they remain married for at least a year, they could sell the family mansion after that year is up and she would be willing to move into an assisted-living facility as she is stricken with dimentia.  Peggy and Luke are worlds apart in regards to their upbringings, families, and personalities.  However, there is something between them that is the perfect fit.  Both are involved with other people and have different motivations for following through with this 1-year deal. 

So… what did I think of this book?  Well, as aforementioned this story isn’t one that hasn’t been told before, of course with different twists and aspects to it.  It is the story of two people who are locked into a situation where they should be together, but are too prideful to admit it.  Therefore, for me I spent the entire time that I read this book wanting to “whap” Peggy and Luke over their heads and tell them to wake up and get over their pride.  I knew what would eventually come in the ending and I just wanted it to arrive faster then it came to me.  I was convinced that there was only one outcome for their story.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

I did like this book and was able to read it on a Sunday afternoon in my favorite jammies (with a nap squeezed in there).  It was a nice mental break from my otherwise hectic life with the kids.  It had some lovely poetry squeezed in there and the characters were very like-able (except for Brock-the-Tool).  If I had any criticism for this book it would be that the story needed more twists and turns to it to make it less predictable.  Otherwise, it was a lovely read.

For the genre Fiction:Women’s/Historical:American, I am going to rate this book a 7 OUT OF 10. 

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