SPANISH DISCO

A brilliant editor, workaholic, ex–Studio 54 wild child and burgeoning alcoholic—the heroine of this romantic comedy is caustic enough to take the varnish off Bridget Jones's nails. Cassie Hayes, 33, is perfectly happy with her coffee-chugging, 80-hour-workweek life as West Side Publishing's star editor. The closest she gets to nutritious food is the lemon wedges that accompany her daily tequila, and her current idea of intimacy is the incredible phone sex she has with her bestselling author Michael Pearton, who lives a safe 5,000 miles away in London. All this suits her just fine, until famous recluse Roland Riggs, who disappeared from the scene shortly after the publication of his groundbreaking novel Simple Simon, announces that he has completed the book's long-awaited sequel—and that he wants Cassie to be his editor. Cassie reluctantly sets off for the writer's secluded home on Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico, only to discover that Roland is determined to hold the sequel hostage until she teaches him to do the Hustle like a pro so he can woo his disco-loving Mexican housekeeper. While coaxing the book out of Roland, wrestling with her growing feelings for Michael, who is suddenly insisting that they must meet, fending off a tabloid reporter who has stumbled onto Roland's secrets and reconciling herself with her troublesome mother, Cassie has her hands full—and there ain't a decent espresso in sight. This isn't the subtlest love story, even by the standards of the genre, but Cassie is refreshingly free of the self-doubt that afflicts most of her peers. (Jan.)