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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | FICTION SYK | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In a delightful mix of charm, cheek, and satire, Sykes returns to the glittering world of her New York Times bestselling debut Bergdorf Blondes to introduce the Debutante Divorces--high society's newly unwed heiresses.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sykes picks up where the prospective-husband hunters of her bestselling 2004 debut, Bergdorf Blondes, left off: "Married girls in New York these days put almost as much effort into losing husbands as they once did into finding them." When Sylvie Mortimer's husband, Hunter, gets called away for business on the second day of their Mexican honeymoon, Sylvie meets fellow Manhattanite Lauren Blount, in town for her divorce honeymoon, and Lauren takes the abandoned newlywed under her wing. Back in New York, Sylvie, working on the cheap for fashion designer friend Thackeray Johnston, brings a grounded perspective to Lauren's world of the rich, well-connected and freshly single, a world of theme parties (divorce showers, power christenings) and modest goals (make out with five men before Memorial Day, hook up their own surround sound). Meanwhile, Hunter's blossoming career as a television producer makes him a prime target for "husband huntresses," including his notorious co-worker Sophia D'Arlan. With Hunter acting secretive, Sophia popping up everywhere and Lauren egging her on, Sylvie sees her own divorce shower in the works. Though characters are as complex as the labels they wear and dialogue tends toward observations like "I want to be Lindsey Lohan most of the time, don't you?" Sykes's Bergdorf formula is still light, wicked, name-dropping fun. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Sykes (Bergdorf Blondes, 2004) turns her affectionately satiric attention to the A-list divorce circuit. When new hubby Hunter is called away to work on the television show he's producing, Sylvie finds herself alone on her honeymoon. She soon meets Lauren and Tinsley, glam gals who are staying at the same luxurious Mexican resort on a different kind of honeymoon: They're celebrating their recent divorces. Lauren, Sylvie's new best friend, sets as her goal to make out with five men between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Soon Sylvie's friends are back in New York changing designer outfits even more often than they're attending parties, jetting off to hot spots and meeting new eligible and not-so-eligible men. Lauren, an heiress in her own right and a jewelry trader, is pursued by an elderly married tycoon but finds herself in Moscow attracted to the mysterious owner of a fabulous jewel. Wandering through the pages are all the stereotypical rich, beautiful, shallow society types readers of In Style know so well. And, of course, there is the gay interior decorator sidekick/confidante whom Lauren hires to decorate Sylvie's apartment. When Hunter finally comes home from his trip, he turns out to be not only handsome but also loving and sensitive, a real catch--except that there is a catch; he has hired as an assistant the man-eater Sophia. Is Sylvie's marriage threatened almost before it begins? Not to worry, Hunter is true-blue. Besides, in the best and only truly nasty bit here, a divorced Arabian princess arranges for Sophia's comeuppance by introducing her to a handsome Arab prince whom Sophia marries, only to find herself stuck in his Saudi harem. The semi-existent plot and ditzy characters serve as background for a lesson in what to wear if you have money to burn. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sykes made a splash on the socialite lit scene with her debut, Bergdorf Blondes (2004), which centered on rich, glamorous party girls looking for the perfect accessory--husbands. Her follow-up celebrates the opposite: what the young wealthy women do when they unload said husbands. According to stylish divorcee Lauren Blount, they have the time of their lives, taking solo honeymoons, having divorce showers, and pursuing any man they like. Newlywed Sylvie Mortimer, the novel's narrator, isn't envious in the least--she's basking in the love of her handsome husband, Hugh, even if she's a little miffed that business obligations pulled him away from their honeymoon. But then Sophie D'Arlan, a notorious seductress who only dates married men, sets her sights on Hugh, and Sylvie fears she may soon be joining the ranks of the debutante divorcees, even though it's the last thing she wants. Readers who enjoy the novels of Candace Bushnell and the writing team of Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman will cotton to Sykes' depiction of Manhattan's jet-setting elite. --Kristine Huntley Copyright 2006 Booklist
Library Journal Review
The characters in Sykes's second novel are as rich and fashionable but, thankfully, not as irritating as those in her debut, Bergdorf Blondes. When Sylvie Mortimer's charming husband, Hunter, deserts her on their honeymoon to close a business deal, she meets heiress Lauren Blount, who is celebrating her Divorce Honeymoon. Bonding instantly because they're both wearing Pucci bikinis, they return to New York as fast friends. Lauren embraces the giddy life of a rich divorc?e, and while Sylvie should be enjoying her new job with up-and-coming fashion designer Thackeray Johnston, she's worried Hunter might be using his devotion to business to cover for an affair. The glamorous backdrop of elite New York (with jaunts to Paris, Moscow, and the French Alps) will enchant Sykes's many fans and, indeed, all devotees of novels in which beautiful people change fabulously expensive outfits almost as often as they drop the names of famous designers, celebrities, and restaurants. Yet the book does have broader appeal, as this extreme lifestyle is simultaneously embraced and skewered with a delicious, almost Wodehousian flair. Recommended for all fiction collections.-Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
