Customer Reviews

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After waking up together in a hotel room in Vegas, Peggy and Luke discover they are now man and wife. Since Peggy has a pre-engagement agreement with her boyfriend, and Luke is caring for his elderly great-aunt while trying to write, they agree an annullment is in order. Once Great Aunt Abigail learns of the marriage, their separation plans are thwarted by her offer to sign over the family estate to them if they stay married for one year.

OK, so the plot falls nicely into the realm of "only in a chick lit book", and most of the confusion and conflict in the book could have been eliminated if the Luke and Peggy simply had an open and honest conversation about anything at all- I enjoyed this book regardless. Great-Aunt Abigail was a wonderful character, one whose poignant characterization helped carry this book to a four star rating. Lipton's writing is wonderful and at times the book is laugh-out-loud funny. A great escapist fantasy about why what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, this book should be a must-read for your summer vacation.

This isn't the sort of thing I usually read, but it was a fun summer beach read and kept me laughing. I liked the characters, the New England setting, and who can't relate to that awful feeling you had the day after, waking up and thinking, "Did I really do that? Or was it just a dream?" If you're looking for a good romantic comedy, this would be a great choice.

What happens when a cautious, anxious New Yorker, Peggy Adams, spends time in Las Vegas for a friend's last hoorah and sends caution to the wind, gets drunk, and meets a stranger? A quickie wedding and a huge hangover, followed by a deal of a lifetime for herself and her new husband, Luke Sedgwick.

Luke is a WASP and the last of the old world Sedgwicks of Connecticut, and the last hope for an heir to the not-so-large family fortune. Luke is a writer. . . a struggling poet, with an on-again, off-again girlfriend, Nicole, that his great-aunt, Abigail, despises. Peggy is mistaken by Abigail for the relative of an old Connecticut family, though hers is from out west, and she scrambles to please her new family, while keeping her live-in boyfriend, Brock, who is afraid to commit, in the dark about her marriage.

Lipton has a gift for chicklit/women's fiction that is witty, fun, and vivacious. Both of these characters are anxious to break free from their current lives, but unable to make the move. Mating Rituals of the North American WASP will keep readers turning pages and will make the summer fly by. Lipton's prose paints a clear picture of small-town Connecticut and its unique characters and sets the stage for a comedic plot steeped in romance, drama, and much more.

Save your money - I love chick lit, but this shouldn't even be called literature - the author seems to have included major themes off a check list, and while she does a technically good job, the book includes excessive detail on a bunch of irrelevant stuff. The main characters are barely believable, the misunderstanding between them just plain silly. By the time the book ends, all I feel is impatience with myself for the time I lost reading it.

I fell in love with Luke Sedgwick from the very instant in the story where he is awake, but it did take a bit longer to care for Peggy due to some of her quirky personality traits. The one character I believe any reader can not help but fall in love with would be Luke's great-aunt, Miss Abigail. She is a stubborn, dignified, but loving old lady that I believe many readers will be able to picture one of their own family members in. I also believe that many reader's will be able to relate to a relationship that obviously is not going anywhere, but you still are unable to leave which is the type of relationship shared by Peggy and her boyfriend of eight years, Brock.

Even though there are many different characters to keep track of and they are not described in a huge amount of detail, I was still able to get a clear picture of who they were. The storyline can be a little predictable at times, but there are still a few situations that caught me off guard, for example the predicament that takes place at the Colonial Inn in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

I would definitely recommend Mating Rituals of the North American WASP to anyone that enjoys reading chick lit, or anyone who wants to start out in the genre because this book will capture your heart. Granted I have not read many books in this genre, but Lauren Lipton's writing style has ensured that I will in the future. This book is certainly a tear jerk-er, but I believe that can be a good thing for relationships since I get my drama fill in fiction rather than starting fights with the significant other. ;)

The first time I heard about MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP by Lauren Lipton was when I was sent a link for the Facebook fan page. I just thought the title was so smart and the cover was precious, and I have to admit that both things attracted me to this novel. (Of course, I am a child of the 80s and probably owned a shirt just like this one twenty-five years ago. I still love preppy clothes; and, I have to admit I was a little tempted when I was shopping last week and saw a Tommy Hilfiger shirt this exact style and color.....but I digress.)

I enjoyed MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP very much. It is a light, fun story; and I have a feeling that a lot of women will enjoy reading it this summer. It really is an ideal book to read while you're at the pool or beach. The plot is basically a cute and funny romance story that takes place in reverse. The book begins when Peggy goes to Las Vegas with some friends and wakes up next to a stranger, Luke. She has no idea who he is or what she did with him (yes, there was alcohol involved.) She returns home to New York and her fiance to find that she married a stranger who just happens to live in Connecticut. This book points out that "what happens in Vegas" doesn't always "stay in Vegas." For a variety of monetary reasons, Peggy and Luke decide to stay together and pretend that they married for love. You can probably guess that they eventually do fall in love; however there are lots of ups and downs in their relationship until they both realize their feelings. See what I mean about in reverse?

