Bombshell [Paperback]

Lynda Curnyn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback) | Publication Date: May 1, 2004

There should be a four-letter word for beauty.

She has more shoes than Sarah Jessica Parker and a skin-care system that could make Madonna swoon, but unlike her celebrity counterparts, Grace Noonan doesn't have it all. Her latest utterly-eligible-yet-maddeningly-unavailable boyfriend has revealed that having sex with her is one thing and having babies quite another, forcing Grace to move on -- again. And now that her employer -- a top cosmetics company once devoted to "beauty beyond thirty" -- is pursuing a teenaged supermodel as its future face, this thirty-four-year-old marketing exec is starting to wonder if she is going to get it all before the closing credits. Could it be time for Grace to back out of the beauty race and trade the singles scene for the sperm bank? Or is there something even this savvy bombshell has yet to discover about life and love in New York City?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Readers may remember Grace Noonan from Curnyn's previous novel, Engaging Men (2003), as the fun, feisty friend of heroine Angie DiFranco. Angie has her man now, but Grace is still looking or, rather, holding any man who might get close to her at arm's length. She dumps Ethan when he reacts with horror at the idea that he may have gotten her pregnant. Things aren't any better at work: the cosmetics company she works for has decided to market a new line to the teen set, and her ex-boyfriend Michael, the son of the company's founder, is back in town with a new fiancee on his arm, who just happens to be the woman heading up the project. When her period comes late and Grace believes she may indeed be pregnant, she finds herself excited rather than frightened by the possibility. Curnyn's novels keep getting better; readers will love following tough, sophisticated Grace on her quest for love and family. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Bombshell Grace Noonan is one complex (and lovable) cookie. And Lynda Curnyn is on terrific author!" -- Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250576
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250578
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good chemistry & plot makes for enaging story, May 23, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Bombshell (Paperback)

We first met Grace as a minor character in "Engaging Men." She is a very complex woman nursing some very basic wounds. The loss of her birth mother (before she had a chance to meet her) has left some resounding effects on her, particularly her fear of ending up alone.

Grace has always been a cool customer when it comes to men after bearing her soul and giving her heart to former paramour (and boss), Michael, only to have him abandon her under the guise that he cannot pursue a relationship with a colleague. When a condom breaks while she is with her current beau Ethan, she realizes she is not so upset about the possibility of becoming a mother, Ethan on the other hand is horrified, which causes Grace to send him packing, while she contemplates single motherhood. She is tired of men that want her in their beds, but not a part of their lives.

A chance meeting with her father's colleague Jonathan, at an art gallery sends Grace's pulse soaring, but feels she got the brush off. When they run into each other again, they soon begin to see each other, though she's not sure what she sees behind his mask of ambivalence (though soon all is revealed). Both of them feeling unlucky in love results in tender and reticent moments as their relationship evolves.

Then Michael re-enters the picture, engaged to another employee of the firm, and smarmily comes on to her. It is Grace's final straw and forces her to come to terms with her fear of abandonment, pride, and her possibly unrequited feelings for Jonathan.

I did not think this one was quite as good as "Engaging Men," but it does stand on its own merits.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lighthearted romantic romp, April 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bombshell (Paperback)

Thirty four years old Grace Noonan is having sex with her lover when his condom breaks inside her. While she calmly considers her options if pregnant, he blithely demand she go out and buy that French pill. Grace ends their relationship as she thinks "alone again, naturally".

At work as production manager at Roxanne Dubrow cosmetics for mature women, Grace learns that the company is taking a major turn to sponsor the Roxy D line for teens. Feeling a bit (make that a lot) too old for a teen campaign, Grace still dives full throttle into the project, which brings her to Jonathan Somerfield also working the change in direction. Besides their fathers being friends at Columbia, Grace feels attracted to Jonathan, who cannot believe this amazingly beautiful thirty something is so much more mature than the picture of her at sixteen that his father has. Still with business and sires to overcome, can Grace and Jonathan find a mutual path to happiness?

BOMBSHELL is an entertaining contemporary romance starring two likable lead characters. Grace is a terrific female trying to make it in a very competitive world in which anyone over thirty is considered geriatric at best and a DOP (politically correct dirty old person) at worst. Jonathan is a solid male counterpoint to Grace especially after the shortcomings (not that silly) of her previous lover. Fans of a lighthearted romantic romp will enjoy the cosmetics war between the generations.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More to the picture than meets the eye, May 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Bombshell (Paperback)

All of Lynda Curnyn's books are great fun to read, but it seems as though each new book has more character development and complex storyline. In Bombshell, the glamorous main character, who appears to have everything going for her, goes through things that make tears come to your eyes one minute, and make you burst into laughter the next. Some complex and tough situations are covered deftly. If you enjoy reading about resiliant New Yorkers navigating the social complexities, I would recommend all of Ms. Curnyn's books.