Slightly Single: Red Dress Ink (Red Dress Ink Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Wendy Markham (Author)

Book Description

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

For every girl who's ever endured a long, hot urban summer on her own, Slightly Single is the summer breeze you've been waiting for!

A heat wave in Manhattan is enough to drive a girl crazy, and for Tracey Spadolini, a 24-year old New York transplant who's been "left behind" for the summer, there's even more to sweat about. Her Slightly Significant Other, Will, will be returning from summer stock in September, to pick up where they left off. (Or will he?)

But, in the days after Will's departure, Tracey decides it's time for a reality check. Her un-air-conditioned East Village apartment is a dump, her entry-level ad job sucks, her thighs don't seem to be getting any thinner, and Will seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. So, Tracey, with the help of her friends and one very attentive guy, decides to spend her summer reinventing herself . . . and taking a chance on liking the new woman she becomes.

A refreshingly honest account of universal female dilemmas, Slightly Single is an engaging story of one young woman's search for happiness.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this shopworn, Bridget Jonesy tale, Tracey Spadolini is desperate for love. Not surprisingly, given the genre, Tracey smokes, drinks and eats too much, and frets about her romantic life. Even more predictably, the 24-year-old plumpish protagonist from a sprawling Italian family in upstate New York has settled for an unfulfilling entry-level ad agency job with a smarmy boss, and lives in a "drab East Village flat." The good news is that Tracey's friends pretty Kate, a bleached blonde with "fake aquamarine pupils," and gay stereotype Raphael, a Ricky Martin look-alike love her. The bad news: life isn't peachy in the true love department. Will, Tracey's handsome, waspish boyfriend, is an actor with little talent and no time for Tracey. Their relationship "has been about as stable as an Isuzu Trooper at eighty mph on a hairpin curve," but a decent alternative turns up in attentive Buckley, a freelance copywriter. When Will leaves town to act in summer stock, a dejected Tracey starts slimming down, boning up on literary classics like Moby Dick and generally re-evaluating her life. Markham a pseudonym for Wendy Corsi Staub, award-winning romance author and ghostwriter for the likes of Fabio has done little here to break out of pulp romance and into literature. The narcissistic upsets of a shallow crew of 20-something singles and the hackneyed ending now are sadly out of date and hold little appeal. Agent, Laura Blake Peterson.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Tracey Spadolini has always been insecure. She's somewhat overweight, unhappy in her job, and dating Will, a handsome but commitment-phobic actor. Will is spending the summer in upstate New York, leaving a morose Tracey behind in Manhattan, so she decides to use the time to turn herself into the woman she has always wanted to be. She goes on a diet and starts to read classics. She also meets Buckley, a good-looking, sweet guy who pursues a friendship with her even after he mistakes their first trip to the movies together as a date. Tracey can't help but compare him to Will, and Buckley comes out ahead every time. Will hardly ever calls and seems hesitant when she tells him she wants to come to visit him, but Tracey is sure that he'll be won over by her new look. It takes Tracey a maddeningly long time to come to her senses, but it's an undeniably fun journey for the reader. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373810792
• ISBN-13: 978-0373810796
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,196,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly typical, but a great read..., June 13, 2002

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slightly Single (Red Dress Ink paperback} (Paperback)

Yes, it's typical. Slightly Single's heroine is a twentysomething single girl living in the City who is miserable with her entry-level ad position (or glorified secretary -- take your pick), overweight, and in love with a man who is commitment-phobic and just plain not-very-nice. There is nothing new here in this novel that I haven't read before. However, Wendy Markham's version of the City girl plight is fun to read, a perfect weekend or beach book, and her characters have just the right qualities for readers to either love them or hate them.

Our heroine, Tracey Spadolini, has finally made a life for herself in the Big City. Granted, it comes in the form of a crappy job and part-time boyfriend; however, Tracey is convinced it's all about to change for the better. Once Will, the actor-slash-boyfriend, returns from his summer job doing theatre in upstate New York, Tracey is certain he will be ready to commit and move in together. And while their summer apart definitely holds change in store, Tracey adds epiphanies into the bargain: about her relationship, her position in life and the woman she strives to be.

What I have come to expect from a Red Dress Ink novel is epitomized in Slightly Single. A very easy read; increasingly enjoyable with each turning page; and despite its predictability, its appeal kept me reading. No great frills in the writing style -- it's kept more conversational and relaxing -- and the plot does not punch and pop, but Wendy Markham has created a very relateable character, very human, with warts and all. And in her effort, has also created a fan in me.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book every single woman can relate to!, May 21, 2002

By 

Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Slightly Single (Red Dress Ink paperback} (Paperback)

Tracey is a single woman stuck in the hot city during the summer her actor boyfriend, Will, is in summer stock. What is a woman going to do while her boyfriend is gone? What ensues is a hilarious uptake on a single life in NYC. It is at best a light-hearted read ~~ perfect to take to the beach or the waiting room in a hospital ~~ and you'll relate to Tracey's dilemmas.

Tracey does what every woman does when the man she loves leaves ~~ lose weight, goes shopping and rediscover herself in the meantime. At least she didn't stay home all the time and wait for her man to call ~~ she went out. And when she discovered that her man isn't really her man after all, she goes over to her new guy friend's house and cries on his shoulders.

This is a really cute book ~~ I enjoyed the reading immensely though it's not made of "sterner" stuff ~~ who cares? It's a fun read and something to take along to the beach. I would read more of Markham's books!!

5-20-02

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Superb, February 12, 2002

By 

T. DeBrock (Atlanta, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slightly Single (Red Dress Ink paperback} (Paperback)

Slightly Single is great :) I enjoyed every page of this book! Like some of the other reviewers of Slightly Single have stated, I really related to this book's main character and the emotional baggage she carries around from a hideous boyfriend. Every woman, at some point in their lives, has had one. The man they thought the sun and moon rose & set over, who didn't care what happened to her as long as she still adored him. Other than just relating to the novel though, it's just a darn good read! I was amused at the shenanigans the main character Tracey kept getting herself into, and also I love that the novel doesn't end with a sappy fairytale ending where everyone is happy and blissful and fake (don't worry, I'm not giving anything away here!!) So if you're a 20 or 30 something woman looking for an entertaining novel to pass the time on a bus, train, vacation, or whatever, you'll like this book. It's a quick read that's funny. What more could you ask for?