After a promising debut, Dress You Up in My Love
, Stingley succumbs to the sophomore slump with this claustrophobic romantic comedy. Narrated by Cupid ("What I hate most about my job is listening to you people whine and complain that you can't find true love"), the novel follows the romance between co-workers Anna Munson and Nick Wells. On their first date, Cupid breaks the rules and prematurely shoots an arrow of true love into Anna's heart, thus transforming her into a self-sacrificing dishrag. Because he'll get in big trouble if their love lasts, Cupid must make Anna fall out of love. What follows is the book of Job as chick lit. Nick helps Cupid out by being a cad: he loses his job, moves in with Anna to save money, cheats on her, starts rapidly balding and fails to look for new work. But like most tangles with the gods, this tale has lessons. Nick, who once callously mistreated a character referred to only as "the not-particularly-promising girl," must learn to respect women and accept Anna's love. Anna must learn to stop constantly analyzing their relationship. Even Cupid comes away with surprising information about the transformative power of human love. Cupid's wisecracks, the piercing commentary on romantic anxiety and the happy ending will please some, but the book suffers from a sluggish pace and a paucity of fun. Agent, Laura Bradford.
(Feb.)
