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Adams, Thelma
Adult Fiction ADAMS
From Publishers' Weekly:
Pity the 21st-century househusband. Although former weatherman Lance Ramsay enjoys staying at home in the San Diego suburb of Encinitas, his 10-year-old daughter Belle's classmates consider him a loser, and his wife, Darlene, is so busy opening a new "Darlene's Diner," the franchise she started eight years ago in Barstow, Calif., that lovemaking has become perfunctory. Lance longs for another child and wishes his wife were more sensitive to Belle, but he finds plenty of distractions: having lots of tantric sex with Wren, the wife of Darlene's business partner, and dodging the amorous overtures of Wren's babysitter. Wren's sister, Robin, starts writing a book about househusbands, which gives a macho neighbor a chance to express his contempt for housebound men. Over the course of a few busy days leading up to the new diner's opening, in which everyone is sleeping with everyone, a brush fire threatens the region, which leads to the inevitable question: will the Ramsays' marriage go up in flames? US Weekly film critic Adams wittily skewers his shallow characters, resulting in a novel that's equal parts cleverness and tedium. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
From Library Journal:
As the Santa Ana winds fan the flames of brush fires across Southern California, two stay-at-home parents and their working spouses play with fire of their own making. Lance is a former surfer and television weatherman-turned-doting father who wants a second baby, but Darlene, his striving wife, is more focused on future franchise opportunities with her restaurant start-up than scheduling sex for conception. Instead, Lance finds comfort and connection with Wren, who introduces him to yoga and tantric sex. Wren is married to Alec, a confident, egotistical businessman who happens to be Darlene's business partner. It's a modern-day tinderbox that somehow fails to ignite. Lance's ten-year-old daughter, Bella, is unconvincingly precocious; Wren's son Sam is sweet but simple. One bright spot is Julia, Wren's snarky, know-it-all nanny whose lack of boundaries provides some zippy dialog. There are several obvious speeches about the validity of stay-at-home parenting and society's underappreciation for caregivers; worse, the plot is predictable. Verdict Purchase this debut novel by US Weekly's film critic only if the publisher's marketing efforts spark local interest. A stronger and darker version of this tale is Tom Perotta's Little Children. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]-Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Adams, Thelma
Adult Fiction ADAMS
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Pity the 21st-century househusband. Although former weatherman Lance Ramsay enjoys staying at home in the San Diego suburb of Encinitas, his 10-year-old daughter Belle's classmates consider him a loser, and his wife, Darlene, is so busy opening a new "Darlene's Diner," the franchise she started eight years ago in Barstow, Calif., that lovemaking has become perfunctory. Lance longs for another child and wishes his wife were more sensitive to Belle, but he finds plenty of distractions: having lots of tantric sex with Wren, the wife of Darlene's business partner, and dodging the amorous overtures of Wren's babysitter. Wren's sister, Robin, starts writing a book about househusbands, which gives a macho neighbor a chance to express his contempt for housebound men. Over the course of a few busy days leading up to the new diner's opening, in which everyone is sleeping with everyone, a brush fire threatens the region, which leads to the inevitable question: will the Ramsays' marriage go up in flames? US Weekly film critic Adams wittily skewers his shallow characters, resulting in a novel that's equal parts cleverness and tedium. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
From Library Journal:
As the Santa Ana winds fan the flames of brush fires across Southern California, two stay-at-home parents and their working spouses play with fire of their own making. Lance is a former surfer and television weatherman-turned-doting father who wants a second baby, but Darlene, his striving wife, is more focused on future franchise opportunities with her restaurant start-up than scheduling sex for conception. Instead, Lance finds comfort and connection with Wren, who introduces him to yoga and tantric sex. Wren is married to Alec, a confident, egotistical businessman who happens to be Darlene's business partner. It's a modern-day tinderbox that somehow fails to ignite. Lance's ten-year-old daughter, Bella, is unconvincingly precocious; Wren's son Sam is sweet but simple. One bright spot is Julia, Wren's snarky, know-it-all nanny whose lack of boundaries provides some zippy dialog. There are several obvious speeches about the validity of stay-at-home parenting and society's underappreciation for caregivers; worse, the plot is predictable. Verdict Purchase this debut novel by US Weekly's film critic only if the publisher's marketing efforts spark local interest. A stronger and darker version of this tale is Tom Perotta's Little Children. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]-Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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