Singletini: A Novel [Paperback]

Amanda Trimble (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Sometimes Flying Solo Means You Just Have to Wing It

sin•gle•ti•ni: A curious type of female typically found living in urban settings; possessing an unusual, some would say deathly, fear of growing up and getting married.

Meet Victoria Hart. She’s sassy, sparkling, and taking the Chicago dating scene by storm as a professional “wingwoman”—a modern-day matchmaker hired to help clueless guys find Miss Right. With nights on the town, drinks on the house, and clothes on the credit card, Vic is loving her glam singletini lifestyle. There’s just one little problem . . . okay, maybe two. She needs to keep her new career a secret, and the first of her friends just got engaged—ENGAGED!

Vic isn’t sure she’s ready to be that grown up yet—she likes her life the way it is. Not that being a wingwoman is all wine and roses. With clients ranging from cowboys and would-be porn stars to her best friend’s boss, Vic quickly discovers this late-night Cupid gig is trickier than she anticipated. To make matters worse, she somehow agrees to help plan her friend’s swanky wedding, complicated by a never-ending to-do list and a very shady groom.

With too many wingwoman gigs, bridezilla demands, and more and more friends eyeing the altar, Vic is starting to feel a little lost, a lot confused, and completely bombarded by love connections. Does she really want to stay solo . . . or use those wingwoman skills for herself?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Neurotic, chatty Victoria Hart is a typical shopping-and-Starbucks chick lit heroine who made a college pact with three friends at the University of Illinois: all would be "singletinis," women with jobs, men, money and martini parties. Now 24, Victoria is loving her life in Chicago—except that she's been fired from her computer sales job, doesn't have a boyfriend and her best friend Gwynn has just announced her engagement, threatening the pact. Victoria's new job as a wingwoman (a platonic woman-for-hire who takes men into social situations and helps them with their pick-up technique) and her time-consuming position as part of Gwynn's wedding party, center the unfolding action. A Bridget Jones–like suffering of one wacky humiliation after another detracts from the juicy banter and clever inclusion of faux horoscopes and news articles. Though Victoria's narration is vibrant, funny and confessional (she demands of the reader, "You can't tell anyone I cried, though. Okay?"), anyone over 24 will probably bristle at Victoria's "I feel so old. I'm almost twenty-five" shtick. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Victoria Hart has a knack for fixing people up. So when she finds herself fired from her latest office job, Victoria takes a job as a "wingwoman," a modern-day matchmaker who guides men through the dating scene to find Miss Right. With late-night club hopping, free drinks, and meeting all different kinds of men and women, Victoria seems to have found her niche, living the fast-paced "singletini" lifestyle. But when the first of her friends calls to announce her engagement, Victoria finds it hard to accept. After awhile, the matchmaking gets more complicated, and it becomes painfully clear that the long nights playing Cupid and the longer days filled with to-do lists for her friend's high-profile wedding are taking their toll on Victoria's sanity. In her first novel, Trimble creates an obviously flawed but likable heroine. Victoria is at times clueless and reluctant to grow up, but she is also fiercely loyal and genuine. This is chic-lit for the twentysomething set who are reluctant to move on from their singletini lifestyle. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307238644
• ISBN-13: 978-0307238641
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,742,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amanda Trimble is the author of Singletini - a deliciously fun novel published by Three Rivers Press. She holds a master's degree in creative writing from DePaul University and her writing has frequently appeared in Teen magazine, as well as Threshold literary magazine. She currently lives in Hong Kong and Chicago with her husband and bulldog Rosie. For more information, visit www.amandatrimble.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh, came in with low expectations, and left as expected, October 3, 2009

By 

kimmyg85 (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singletini: A Novel (Paperback)

When I picked out this book I thought to myself I just want a light chick flicky fluffy read. Thats pretty much what I got. I wasn't crazy about the book, but it kept my attention. I have to admit I was not very fond of the main character Vic. She seemed kinda selfish to me. For instance one of her biggest complaints is about her friend Gwynn not being the girl she knew so well in college that would take her friends to an expensive spa on a whim and pay for the full trip. It seemed like Vic was only happy with Gwynn when she would drop everything she was doing for Vic's needs. I also want to know if this author is still in high school. Its laughable how the main character is dreading the ripe old age of 25. I'm a 24 year old myself, and I just found her whining about growing old to be annoying and unecessary. The writing also seemed lazy. It bothered me that instead of offering a description of a character's physical appearance, she would just name a celebrity that the person looks like and be done with it. Be ready for cliche's left and right. This is basically a fluffy read that you will predict the hell out of. Even with all the flaws, I thought the book was okay. You definitly get a sense that this is the author's first attempt at a novel.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining!, July 26, 2006

By 

Julia R - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singletini: A Novel (Paperback)

This book was really funny and entertaining. There were a bunch of times where Victoria ends up in quite humorous predicaments and they had me laughing out loud (especially crashing into the glass table at Barneys). Overall I really loved Victoria's character and felt she was a lot like most ordinary girls in their 20s. At first I couldn't quite grasp the idea of the "wingwoman" and wondered how this concept would work and be interesting but the author does it great. Congrats on a great debut!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect book if you are or ever WERE a singletini..., September 22, 2006

By 

R. Moore (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Singletini: A Novel (Paperback)

Such an easy read and very "relatable" (I know it's not a word, but the best I could come up with). If you live in or just love Chicago, then this is definitely a great read. A great book finally staged in a great city!! Victoria Hart is the US (midwestern) Bridget Jones, with a sense of style.