 |
| Home | Advertise With Us | Login | Subscribe | Contact Us | Help/Customer Service | Links | Tell A Friend | Add To Favorites | ||||||
 |
        |
|||||
 |
||||||
Title: The Immaculate Complexion Author: Edie Bloom Edie Bloom is the pseudonym for the writing duo of Michelle Meyers and Robin Strober. These two former Estée Lauder PR assistants take a satirical look at mass-market consumerism through the eyes of The Immaculate Complexion's heroine, Marnie Mann. Marnie has the luck to land a coveted temping job at prestigious LeVigne Cosmetics. From the start, she's neck-deep in the shallowness and pressures of the corporate cosmetic world when a receptionist bluntly suggests some of LeVigne's cream to cover up the age spots on her forehead. Marnie thought they were just pimples. This passage signifies the start of a bumpy road ahead for Marnie in this incredibly rich and complex tale. As if the challenges of launching new products—which don't go as planned—isn't enough, a tainted box of Botox puts a co-worker in a coma. And the long-term outlook for Marnie's career at the company looks much worse when she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the LeVigne founder's granddaughter. Meyers and Strober then manage to weave in further layers of conflict as Marnie tries to fight aging and maintain a perfect figure, all while developing a new romance with Paul, the cheese manager at Dean & Deluca. The Immaculate Complexion's love scenes include some hot foreplay with a very nice shower scene. And for what they are, these scenes are good—hence our rating for sexual warmth. But if you prefer to read about every intimate detail of the relationship you might be a bit disappointed, since the rest of the lovemaking is glossed over. These types of stories often die a slow death as the author attempts to be funny with over-the-top plots and unrealistic dialogue. But the writers manage to pull off the wit with perfect timing, and the dialogue is often brilliant. Also, satire can easily become preachy, but Meyer and Strober's humor creates a story that doesn't moralize. It simply and beautifully explores the kinds of challenges that most women face in the modern world. In a genre that is becoming saturated with similar themes, The Immaculate Complexion provides unique and refreshing insight. This writing team will certainly make their mark in the world of chick lit with this excellent debut novel.
[ top ] |
||||||
 |