Best Enemies [Mass Market Paperback]

Jane Heller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Book publicist Amy Sherman tripped over it when she caught her fiancé horizontally attached to her best friend, the impossibly tall, inexcusably blonde, and insufferably gorgeous Tara Messer, who added insult to injury by marrying the cad right out from under her.

After four years of therapy, Amy's finally back on track-until she has to publicize the hottest new book of the season by "the next Martha Stewart." Nightmares do come true. It's the dreaded Tara who's the author, and why shouldn't she write a bestseller about perfection? She's the perfect woman enjoying the perfect life with the perfect man. Who'd ever guess she's living the perfect lie?

When Amy tries to save face by roping a handsome mystery writer into posing as her fiancé, her little white lie leads to yet another romantic triangle. She just might find true love this time-if she lets herself-but first she and Tara must settle old scores and team up against the man who played them both...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Amy Sherman is pretty; Tara Messer is a beauty. Amy has a nice Manhattan apartment; Tara's suburban Tudor castle boasts an actual turret. Amy was engaged to Stuart Lasher, who took maid of honor Tara to bed and then to the altar. Now Tara has chronicled her perfect lifestyle in a book called Simply Beautiful, about to be published by Lowry and Trammell-where her editor plans to make her "the next Martha Stewart, without the baggage" and where Amy is publicity director. Can you spell delicious conflict? Heller (Lucky Stars) goes for the laughs and gets them, but there's more here than meets the funny bone. Just when the reader is ready to kill the perfidious Tara (perhaps by beating her to death with accessories and garnishes), Heller switches out of Amy's point of view and into Tara's. It turns out Tara's a real person, too. And she's in trouble. It seems she did Amy a favor by stealing Stuart, who grabs every passing ass and may bring down the family business with a fake caviar scheme. And it isn't Tara who's pregnant with Stuart's baby. Meanwhile, in another switcheroo, Amy's got a great romance budding with Tony Stiles, the gorgeous mystery author. Of course, they're only pretending to pretend to be in love-Amy to save face (she told Tara she was engaged) and Tony to research relationships-and things are going swimmingly. Though the happy ending is a sure thing, getting there is fabulous fun. Heller makes a familiar story read as brand new, thanks to a rich humanity abetted by smart dialogue, zippy pacing and all-around craft.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Heller writes fast-moving, witty, often best-selling novels about contemporary women and their combative but loving relationships. In her latest, Amy Sherman and Tara Messer, lifelong best friends, are now all grown up and living in New York City. There has always been some friction in their relationship because Amy feels overshadowed by the extravagantly beautiful and elegant Tara (a lifestyle guru). When Amy catches her fiance, Stuart, in a passionate embrace with Tara two weeks before the wedding, she cuts both of them out of her life. The two eventually marry each other, while Amy focuses on her demanding job as publicity director for a major publisher. Four years later, Amy and Tara are thrown together when Amy is assigned to promote Tara's new book. The two women weave a web of deception, with Tara pretending her life is perfect (even though Stuart is a serial womanizer) while Amy invents a rich, handsome boyfriend, whom she then has to produce. Heller's fans will be waiting to get their hands on this highly entertaining read. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312996764
• ISBN-13: 978-0312996765
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,764,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I hope those who've enjoyed my novels of romantic comedy will try my first nonfiction book, "Confessions of a She-Fan," about my passion for the NY Yankees. Yes, it's about baseball, but it's also about marriage (mine) and what it really means to be a fan. If you aren't into baseball, maybe you know someone who is and you'll tell them about it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great job using multiple POV to tell an engaging story, July 19, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best Enemies (Mass Market Paperback)

When Amy returned early from her dentist appointment, the last thing she expected to find was her maid of honor Tara underneath her fiance, Stuart. Needless to say, the nuptials did not go on as planned, and Amy moved on to a great job as a book publicist. A chance run-in with Tara nearly five years later brings back old memories, and in order to make herself feel better, she tells a little white lie - she is engaged. Amy has always lived in Tara's shadow, and has always felt inferior to her.

Suddenly, Amy is thrust into a situation where she has to publicize Tara's soon to be published book about her fabulous life with her husband, Stuart. Her impossibly evil boss Betsy threatens to fire her is she does not manage to make the book a bestseller.

Amy begrudgingly works with Tara to start the book promotion, trying to keep it professional, while Tara wants to be friends again. After repeated requests for Amy and her fiance to join them for supper, Amy has to do some fast thinking to find a would-be fiance who is willing to go along with the charade.

