|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Prudence Malone, a 38-year-old New Yorker, has almost everything a modern woman could ask for. She has a successful career, great friends, and a wonderfully supportive husband who loves her deeply. She doesn't even realize that she is unhappy until she attends her college reunion and meets her old boyfriend, Matt. Oh, Matt might have broken up with her without any warning or reason just before she was about to graduate college, but he is still very good looking and Prudence's heart soars when she sees him. She conveniently puts their break-up into the back of her mind and they start an affair and immediately fall in love with each other all over again. To Prudence's delight, Matt proposes marriage to her at the end of their weekend reunion and she enthusiastically agrees to marry him. When Prudence returns to New York she gleefully tells her friends about her engagement to Matt. They are pretty surprised and remind her about her wonderful husband Reilly and ask her what she is going to do about him. But Prudence has it all worked out. She is going to put ads in the newspapers and find Reilly a brand-new wife before she tells him about their upcoming divorce. After all, she doesn't want Reilly to be alone for the rest of his life, and she certainly doesn't want to hurt him. She is sure that finding a new wife for Reilly is the best thing for him. THE WIFE OF REILLY by Jennifer Coburn is filled with characters that aren't all that likeable. Prudence, the heroine, can be quite annoying. She's angry with her father who left his family for a younger woman when Prudence was 12. The fact that her mother had gotten over it and remarried not long after the break-up and that her father is trying his best to make amends doesn't seem to take away any of Prudence's anger. She's also annoyed with her husband, Reilly, because he's so kind to her and isn't making it easy for her to leave him for her new fiancé. And Prudence is jealous of her half sisters because she thinks they are getting the attention from their father that she never received. Although I might understand some of these things, I personally can't understand how Reilly would feel better about their divorce if Prudence found him another wife. But that's not a concern in the book. Prudence is doing it for Prudence, so she won't feel guilty about her plans. The readers follow Prudence and her friends as they go to different restaurants and try out different night classes to keep themselves busy. The readers are also invited to a big party that they throw for all the marriage-minded women who want to meet Reilly. THE WIFE OF REILLY is a typical chick lit book, and if you like this genre, you'll like this book. It's fast, light reading and the ending is enjoyable. Don't expect a whole lot of sympathetic characters or deep thought or sentiment, and although some parts of the story don't quite belong in this particular novel, the book is well written and will hold a chick lit fan's interest. If you want a fast, easy read take a look at THE WIFE OF REILLY .
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, February 2004
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
