Lost & Found (Red Dress Ink Novels) [Paperback]

Jane Sigaloff (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink Novels | Publication Date: January 1, 2004

When Sam Washington, successful London lawyer, wants to express her feelings, she confides in her diary; after all, it is the only thing that has never let her down. So you can only imagine how devastated she is when she accidentally leaves her diary in a New York hotel. Sam can only hope that the diary falls into the right hands--i.e., someone who won't read it. She has revealed not only her innermost thoughts but also a secret about her best friend that would ruin her and cause a tabloid sensation. Enter TV producer Ben Fisher. Sam doesn't know why he has suddenly come into her life, but he seems to know more than a little about her. Has he found her diary? And more importantly, has he read it?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sam Washington, the beautiful but tightly wound heroine of this cute confection, is the "Queen of Control," marching along the partnership treadmill at her London law firm, her love life reduced to fending off a senior partner's advances. Unlike her friends-cheerfully promiscuous Gemma, fellow lawyer EJ, and blissfully betrothed Sophie-she has abandoned flings, commitment and getting close. Enter wild-card Ben, scruffy-sexy producer of dubious television documentaries like the lingerie-model expos-Storm in a D Cup, who finds and reads Sam's lost diary. Is Ben smitten by this glimpse into Sam's soul, or does he want to turn her embarrassing secrets into a reality show? Sigaloff (Name and Address Withheld) expertly situates this fictional imbroglio on the Bridget Jones's Diary/Sex in the City plane, as Sam endures the humiliations and glamour of 30-ish singletonism, assisted by a gaggle of gal-pals who lunch, shop and spa their way through obstacles. Serious issues, like her father's lung cancer, occasionally surface, but are kept firmly yoked to the mission of helping her get her groove back. Sam can seem self-involved, and the narrative sometimes creaks with crossed signals and missed connections, but an appealing cast of characters, sprightly dialogue and a charming comic touch will keep readers turning pages.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Samantha records everything about her life and her friends' lives in her diary, which is why she is so horrified when she loses it on a business trip. Ben is traveling with his sister when he discovers the diary, which he can't help reading obsessively as he is drawn in by Sam's humorous, scattered entries. When he returns to London, he decides to return the diary in person. Sam's roommate, Gemma, opens the door, and as soon as she realizes Ben is returning Sam's diary, she pretends to be Sam. The misconception is sorted out soon enough, but Ben isn't sure how to get close to standoffish Sam, especially now that he is (sort of) dating her roommate. Sam already suspects he may have read her diary, and when potentially devastating news comes out about the famous lover of one of Sam's friends, she immediately suspects Ben is the culprit. Sigaloff's second novel is a charming tale of star-crossed lovers. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250452
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250455
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,194,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than her first, December 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost & Found (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

Jane Sigaloff has done it again. If you've been waiting a year since Name & Address Withheld for number 2, you won't be disappointed. Romantic comedy for the 21st century this is real life with hope and humor. This girl's got it. Buy it. You won't regret it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining...but not enough chemistry, February 27, 2004

By 

Kaikane "Shoujo Addict" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost & Found (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

Sam is a workaholic, perfectionist lawyer. Enters Ben, the handsome, laid back American who found and read her journal. Ben was intrigued by Sam and he wants to get to know her in real life. Their journey began when Ben returned Sam's journal BUT Sam's roomate claimed to be Sam, accepted Sam's journal when Sam wasn't home. Sam's roomate wanted to stake the claim on Ben.

Sam never took Ben seriously, and assumed that Ben is her roomate's latest fling. When Ben found out the real Sam, Ben tries hard to break down Sam's defense system and convince Sam that he is worthy of a chance. Sam is curt, irritating and condescending towards Ben..she pushes him away all the time. What happends when Sam found out that Ben read her journal? Is Ben ever going to win her heart? What's going to happend between Sam and her rommate? who's going to get Ben?

This book will lead you to a topsy turvy journey between Sam and Ben...there is going to be a series of event, comedy of errors going on that will make you question : Will they or won't they?

Lost and found is a light and entertaining book. I enjoyed the London and New York setting of this book, and some of the romance. But I don't find Ben & Sam's chemistry interesting or passionate enough.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I'll give it a two and a half stars..., June 9, 2004

By 

Janice (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost & Found (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

"Lost and Found" by Jane Sigaloff deals with Sam Washington whose life was dedicated solely to her work as a lawyer. During a business trip in New York City, Sam left her diary at a hotel there and it was coincidentally pick up and read by Ben, a television producer. Sam was extremely freaked out about losing her diary as she wrote things such as how her superior came on to her, her best friend's affair, among other things and Sam was afraid that her diary might ends up in the wrong hands. Ben intrigued by what he read was eager to meet with the owner of the diary and showed up outside Sam's apartment and was greeted by Sam's roommate, Gemma, whom Ben thought was Sam.

I have never read a book by Jane Sigaloff and I must admit I am not very impressed with this book. There are so many directions that the author is going and it can be extremely confusing. She seems to be jumping from one thing to another and on top of that, tons of conversations by tons of people are taking place, which makes it hard to stay focus and concentrate. The idea (girl lost diary, boy found the diary) is there but the author fails to develop a solid storyline. In addition, the romance between Sam and Ben was barely there and the author seems to "put" them together for the sake of it. The author also fails to create chemistry for her two main characters. It is not the worst thing that I have ever read but there are definitely better quality books in this genre out there.