The Wife Of Reilly [Paperback]

Jennifer Coburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Take My Husband, Please . . .

Okay, here's how it happened. I went to my college reunion and hooked up with Matt, the love of my life, my soulmate, the one who got away. After the most wonderful weekend together, he said something like, "I love you; let's get married," and I could swear I heard myself say, "Yes!" Maybe that would have been a good time to tell him about Reilly -- my husband . . .

Honestly, I'm not a bad person. Just crazy in love. And temporarily insane. Or maybe permanently selfish. The truth is that Reilly's a great guy but our marriage has been over for a while. Before you ask, it just fizzled between us. So what's a girl to do? Find him a new wife, that's what. Place an ad -- wife wanted. Easy as that. Everybody gets a happy ending . . .

. . . Or life becomes a dizzying train wreck of continual catastrophe. Finding the perfect replacement for myself isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Sorting through the weirdos, the nymphos, gold diggers, man-haters, and just plain desperate (I thought I had issues!) while balancing a husband in New York and a fiancé in L.A. is enough to make me go stark raving mad. I've got a forty-word personals ad running, an unstoppable American Express card and just a few months to find my replacement and make things all right. With a little help from my friends and a bit of luck, I just might find the next wife of Reilly . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . The Wife of Reilly is a madcap, bi-coastal romp through the always surprising landscape of modern love -- and divorce . . ." -- Holly Chamberlin, author of Living Single

". . . The premise of this book is . . . creative and original . . . and Coburn delivers it with wit, humor . . . and style . . ." -- Patrick Sanchez, author of Girlfriends and The Way It Is

". . . sprinkled with cleverly amusing similes and dead-on observations . . . the next best thing to a gossipy girls' night out." -- Wendy Markham, author of Slightly Single and Slightly Settled

"The Wife of Reilly, Jennifer Coburn's deftly funny, engaging and contemporary novel, redefines neurotic (in a great way!)." -- Jill A. Davis, author of Girls' Poker Night

"A delightful surprise." -- Suzanne Finnamore, author of Otherwise Engaged

"For those of us who spend the odd night thinking about the one that got away . . ." -- Jane Green, author of Mr. Maybe

"Hilarious! Jennifer Coburn keeps you laughing until you cry . . . The Wife of Reilly is comedy at its best . . ." -- Roz Bailey, author of Party Girls and Girls' Night Out

"I absolutely loved it! A riot from start to finish." -- Marian Keyes, author of Sushi For Beginners

"Wonderfully malicious fun. I enjoyed every catty, conniving page." -- Robert Rodi, author of Bitch Goddess

About the Author

Jennifer Coburnis an award-winning journalist who has written for magazines and newspapers in the United States, Canada and Australia. She lives in San Diego with her irreplaceable husband, William and their daughter, Katie. Though Jennifer is also a native New Yorker and graduate of the University of Michigan, she is absolutely nothing like Prudence. (Really, William. You can stop scouring the personal ads . . .

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758206267
• ISBN-13: 978-0758206268
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Coburn is an award-winning journalist who has written for magazines and newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Jennifer, a native New Yorker and a graduate of the University of Michigan, has four published novels and is a contributing author to four anthologies.

She currently lives in San Diego with her husband, William, and their daughter, Katie.

Jennifer can be reached directly at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny. Sexy. Great read!, January 4, 2004

By 

Richard Ellenson (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wife Of Reilly (Paperback)

A great, fun, clever novel. The main character, Prudence is one wild woman. As neurotic as Bridgette Jones, but more fun. She's totally clever and totally confused. But can't keep from getting herself deeper and deeper into the one big lie at the heart of the story. The problem surfaces when Matt, a long-lost boyfriend from college, proposes marriage to Prudence after a reunion weekend of great sex. But, uh, Prudence is married: so she decides she's going to find a new wife for her husband, Reilly before she leave him to be with Matt.

From a guy's perspective, a lot of fun to watch a woman totally out of control and in control at the same time. Great storytelling. Some just great dialog. And, well, great sex scenes.

Hey, I'd want to date Prudence if I got the chance. She's lying to two guys she supposedly loves, but she's such a nut job and so wildly insecure, I couldn't help but want to spend more time with her.

But I'm sure that'll happen. Because the book is bound to become a screenplay. Hope they do a good job with the great narrative language.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great dialogue, smart and sassy, February 20, 2004

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wife Of Reilly (Paperback)

I'm a writer myself, and I really appreciate good dialogue, believing it can do more to develop character and story than almost any other technique. Jennifer Coburn has figured out the secrets of writing convincing dialogue more quickly than most new authors.
At a college reunion, outrageous Prudence reunites with Matt, an old flame - and one thing quickly leads to another. About thirty or forty `anothers.' As she says, "Maybe that would have been a good time to tell him about Reilly. My husband."
Well, yes, maybe so. But if she had, there wouldn't have been much of a book.
Generally the technique of an author addressing the reader directly, in 2nd person, is irritating to me, but I fell right into Coburn's confidential writing style. Her heroine (if you can call such a flawed and delightfully irritating person a heroine) has her eyes wide open to her own faults, and I think it's this internal honesty that makes us like her so much.
If you like good chick lit, you'll like this one; it's way, way, way better than average.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At long last: an original chick-lit!, February 16, 2004

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Wife Of Reilly (Paperback)

I've been disappointed with the run-of-the-mill novels that Kensington Strapless has thus far provided. To this day, Red Dress Ink, and sometimes Downtown Press, had been the only imprint that (sometimes) printed original chick-lit. That is until I read The Wife of Reilly. This novel turned out to be one fun surprise! The story is original and edgy, the characters are interesting and compelling, and the dialogue is sharp and crisp. Prudence Malone is the proverbial anti-heroine. Her actions appalled and entertained me at the same time. When she gets reacquainted with her long-lost love of her life, she agrees to marry him. But there's a catch: she's married to nice guy Reilly. So she sets out to find a new wife for Reilly. She wants to make things right for everyone involved. After all, "Why dump a husband when you can recycle?" That way she'll enjoy a guilt-free life with her new hubby. And everyone is happy -- right? Her misguided attempt to do what she believes is the right thing leads her to self-discovery. There are various twists throughout the novel.

I marvel at Jennifer Coburn's ability to create a dark, original and ironic chick-lit. Ms. Coburn is a great new author on the rise. And I'm glad that Kensington Strapless has released such a smart, witty, compelling and, more important, original gem. I shall give this novel the word of mouth it deserves. This book will certainly not end up in the recycling bin!