Ex and the Single Girl [Paperback]

Lani Diane Rich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2005

Adriana Trigiani meets Jane Green in this irresistible new novel about a family of southern women who have rotten luck with men.
Portia Fallon calls it PTEor the Penis Teflon Effect. It's the way all the women in her family deflect men like ping pong balls. No man has ever stuck with a Fallon woman for more than two years, and Portia has nearly surpassed that record. Until her live-in boyfriend dumps her. Now, everyone from her mother Mags to Auntie Vera and Grandma Bev is convinced that Portia must have sex with a temporary man. Enter Colin Beckett, a sexy, smart, and unsuspecting British novelist, who's visiting her small town of Truly, Georgia, for the summer.Then enter once again Portia's ex-beau, who's decided to fight to win her back. Now Portia faces a slippery decision: Which of these men has the right stuff to make a commitment stick?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Portia Fallon's boyfriend, Peter, dumps her on Valentine's Day, she realizes she's "four cats and a Reader's Digest subscription away from being totally irredeemable." Maybe that explains why she lets her mother trick her into quitting her Syracuse apartment to summer down in Truly, Ga., home of the irrepressible Miz Fallons (Portia's mother, Mags; her aunt Vera; and her grandmother Bev). "Men just don't stick to Miz Fallons," Mags likes to say; Portia calls the Fallons' eternal singlehood the "Penis Teflon Effect." Portia's meddling kin aim to find her a "Flyer"—a fling—to take her mind off Peter, and Ian Beckett, a British novelist, is chosen. Portia spends her days renovating a farmhouse with Ian and her nights reliving memories of her father, digging into her family's past to learn the secret of his abandonment. Just as she's falling for Ian, Peter shows up with a ring. "Penis Teflon wasn't a curse, but rather a learned behavior," Portia realizes, so she sets out to open the Miz Fallons' hearts, search for her father and find the true love of her life. Rich way overplays the frankly inexcusable Penis Teflon idea, but this is a sweet, readable book about following your dreams (and your dream man).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When Portia Fallon's boyfriend, Peter, leaves her, she fears she is heading toward a life of permanent spinsterhood. Lured back to her Georgia hometown by her mother, aunt, and grandmother--the feisty "Miz Fallons"--Portia's relatives plot to distract her from her woes by hooking her up with Ian, a visiting British author. They don't plan for her to fall for the handsome novelist, and neither does she. After all, Portia is convinced that females in her family are inflicted with "penis Teflon"--men just don't stick. Of course, she falls hard, and just in time for Peter to reappear with an engagement ring. This funny, sweet novel is full of quirky, likable characters and the charms of small-town life without being too precious. Though Rich at times overworks the willful southern lady stereotype, the Miz Fallons will appeal to fans of Rebecca Wells' Ya-Yas. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot; First Printing edition (November 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446693073
• ISBN-13: 978-0446693073
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,450,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm Lani, and I'm a writer, a teacher, and a mom. I live in Southern Ohio with my husband, my daughters, two cats and five dogs, and my best friend. My favorite color is yellow, and I have a thing for polka dots that borders on the ridiculous.

I wrote my first book, Time Off For Good Behavior during NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, fifty thousand words in the thirty days of November - and was the first previously-unpublished author to publish a NaNoWriMo manuscript. It's a very specific niche, but it's all mine. Time Off For Good Behavior won the Rita Award for Best First Book, and I went on to publish another seven solo novels, and one collaboration. So, apparently, it wasn't a fluke. I find that comforting.

When I'm not writing words on paper, I'm speaking them into microphones. From 2007 to 2010, I hosted the Will Write For Wine podcast with the amazingly talented CJ Barry/Samantha Graves; since 2010, I've hosted Popcorn Dialogues with Jennifer Crusie, and the StoryWonk Daily podcast with Alastair Stephens, who happens to be my husband. Which is good, because I often record the show in my pyjamas.

At the moment, I'm writing magical romance novels as Lucy March. I'm still Lani on the inside; it's a publishing thing. If you'd like to learn more about what I'm doing now, visit LaniDianeRich.com, LucyMarch.com, or Storywonk.com. And thank you!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family Ties., November 7, 2005

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ex and the Single Girl (Paperback)

Portia Fallon has a problem. Well a few of them. One being she thinks all men she cares about will eventually leave her and break her heart. Her father ran off when she was a young child, and her ex boyfriend Peter ran off without saying a word. He left her a little note. She even has a name for this effect, Penis Teflon. She thinks it's a trait that's carried on through generations of her family. Her grandmother had it. Her mother had it. Even her aunt suffered from it too!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. A little white lie sends Portia packing and heading back home for the summer to help out with the family business, a book store. Little does she know that it was all a plan to get her there to meet a man. This upsets her, but she deals with it when she happens to fall for this man, Ian, who also is only there for the summer to write his latest novel.

I'm not sure how to put into words how I felt about this book. I enjoyed reading it and I couldn't put it down. I read almost all of it today. It was heart warming and funny at times. It's not like you're average chick lit book. It ran a little deeper than that. You'll enjoy reading about Portia and her wacky family and the small town of Truly Georgia.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun To Read Book, December 18, 2005

By 

Monica Poling "OnceWritten.com" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ex and the Single Girl (Paperback)

The Miz Fallons have a problem keeping men around. Four women, over three generations are single and can't get it right when it comes to love. What they can do, is enjoy a brief fling, in order to get the previous man out of the system.

The thing I found somewhat disconcerting about this book was how much all the women talked about the details of their relationships. The very nitty gritty details. Now, I'm close with my mom, but I'm not that close. The problem is minor, however, and the rest of the book is a joy to read.

What author Lani Diane Rich does best is her characterization of the men in the novel. They are just so nice, you can't help but fall in love with them a little bit.

Although the plot is sometimes thin, she has created a compelling story. She keeps readers with Portia until the very end, despite Portia's difficulty in sometimes making up her mind as to who (or what) she wants. The secondary characters in this story are also interesting, funny and compelling, and the book is well worth the read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, February 3, 2006

By 

Mom of five - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ex and the Single Girl (Paperback)

Lani just pulls you into this book in such a way that you have to read it in a few sittings as possible. Order pizza, use paper plates (so you don't have to stop to wash dishes), let the answering machine take your calls, and camp out on the sofa or in that comfy overstuffed chair. Great job, Lani! Now I have to go back and read your other books! ;)