20 Times a Lady: A Novel [Paperback]

Karyn Bosnak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

How many men does it take to find true love?

Delilah Darling's magic number was supposed to be twenty. She always thought she'd find the perfect guy by the time she'd slept with twenty of them. But when she wakes up naked in her disgusting boss's bed after a drunken night out, she's filled with regret -- and realizes she's hit her self-imposed limit. Unwilling to up her number but unable to imagine a life of celibacy, Delilah does what any girl in her situation would do: she tracks down every man she's ever slept with in a last-ditch effort to make it work with one of them.

A hilarious romp through Delilah's past loves, 20 Times a Lady proves that in the end, numbers don't matter. True love will come when you're open and ready to accept it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bosnak, the woman behind the popular "Save Karyn" Web site (she also penned a book by the same title), makes her fiction debut with the tepid tale of Delilah Darling, a woman on the cusp of 30 who loses her job and sleeps with her heinous former boss in an entanglement that's the 20th notch on her headboard. It's a painful realization, as she'd just read in the New York Post, that the average person has 10.5 partners in their lifetime. Fearing she has more than reached her quota, Delilah takes off on a cross-country trip, determined to find "the one" among the 20 of her former lovers. But she soon discovers that the men of her romantic past"an inmate, a rehab patient, a dog-obsessed Amway salesman and a Muppeteer among them"aren't exactly life-partner material. Clever chapter breaks that feature maps and voice-mail transcripts are fun additions, but the story"hobbled by limp humor, razor-thin characters and phoned-in prose"takes too long to find its inevitably happy ending. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Don't hate yourself in the morning for reading this book and liking it. It's as irresistible as a pint of Ben & Jerry's and goes down as easily. Free spirit Delilah hates herself after she wakes up with inappropriate man number 20 the day after she's been laid off from her job. Since this number is the limit Delilah has set for herself before getting married, she has the expected loopy single-gal freak-out and goes on an extended journey to track down every badly chosen man she's ever slept with and determine if she didn't make a mistake tossing one of them back into the dating pool. Astute readers will spot Mr. Right immediately--a Colin Farrell look-alike who tracks down Delilah's old boyfriends and is charmed by her quest. Fans of chick lit will recognize the overbearing mother, the quirky pet, the misguided ideas about love and relationships, and the laugh-out-loud encounters with old flames that end in hilarious flameouts. The lively pace and outlandish story will keep readers hooked, but don't skip the footnotes. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060828358
• ISBN-13: 978-0060828356
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karyn Bosnak lives in New York City. Her first book, the memoir SAVE KARYN (based on the website of the same name), received international media attention when it was published in 2003, resulting in appearances on the Today Show and 20/20. Karyn's second book and first novel, 20 TIMES A LADY, was published in 2006 and made into the feature film WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? starring ANNA FARIS and CHRIS EVANS. To find out what she's up to visit www.prettyinthecity.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely observed n damn cute with it..., June 29, 2006

By 

muddy chipmunk (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20 Times a Lady: A Novel (Paperback)

I picked this book up at Gatwick before flying to the US and it was the perfect read for a 9 hour flight - I read it from cover to cover. At times, the dialogue can be slightly clanky but there are some touchingly accurate n profound observations as well that more than balance out the book. Ms Bosnak handles my late twenties crisis really well!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read, June 27, 2006

By 

Just Me (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20 Times a Lady: A Novel (Paperback)

Realizing she has reached her sexual partner limit, Delilah takes off on a road trip to try to reconnect with ex-lovers. Well, hopefully at least one!! This novel makes a fun read. It's an interesting as Delilah makes her way across the United States to look up old boyfriends and see if they still have that chemistry. Will she realize an old-flame is the one? Will her first love turn out to be her life-long love? I highly recommend finding out.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, July 7, 2006

By 

Melinda Hupp "lexscully" (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20 Times a Lady: A Novel (Paperback)

This girl will crack you up!!! I was laughing through her first book "Save Karyn" and her second did not disappoint. I can't wait until her next book comes out. You all should definitely read if you want to be entertained.