First-time novelist Curnyn pens an easy, breezy first novel that's part Sex in the City
with more heart, and part Bridget Jones with less booze. A frustrated would-be writer and an editor at Bridal Best, Emma Carter becomes an ex when her beau of two years sells a screenplay and moves to L.A. without her. ("You have so much here," he tells her; needless to say, she doesn't agree.) Her two 30-something girlfriends, Alyssa and Jade, each beautiful and romantically challenged in her own way, try to coax Emma out of her rut with either tough love or encouragement, depending on the day. But Alyssa is considering cheating on her longtime love Richard (a lawyer and the "best guy she's been with") and Jade, who was recently hurt by a man, too, has sworn off anything but casual sex. Drawing comfort from snack cakes and diet ice cream (for which she must atone at the gym) as well as her own confessions ("I would marry for a below-market one bedroom"; "I am ready for my miniature schnauzer") Emma eventually does meet a new guy. He's a writer, too, but he doesn't call after she sleeps with him; meanwhile her father's drinking and her mother's upcoming third marriage give her lots to stew about, as does her potential promotion. But the lost relationship haunts her until a few final moments of self-empowerment in the book's conclusion. This is light, occasionally amusing fare, but it's nothing new. Emma may be a New Yorker and a nonsmoker, but her story feels pretty derivative of you-know-who's. (Apr.)
Forecast:Lovers of women's magazines and people who don't mind maxims like "There are some ailments only good hair can cure" may appreciate Curnyn's snappy take on desperation; for book clubs whose members like to meet over cosmopolitans, this is probably a winner.
