The Diary of V: The Affair [Mass Market Paperback]

Debra Kent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001 | Series: Diary of V (Book 1)

In her very wild diary, V tells all as she watches her husband stray into the arms of a younger woman. But payback - in the shape of a man - will be hers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Installments of The Diary of V, which began as a Redbook Web site serial in 1997, are joined and expanded in this funny but frantic new novel. Midwestern college town therapist Valerie Tisdale is a journal-keeping everywoman brimming with appetite, energy and a hapless bent toward self-destruction. When she meets Eddie, owner of the plant company that services her office ficus, his sexy presence unleashes longings that V's husband Roger won't fulfill and aggravates V's growing discontent with her marriage which is already threatened by signs that her chilly spouse has been unfaithful. Troubles also brew at work, where a colleague threatens to expose V's liaison, a power-hungry new partner angles for her job and an armload of nutty clients act out with abandon. The book leaves her jobless and spouseless, but with two sequels already in the works, it's clear V's problems are far from over. Kent, a frequent contributor to national women's magazines, propels her heroine from crisis to crisis as relentlessly as any Victorian melodrama, and, in the end, there's little that's truly fresh in this middle-aged Bridget Jones knockoff. Still, V's honesty about everything from stretch marks to extramarital sex makes her an amusing companion, and busy soccer moms will appreciate the brevity of the story segments. Agent: Sandy Dijkstra. (June 1)Forecast: Print advertising in magazines such as Redbook and People should generate brisk early sales for this trilogy, but these numbers are likely to taper off once impatient fans realize that they needn't wait for the next installment to be published in Sept. They can read the continuing saga on-line at Redbook's Web site.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

October 3 Worked late last night, trying to catch up on paperwork. It's just me, the Hungarian cleaning ladies, and the guy who waters the plants. I couldn't help but notice his arms, thick and hairy (nice hair, not gorilla man hair), and his torso is a perfect V. He is sex in a pair of blue jeans.

I realized that he was spending a lot of time around my desk, which didn't make sense since I only have one sad little ficus. Then he smiled and said, "Working late again, huh?" He was on one knee, tamping the mulch around the base of the tree. His fingers were thick and strong. "You ever find time for a little fun?" A legitimate question, actually. Since my promotion from staff therapist to "senior partner in wellness" here at the Westfield Center for Mental Wellness, I've had little time for anything but thrashing through heaps of paper and going to management meetings where I get to vote on such critical management questions as Does Filomena Perez in reception deserve a nineteen-dollar-a- week raise? (Yes.) Should our holiday staff party be catered or a potluck? (Catered. Who the hell has time to cook?) Should we start a softball team next spring? (God no.) As senior partner I was responsible for generating new "wellness bridges" to physicians, divorce attorneys, school counselors, and others who were in a position to send new clients our way.

"Nah, you don't get out much. I can tell."

Wait a minute. Was this guy trying to pick me up?

My whole body prickled to life. It had been two and a half months since Roger and I had sex, so it wouldn't take enormous effort to get me interested. His name was embroidered in neat cursive over his pocket. Eddie. "You have a cute mouth," he said.

Flirting! Oh joy! I straightened up and smiled at him.

I licked my lips. "Excuse me?" I said disingenuously.

He pointed to my computer. "Your mouse. Cute."

He was talking about the fuzzy mouse cover I'd bought at Staples. "Oh. Yes. My mouse." I was mortified. The man leaned across me to pet the mouse and I could feel the heat radiating off his forearm. "Well, I'd better get the rest of the floor," he said. Then he winked.

Roger was in his study when I got home. He didn't turn around when I walked into the room. It's been a week since I lightened my hair and he still hasn't no-ticed. I moved closer, bent to straighten some papers on his desk, flipped my hair in his direction. "Valerie, I'm working on a critical scene. Later, okay?" I would have slammed the door but my anger was suddenly tempered by simply this: Eddie.

'Til next time, V Copyright (c) 2001 by Women.com LLC

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vision (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446610496
• ISBN-13: 978-0446610490
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,997,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much fun!, January 6, 2003

By 

Miriam (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary of V: The Affair (Mass Market Paperback)

An irresistible romp, reading this is like eating a box of Godiva chocolate truffles in one sitting. You may feel a bit guilty afterwards! Our heroine is a lust-filled married woman with a cold, cold husband. Poor dear, she turns to the muscular and handsome gardener (yes, the gardener) who tends the plants at her office. Shades of Lady Chatterley! There are plenty of "naughty bits" though nothing outright pornographic. The protagonist is a therapist but seems to have her own anger control issues. Almost every discussion with her husband ends with her throwing something.... Not that we blame her: As the story goes on, the husband turns out to be a dirty rotten cheating scoundrel. On top of that, there are office politics, scandals and rivalries. Everything is over the top and not very believable, but fun. Oh, and beware -- the ending is a cliff-hanger, so you feel compelled to get the next book in the series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mindless and fun entertainment, July 8, 2001

By 

Paula Emeigh "love to read!" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Diary of V: The Affair (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked up this book at a bookstore, not knowing anything about the author or the web site. I wasn't sure I would enjoy this book, but once I got into it, I started to have fun. Like reading a Jackie Collins novel, this book manages to entertain. Don't read it if you want to learn anything. Just read it for fun. It tells the story of this therapist and the entries she keeps in her diary. From trying to keep her marriage together, to being attracted to other men. From losing weight to gaining weight, job problems, children problems. It covers it all. A fun and entertaining book! I am certainly looking forward to the next installments. This book would also certainly qualify as a great summer read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a MUST, June 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Diary of V: The Affair (Mass Market Paperback)

I am normally not a book worm at all matter of fact in the past 10 years I have maybe read 5 books but when I looked at this one I had to get it and so glad I did. This book kept me on it i couldnt lay it down to even get a drink :-) It is awesome! A must for women that ever dreamed about having an extramarital affair!