Old Boyfriends - Hardcover

Becnel, Rexanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786284560 ISBN 13: 9780786284566

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2006

Synopsis

Three women on a mission to renew their love lives drive to a reunion in New Orleans where they hope to find the boyfriends from their past.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Though now best friends in California, neglected housewife Bitsey, trophy wife M.J. and divorcée interior designer Cat are all "Grits": girls raised in the South. When the death of M.J.'s wealthy husband leaves her destitute on the eve of Bitsey's 30-year high school reunion, the three plan a road trip to their hometown of New Orleans—and the boyfriend each has left behind. M.J. abandons her former flame in favor of paraplegic auto mechanic Steve. Cat, meanwhile, finds that sparks still fly with sheriff Matt, and Bitsey is tempted by her ex-love Eddie, now an activist lawyer. Family dramas abound as well, from Bitsey's disaffected daughter to Cat's alcoholic clan. Events work out far more neatly than in real life (e.g., all three women breezily abandon California and move back home), but Becnel deftly captures the way actual women think, giving the book an emotional groundedness that balances its romantic fantasy; insightful descriptions of Steve's physical limitations and Bitsey's distant marriage add realism as well. Brisk and entertaining, with a welcome focus on middle-aged sexuality, this tidy tale proves that Becnel is just as much at home writing high-quality contemporary fiction as penning the historical fiction for which she's known (The Heartbreaker, etc.). (Aug.)
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From Booklist:

Three women from New Orleans now living in California become best friends. Each is at a crossroad, and the trio decides to drive to Louisiana for a thirtieth high-school reunion. M. J. is a former beauty queen turned trophy wife whose husband has a heart attack while in bed with another woman. Twice divorced, Cat goes along for the ride but, unbeknownst to her friends, comes from a truly dysfunctional family she is not keen to visit. It's Bitsey's reunion. Her children are grown, her husband ignores her, and the thought of her old school friends seeing her dowdy, overweight self sends shivers down her spine, but her friends convince her to go. All three secretly hope to reconnect with the boyfriends they've never forgotten. What they hope to find in New Orleans and what they get are vastly different things, but they do discover their true selves in the process. And Becnel's ability to create mature, appealing characters is matchless. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0786284560
• ISBN 13: 9780786284566
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 485