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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
amusing chick lit tale, October 4, 2005
This review is from: Adventures of a Salsa Goddess (Paperback)
The optimistic face of Elaine Daniels tells forty-one years old unmarried Samantha Jacobs that she has the perfect assignment for her that will increase circulation at Tres Chic by at least twelve percent. Elaine informs Sam that long time columnist Maya Beckett is giving up her La Vie column. It is Sam's, but she must complete a small assignment if she wants to keep the position. This being Sam's dream job, she will do anything until she learns that she is to marry at the Plaza on New Year's Eve as Elaine wants to prove Dr. Virginia Huber wrong when the sociologist says "a never married over forty professional single woman has a better chance of winning the lottery than getting married.".
The threatening face of Elaine warns Sam that failure means unemployment. Though she has no prospects as the men she sees have wives, Sam beings her searches for Mr. Right while the clock ticks away. She meets several men, but none stir her heart or even heat her loins except her younger sexy salsa teacher Javier; he melts her bones whether they dance horizontally or vertically, but marriage to him seems not worth the tango.
ADVENTURES OF A SALSA GODDESS is an amusing chick lit tale that also focuses on relationships by asking a simple question: as a single person begins entering middle age and beyond should they settle or remain in search of their ideal soulmate. Sam is a fabulous protagonist struggling between keeping her job by descending to a level below her desire for true love or remain alone and unemployed. Fans of a deep but amusing contemporary tale will appreciate the dilemma confronting the Salsa Goddess.
Harriet Klausner
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun if somewhat unbelievable read, July 23, 2006
This review is from: Adventures of a Salsa Goddess (Paperback)
This is the story of Samantha Jacobs, an attractive, high-spirited 41-year-old who's ready for an adventure. Her boss supplies it: she wants Samantha to go to Milwaukee, the place where she is statistically least likely to find a husband, and snag one just to flout the statistics.
Samantha gets a fairly steady stream of dates, including one whom she likes, but she has a feeling he's holding something back. She doesn't know exactly what he does for work. In the meanwhile, there's Javier, her salsa instructor with whom she has a lot of chemistry - but he's nine years younger, and that scares her. Meanwhile, her boss keeps insisting that she dates someone "professional".
The book is fairly predictable, and the way that Samantha's boss and mother are fixated on "professionals" is a little offensive...but it bothers Samantha too, so I can't really harp on that. Also, it seems unbelievable that at 41 she would still be under her mother's thumb to such an extent. But I guess some mothers are like that.
The writing is intelligent, the plot twists enjoyable (even if they are a little unbelievable), and the salsa bits are fun to read. Overall, I would recommend this book to chick lit fans who are looking for something a little different, but still fun.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Ahi-na-ma!", October 27, 2005
This review is from: Adventures of a Salsa Goddess (Paperback)
I was in a bookstore this weekend and I ran across this book. I'm not a romance novel reader by any stretch of the imagination. But, as an aspiring writer myself, I'm always interested in keeping up on what's selling. So I picked up the book anyway just to criticize its probably lame fantasy portrayal of salsa.
I'll be darned! I called my girlfriend and told her "girl, you can tell this book is written by someone knee deep in the salsa scene, not someone who just popped into a couple of clubs to 'research' for authenticity." The way she talks about the bachatta being unbearably sensual, going through a period of buying nothing but salsa clothes, how it feels to be standing on the sidelines watching another woman dance wonderfully with your dream partner, the way she used the phrase "the scene",... Being not a romance novel reader, I was still completely sucked in with the whole "Cubana Club" backdrop.
The story's about a writer for a women's magazine who is over 40 and sent to Milwaukee, statistically the worst place in America to find a husband, on assignment. She goes on all these dates but can't stop thinking about "Javier", the dashing salsa instructor/roofer from the Domican Republic who is ten years her junior. It's got the whole "when he dipped me, it was as if time stopped" thing going. You ladies that are into romance novels (come on...you know who you are, don't front!) would really enjoy it. And those of you that aren't would just get a kick out of its authentic description of salsa club life.
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