Bergdorf Blondes

By Plum Sykes

Ah, New York high society! Where the haves have it all and yet want more, more, more! Dripping with jewels, the latest designer clothes and accessories, groomed and doctored to the nth degree, these fashion butterflies are never content, never satisfied that they are all they can be. So when our heroine notices that girls who are engaged have a lovely glow about themselves, she figures the only way to get that same look is to find a PH or potential husband. And the search is on.
Well, finding a husband turns out not to be so easy. Yeah, she gets engaged right away to an up-and-coming handsome young photographer. But, before too long, her dream date turns into a callous cad and the engagement is over. Our heroine gets so depressed she tries to off herself with an overdose of over-the-counter pain pills, but only succeeds in making herself sick.
But things are looking way up when she meets a handsome, charming, seductive prince. He is everything she is looking for in a mate except for one thing...he has a wife and three kids. Maybe our heroine should listen to her mummy and take a serious look at the boy next door, the little Earl, whom Mummy has been trying to get her daughter together with since they were kids.

This was an OK book, it even has its funny moments. Of course, it is pretty clear from the beginning who the girl will end up with, but that's typical of romance novels, which this is, in its uptown, Park Avenue way. The only problem I really had with it was its heavy emphasis on fashion. Fashion is a closed book to me, I don't even know what a kitten heel is, so all the fashion references meant nothing to me. Still, you don't have to know fashion to know that the women in this book live and die by it and their obsession is not only funny but also kind of sad.