Customer Reviews

Bachelor Degree

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, men do read Judith Marks White's stories and yes, they thoroughly enjoy them. In fact, men who wear Brooks Bros, Paul Stuart or J.Press, (or maybe even Jos. Banks) need to read her stories to learn how another "half" of society live.

The characters are the Professional and Creative type, not the mundane business or legal types. There is the name dropping, the "in" spots, the current fashions and contrasting characters that educate and inform the reader that, yes, these characters do exist in "real" life. This is life in those quadrants of the city. It is not good or bad, but can be different, annoying and entertaining.

The story, like all of JMW's stories, builds nicely, then twists and then BANG! Oh, so clever!

However, the best part of JMW's stories are the words. Words you love to read; words that make you smile, words you learn from and words you know, but never use. Words that are placed together to excite and make the reading so much fun. The art of the writer, thus the art of the characters and the story.

Judith Marks White is the other side of, but equal distant to Garrison Keiller. Humor and good story telling at it's best. Bachelor Degree: it's worth the "read." Yes!

For all the reasons I loved Marks-White's SEDUCING HARRY I loved BACHELOR DEGREE even more! The world the author creates is an easy one to love, filled with delicious food, exciting romance, glamour, fabulous outfits, cool characters, and a story that has you turning pages till it's so past your bedtime the book falls out of your hands. I finished at 2 am and already miss knowing I won't be going back there today. Read and enjoy!

A totally enjoyable read. The subtle homor keep you smiling all the way through. The storyline keeps you guessing "Will she or won't she?" (end up with the ideal bachelor -- or which bachelor). The antics of her meddling mother and annoying cousin will keep you amused and you will enjoy the NY scenes described so deliciously. A marvelously delightful book.

Totally enjoyable. I read it in two nights, loved the humor and whit. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Bettylou Cummings

So you have an interfering mother, do you?
Wat till you meet Samantha's mom. And her perfect boyfriend. And her gynecologist. And her gynecologist's son. Oh, and her boss, who might just be more competitive, ambitious and sexually voracious even than her mother. Marks-White uses her cast, and her wit, to cast a frothy, funny, love-filled spell on her happy readers.

New York City is a mecca for extraordinary restaurants offering sumptuous meals, brilliant artists showcasing their dazzling pieces of fine art and hot available bachelors who can flip the heart of a woman, regardless her age.

Judith Marks-White, in her second novel, takes you on a lavish tour through New York's haute' couture houses in Bachelor Degree. It is in this setting that Samantha Krasner, an art gallery director and her twice-widowed mother, Madeleine Krasner-Wolfe, are looking for their Bachelor Degrees, i.e.: a man who is available, has a solid career and would be considered marriage material.

Blake Hamilton, a new rising star of the art world, arrives from England to showcase his work for a November show at Cole Galleries. Samantha is smitten with Blake's sex appeal and humor and Madeleine begins a campaign to ensure Blake becomes a son-in-law, while the owner of Cole Gallery, Alexandra Cole, wants him as a boy-toy. As the whirlwind of ambition, money and prestige swirls around Blake's amazing show, the truth about his past begins to unravel, making Samantha step back with suspicion.

Ms. Marks-White is a very good writer, however several things stood out to me. The book's page states that Madeleine is twice divorced, however the story clearly depicts her as a widow and how both her of husbands died. Also, she writes in detail about lust but I did not get that emotional feeling of `love' from these characters.

So my question is, since Samantha married a good man at the end of the story, why wasn't that relationship fleshed out. The ending could have been better. As it was it left me unimpressed.

Armchair Interviews says: A nice light read that could have been a better read with some editing for facts and clarity.

In New York thirty-eight years old divorcee Samantha Krasner has always felt overwhelmed by her beloved but larger than life mother, Madeleine Krasner-Wolfe. Inanely she thinks her mom has been wealthy widowed twice to her one impoverished divorce and is a noted art collector while she is an assistant at the Cole Gallery.

Madeleine wants her daughter to live life to the fullest as the late Rosalind Russell described her philosophy that "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death"; so she is euphoric when Samantha and hot British artist Blake Hamilton seem to hit it off. However, geography is a factor so Madeleine encourages her daughter to after the gynecologist hunk Spencer Gould or perhaps Mark Robbins. Meanwhile she makes it a family affair when Madeleine decides to go after Spencer's father Alden, also a gynecologist. To matchmake with the father and son physicians, Madeline arranges medical appoints for her, Samantha, and her niece virginal Celeste.

The upper crust Manhattan-Long Island lifestyle comes across in a vivid manner through the escapades of the Aunt Mame like mom and her often embarrassed daughter. Madeleine is more of a caricature lampooning the elitist affluence right next door to poverty while the rest of the support cast enables the audience to see deep into what makes Samantha tick. Samantha is the star but her chick lit asides are more often cold and cruel instead of cool and comical. Still overall this romp through the world of the nouveau widowed riche is an intriguing look at the indifference of the let them eat cake crumbs crowd.

Harriet Klausner