Enter Tony Stiles, mystery writer and man of many fantasies. He and Amy have always had an antagonistic relationship because he hates the publicity part of his writing. He skeptically accepts a dinner date with her (that turns into a bit of a disaster), and the two find that they actually have a lot in common once their boxing gloves come off. Tony accepts a dinner date with one of Amy's clients, not aware of the whole fiance plot. A storm causes them to have to stay the night and Amy finally confesses her plot to Tony

You would think Tony would be upset; instead, he takes the opportunity to use their relationship as material for her female character, who always gets panned by critics. Tony lays the love on thick, and makes Tara and Stuart feel like heels.

While the story could easily have stuck with a single viewpoint, author Heller punches things up by suddenly switching gears, re-telling the story from Tara's viewpoint. The insight is interesting, as we discover that Tara and Stuart don't have the "simply beautiful" marriage that they purport to have.

"Best Enemies" is an engaging story with two great protagonists - you find yourself hating Tara when you read Amy's story, then switch your viewpoint once Tara takes center stage (though I felt she was pretty full of herself). It is a great beach read with a lot of tender moments.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely up to Jane Heller's usual standards!, April 27, 2004

By 

Ellen b (Long Island United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best Enemies (Heller, Jane) (Hardcover)

Jane Heller is one of my favorite authors. She never disappoints, and this wonderful novel is proof. Amy and Tara were best friends for years until one act of betrayal rips them apart, and then makes them both pretend to be people that they aren't, and have things they don't really have in order to impress each other. Anyone who has a best friend will see a little bit of themselves here, as Jane Heller explores the underlying competetiveness in all relationships with her usual humor and skill. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enemies for life...., January 1, 2007

By 

Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Best Enemies (Mass Market Paperback)

BEST ENEMIES by Jane Heller
December 31, 2006


Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

I always enjoy Jane Heller's books, and this was no exception. BEST ENEMIES is narrated by two women, who started out as best friends growing up but became enemies when one of them was found with the other's fiancé in bed.

Amy Sherman was about to get married when she came home to the apartment she shared with her fiancé and found him horizontal and naked with her best friend Tara Messer. Tara was supposed to be her maid of honor, but that act of betrayal ended the friendship. Tara promptly married the scumbag, Stuart, and Amy didn't lay eyes on the two of them again until years later, when she bumps into Tara on the streets of Manhattan.

Amy is now working for a successful publishing company, and Tara has just sold her book to the company Amy happens to be working for. However, Amy doesn't know it yet. Instead, Amy goes on and on about her upcoming wedding plans to a man whose identity she cannot reveal, hoping to rub it in that she's happy despite the trauma she suffered because of Tara and Stuart. Unfortunately, when Amy does find out what Tara has been up to lately, she's not sure what to do. Amy has told a big lie that will come back to haunt her. Amy is told that she will be working closely with Tara to get the book published on time - in 6 months. 6 months was also the time frame Amy gave Tara regarding her upcoming wedding to the mystery man. What is she going to do?

On the spur of the moment, during a heated conversation about Tara's favorite novelist Tony Stiles, a man that Amy loathes with a passion, she's not sure why she does it, but she blurts out to Tara that Tony is indeed her secret boyfriend and soon-to-be husband. Of course Tara is fit to be tied, and invites them to dinner. In order for this to work, Amy has to convince Tony to go out with her. It isn't easy, but she is surprised at how fast she is able to get Tony to change his opinion about her, and vice versa. Amy finds out through his publicist his interests and hobbies and she uses the information to woo him. And it works.

Amy is now ready to get her revenge on Tara and Stuart by showing that she has indeed moved on and has landed a very eligible bachelor. And while she's busy doing that, she also finds that she's attracted to Tony, and she sees a different side to his personality that she likes. Tony also seems to be falling for Amy, which surprises him as well, and soon the two no longer have to pretend to be a couple...

What I found interesting about BEST ENEMIES is that we get to hear the other side of the story. Tara narrates a huge chunk of the novel, giving the reader a slightly different version of what happened from the beginning. Tara comes across as a very shallow person through the eyes of Amy, and even through the eyes of Tara, she still seems rather one dimensional, but the more I read her story, the more I liked her as well. BEST ENEMIES was fun, a romance/chick lit story that I enjoyed a lot. Jane Heller has to be one of my favorite authors in this genre. She never fails to entertain.