Leave It to Cleavage [Mass Market Paperback]

Wendy Wax (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

Miranda Smith isn't surprised to discover a cache of racy photographs in her husband's desk--after all, he is the president of Ballantyne Bras. But she's more than shocked to realize it's his buff, burly body encased in the red satin bustier and matching bikini panties...and he's nowhere to be found. Neither is their life savings nor the company coffers. Thus begins Miranda's hilarious, frantic scramble to unravel the mystery behind her husband's disappearance, illegal accounting practices, and penchant for wearing silky teddies and kitten heels.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When 38-year-old Miranda Smith comes across a photo of her husband of 15 years in a black lace teddy and thong panties with another woman's hand on his butt, her life begins to cartwheel out of control. Soon after, she learns that he's not only a womanizing cross-dresser, but a thief; he has skipped town with a bucketload of cash, leaving her family's 100-year-old business, Ballantyne Bras, on the verge of bankruptcy. So begins Wax's frothy but deliciously entertaining confection—and Miranda's quest to keep her company afloat. Gathering up her courage, her dusty MBA and the schmoozing skills she learned as a former beauty queen, Miranda tries to cover up her husband's absence while convincing Ballantyne's board members to trust her ideas for taking the company in a new, more profitable direction. Now, if it weren't for the constant surveillance of handsome police chief Blake Summers, who senses she's hiding something, she just might be able to pull it off. Wax is a relative newcomer to the romance genre (her first book, 7 Days and 7 Nights, debuted in 2003), but you wouldn't guess as much from reading this surefooted romp. The banter between Wax's protagonists contains just enough bite to keep the narrative buzzing like a live wire, and her characters are enchanting.
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Review

"Deliciously entertaining... her characters are enchanting."
--Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553586149
• ISBN-13: 978-0553586145
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Wendy read voraciously as a child, was a regular at her local library, and became fast friends with Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables. Her love affairs with language and storytelling paid off beginning with her first shift at the campus radio station while studying journalism at the University of Georgia.

After returning to her home state and graduating from the University of South Florida she worked for the Tampa PBS affiliate, WEDU-TV, behind and in front of the camera. Her resume includes on air work, voiceovers and production of a variety of commercial projects and several feature films. She may be best known in the Tampa Bay area as the host of Desperate & Dateless, a radio matchmaking program that aired on WDAE radio, and nationally as host of The Home Front, a magazine format show that aired on PBS affiliates across the country.

The mother of a toddler and an infant when she decided to change careers, she admits it was not the best timing in terms of productivity. "I'm still not certain why I felt so compelled to write my first novel at that particular time," she says, "but that first book took forever." Since then she's written seven more, including MAGNOLIA WEDNESDAYS, The Accidental Bestseller and Single in Suburbia. Her work has been sold to publishers in ten countries and to the Rhapsody Book Club. Her novel, Hostile Makeover, was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Wendy lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her husband John and her baseball-crazy teenage sons, whom she says have turned her into the shortest person in their family. A former broadcaster, she spends most of her non-writing time on baseball fields or driving to them. She continues to devour books.

For more information, visit her website at www.authorwendywax.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light and entertaining - perfect poolside reading, August 17, 2004

By 

Kristin Dreyer Kramer (NightsAndWeekends.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leave It to Cleavage (Mass Market Paperback)

Miranda Smith's comfortable life of social functions and charity fundraisers is forever turned upside-down when she accidentally discovers pictures of her husband of fifteen years dressed in women's lingerie (with a pristinely manicured female hand on his rear). In just one day, everything becomes painfully clear-Tom's penchant for women's underwear, his infidelity, and, finally, his disappearance. When she reads Tom's "have a nice life" letter, Miranda thinks that her life has hit its lowest point-but then she discovers that Tom did more than just leave her. He also emptied out their bank accounts and left Ballantyne Bras, her family's business, in serious financial trouble.

Suddenly realizing that she's the only one capable of saving her family's business (and, consequently, the entire town of Truro, Georgia) from bankruptcy, Miranda dusts off her MBA and fills in for Tom, claiming that her husband asked her to take care of the company while he went on an extended business trip to China. Miranda manages to cover up her husband's disappearance using fake emails and phone calls, but Blake Summers, the chief of police, isn't falling for it. Miranda can't seem to hide from the persistent chief-nor is she totally sure that she wants to.

The plot of Leave It to Cleavage (a jilted woman forced to take charge and make it on her own) isn't necessarily a unique one, but Wax does a wonderful job of taking the plot and making it her own. She creates characters (especially Miranda and Blake's daughter, Andie, the teenage tomboy turned beauty queen hopeful) that you can't help but love. She creates a tension between Miranda and Blake that's absolutely electric-so electric, in fact, that you'll feel it. And her devilish wit only adds to the fun. From the very first sentence, Wax will have you hooked, and you won't be able to put down this uplifting tale.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Chick Lit, January 13, 2006

By 

voracious reader (Houston, Tx.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leave It to Cleavage (Mass Market Paperback)

From the first sentence this book had me hooked. It is a romantic comedy and a mystery as well. The title: Leave It To Cleavage: An Uplifting Tale foreshadows the gentle humor within. The title refers to the heroine's family business, a lingerie company located in a small Georgia town. The company banner becomes: Ballantyne Bras, Home of Custom Cleavage: Creating The Perfect Bra One Stitch At A Time. This book does not take itself too seriously. There are many "creamy shoulders", "orbs", and robes that fall open. Still it is not crude eliminating some of the sexual detail found in many romances. There are no forced sex scenes between virginal girls and handsome heroes. The heroine, Miranda, is a strong beautiful woman with an MBA who is forced out of housewifely retirement and into running her family business. Tom, her cross dressing husband of fifteen years has ravaged the family business and left it in tatters. He leaves her abruptly with a curt note and no further explanation. The romance in the book occurs between the heroine and Blake, the handsome sexy police chief who suspects wrong doing in Tom's disappearance. Miranda conceals the fact that Tom has left her and taken their personal funds. Further, Tom has embezzeled Ballantyne company funds leaving the company in a precarious financial situation. She feels she must conceal Tom's sudden departure in order prevent panic, reinvent Ballantyne and save the company and the town. The town's largest employer is Ballantyne. There is an interesting side plot as well. Blake, the divorced police chief has trouble accepting the fact that his teenage daughter needs to grow up and seperate. He resists accepting the fact that she is a sexual being, the typical father daughter dilemma heightened by the fact that she is beautiful and very attractive to teenage boys. This is a beach book. I have given it five stars, because for its genre it is one of the better examples. This is not to be confused with great literature. Read this book for relief between reading the heavy hitters. Now I am ready for another heavy hitter.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You won't be able to put it down!, August 10, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leave It to Cleavage (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading her husband Tom's kiss off letter, former beauty queen Miranda Smith discovers that he did more than desert her - he also drained their bank accounts, leaving her family owned company, Ballantyne Bras in financial ruin.

She also learns that Tom had a penchant for wearing the company garb, when she discovers a revealing photo of him in lingerie, along with a well-manicured female hand.

Miranda is forced to take over the company reigns to keep from going under, while trying to locate the cad. Telling the staff that he is on an extended buying trip, then trying to rebuild the business is her goal. But she does not count on Blake Summers, the sexy and suspicious Chief of Police being so interested in her plight.

The plot will hook you from page one and the chemistry between the two leads (as well as the comical predicament of a macho father reluctant to let his tomboy daughter grow up) will keep you pasted until the last page.