I'm going to be honest and tell you that I didn't love Peggy for most of the book, and I only liked Luke, her husband, slightly better. In fact, I didn't like Peggy's long-time boyfriend or Luke's bimbo girlfriend either (but I don't think I was supposed to.) Having said that, I don't think it mattered one little bit to my enjoyment of the book. I think the negative aspects of Peggy's and Luke's characters were necessary to tell this story; and I will say that I was rooting for them the entire time! Both had serious moments of stubbornness and stupidity, but they eventually matured and realized what's important.

I liked that this book was filled with some tension between the main characters. It made it kind of a juicy read (or at least juicy for this reader.) There was a lot of confusion and many misunderstandings between Peggy and Luke (or basically Peggy and everyone) that made the story very funny. I also liked that the author kept things interesting by putting in a few twists and turns throughout the novel. I think those surprise elements are important to chick-lit, romance genre books because the basic story lines are often times predictable. I mean you basically know how the story is going to end, but it's the stuff that happens along the way that makes the book interesting.

I did find this book to be very witty, and I loved how the author poked fun of the entire WASP social set. All of the stereotypes (plus a few new ones) were in there, and I found myself laughing at some of the WASPier characters. I especially appreciated the descriptions of the food at the parties, and I thought the tailgating scenes at the football game were hilarious.

This is the first book that I've read by Lauren Lipton; however, I wouldn't hesitate to read her first novel IT'S ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND. Her writing in MATING RITUALS is very witty and smart, and I definitely thought the book was a page-turner. Besides writing novels, she is also a journalist with articles appearing in Forbes Woman, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

I recommend MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP if you are looking for a light, chick-lit type read this summer. It is an extremely entertaining book, and the characters are a hoot! It's one of those books where you can just sit back and enjoy the story.

Frustrated that it only took her friend Andrea thirteen months to met and get engaged to her dream-man, Peggy Adams gets into fight with her boyfriend of seven years because he refuses to consider marriage. She escapes to Vegas for Andrea's bachelorette party and proceeds to get stinking drunk.

The next morning she wakes up in a stranger's bedroom, (fully clothed thank goodness) and sneaks away. Back home again the guilt is almost overwhelming when her boyfriend Brock presents her with an engaged to be engaged ring. But things get shaken up when she gets a phone call from the Vegas stranger. It seems that while she was blissfully drunk, she married Luke Sedgwick, the stuffy and proper WASP from Connecticut.

Intent on having the marriage annulled Peggy meets with Luke and his lawyer. Living in a town with a population of less than 3,500 it's hard to keep secrets but it still surprising when Luke's great aunt, Abigail finds out about the marriage. With the goal of keeping the Sedgwick dynasty alive she makes the pair an offer they can't refuse and the charade of the weekend wife begins.

I thought this book was wonderful. Luke and Peggy are unpredictable and endearing. I found myself shaking my fist at them saying, "Enough already. You know you love each other!" Luke is stuffy and comes from a long line of WASPs yet he has a soft heart, writes poetry and can recite Yeats by heart. Peggy yearns for marriage but after years of chasing the dream she now has a husband and two others pursuing her.

After reading Mating Rituals of the North American WASP I'm definitely going back to read Lipton's first book, It's About Your Husband. This has been one of my favorite books this year and I highly recommend it for chick-lit and contemporary romance lovers.

Having been delighted with It's About Your Husband, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lauren Lipton's new book. Mating Rituals did not disappoint! Having a keen sense of the attitude and practices of the young, old-New England money, and the struggles and dreams of the middle-class entrepreneur; Lipton crafts a novel that bridges the two after struggle and adventure. A tender love grows from an unusual beginning! I won't recount the story, as you can read the back cover of the book here, and that will entice you enough, but I must say that the quick turns at Colonial Inn were wonderful - I held my breath with each discovery. My hope is that the wait for the next Lipton novel is not a long one. Pack this can't-put-down jewel in your book bag for the beach - NOW!

I want to start off by saying, I love chick lit. However, this book was just to cheesy for even me. A guy and a girl meet in Vegas, get married, and stay together simply out of a plot for money. It sounds fun and comical. However, what it doesn't tell you is how patheticly unrealistic and cheesy the guy is. I mean he writes poetry. Not even decent poetry, but really back romantic poetry about dazzling eyes and whatever else. I cringed every time he did anything poetry related, and it would have been funny if it wasn't taken so seriously, and everyone in the boo didn't find it amazing. If the guy was rewritten this book would have been better, but he was just eww.

This book was silly from the get go when the protagonist wakes up in some total stranger's bed during a crazy girls-only trip to Las Vegas. Of course, she is a self-possessed New Yorker--professional yet unmarried, and she's trying to find the perfect husband. Lo and behold, she has apparently married said stranger under the influence of too many martinis in Las Vegas' famed little white chapel. He turns out to be a purebred New England Wasp with a crazy old maid aunt who wants nothing more than for him to be married to bring a heir to their quickly dying-out family tree. The fates conspire to bring them together in a crazy tale of the crazy marriage which...spoiler alert...of course turns out to be the romance of the century.
This book is so hackneyed that it was painful to read at times. The dialogue is totally false and the descriptions likewise ring false. If done right, this could have been chick lit with an interesting story, but it's not, it's merely self-conscious, hackneyed, exaggerated, and ultimately uninteresting. Such a great title. Such a forgettable book.