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The Husband Habit [Hardcover]

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (Author)
2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 7, 2009

Why does Vanessa keep falling for married men?

Not that she knows she does. At least not at first. But every man who seems like he might be the one turns out to be someone else’s. So maybe the right thing to do is take a vow to stay single, to keep away from all men, until she can figure things out.

At least work is a bright spot: It’s an anchor to be so good at something, to lose yourself in your job, and Vanessa is a whiz of a chef, so good she makes her grandstanding boss, Hawk—of Albuquerque’s chic Nuevo American restaurant hawk—look good. After all, it’s his name on the awning above the door. If only her friends and family would get on board with Vanessa’s plan and stop trying to fix her up. If she can’t fix her life, nobody else is going to get the chance to try—not her parents, not her friends, and certainly not her ultra-well-meaning but just-not-getting-it sister, Larissa.

And nothing could be more with the plan than helping out at her parents’ house—gardening, keeping them fed, getting them organized with her loyal pet Red Dog by her side. Red Dog is all the companionship she needs. Until Vanessa meets Paul, her parents’ neighbor—he’s all wrong on paper, but he’s got great manners and certainly seems safe. Not bad in the kissing department, either. But just when Vanessa’s guard goes down, the red flag goes up: Could Paul be yet another married man?

Bursting with Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez’s trademark wit and originality, The Husband Habit introduces a rich and complex heroine in chef Vanessa. You’re not going to want to leave her world when the novel comes to an end.

 


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The sixth novel from Valdes-Rodriguez (The Dirty Girls Social Club) is a mixed bag of overly ambitious prose, lighthearted romance and southwestern flavor. Vanessa Duran, one of Albuquerque's most talented chefs, keeps falling in love with married men, so after a string of dud relationships, her sister extracts a promise: Vanessa will take a break from dating and use the time to figure out why she keeps getting involved with all the wrong men. Of course, Vanessa is attracted to the very next guy who crosses her path—Paul Stebbit, an unpretentious Iraq War veteran. The sparks and banter fly, and Paul seems different enough from her other disastrous relationships that Vanessa begins to open up to him. Of course, an obvious complication pops up. Vanessa's Albuquerque serves as a nice backdrop, and the characters avoid most genre pitfalls, but there's an uncomfortable disconnect between the expository passages and the inane dialogue, and some plot developments (particularly one involving a date featuring a flight in a fighter jet) stretch credibility. A few big holes come close to killing the froth. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Valdes-Rodriguez’s latest benefits from deeper character development...Paul and Vanessa’s messy lives make them a couple to root for. Pride & Prejudice for the CNN age."--Kirkus Reviews
 
"Lighthearted romance and southwestern flavor"--Publishers Weekly
 
"The book begins with an amusing premise, then becomes a heartfelt exploration of how family ties can affect the choices of others in our lives...Paul and Vanessa are intriguing characters, and their story will capture the reader."--Romantic Times
 
"Vanessa and Paul are multidimensional characters with the capacity to surprise each other and the reader. And there’s a lot of good cooking along the way."--BookPage

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (July 7, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312537042
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312537043
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #619,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.8 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Simplistic political rantings, September 6, 2009
By 
Marisol (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Husband Habit (Hardcover)
This is one slow moving, interminable book. From the overdone descriptions of food to the constant political rants it just seemed to go on and on without actually arriving anywhere remotely interesting. The protagonist, Vanessa, has a "habit" of unknowingly dating married men and decides to swear off dating. Of course, she is then introduced to the perfect man, or is he? Initially Vanessa is turned off by the fact that Paul served in the military, assuming that he would be conservative politically. At this point I thought that the plot would center around two people with opposing politics who fall in love. Unfortunately, the author chose not to follow this potentially interesting plot line. Instead Paul turns out to have to EXACT same liberal leanings as Vanessa and is therefore judged worthy of dating. In Valdes-Rodriguez's world apparently all liberals are good and all conservatives are bad. It's pretty offensive to this Obama-supporter and I can't imagine how offensive it would be to a Republican.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Nice concept, bad execution, August 5, 2009
This review is from: The Husband Habit (Hardcover)
When I read the plot synopsis I thought this would be a fun, romantic summer read. I was wrong. Valdes-Rodriguez has an overly elaborate style of writing that completely buried the story. It sometimes felt as if the author was trying to channel Dickens, but didn't have the skill to pull it off. The constant food metaphors were especially annoying.

As to the political aspect of the book that seems to bother other reviewers- it did get a little screechy and preachy in spots. This angle probably would have been successful if it were handled with a little more finesse. Unfortunately, it just came across as a shrill political diatribe plunked down in the middle of a Chick Lit book.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, February 21, 2010
This review is from: The Husband Habit (Hardcover)
I liked Alisa's style in her two Dirty Girls books--spicy, hilarious, and blunt. This one, however, was very bland. I think she spent too much time describing New Mexico and throwing in her political views (and describing food)...so much so that it seems like she forgot to develop her main characters and forgot to dig deep into their hearts and minds.
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