"The best advice for the mother of the groom? Keep your mouth shut and wear beige ""It's bad enough when two mothers plan an event as fraught as a wedding, but what happens when the ex-husband's new girlfriend elbows her way in?" Keep Your Mouth Shut and Wear Beige "adds the mother of the groom to literature's rich collection of long-suffering women. When Seidel's heroine refuses to suffer in silence, the results are both poignant and hilarious."---Debra Galant, author of" Rattled "and" Fear and Yoga in New Jersey"Darcy Van Aiken is doing just fine, thank you. She's an ICU nurse with an "amicable" divorce from her ex-husband, Mike, two great kids, and a prescription for Ritalin. Then her older son, Jeremy, gets engaged to Cami Zander-Brown---daughter of a wealthy New York family---and her world gets turned upside down. The source of her trouble, much to Darcy's surprise, is not in the form of Rose Zander-Brown, Cami's elegant and accomplished mother. Nor is it in the form of Guy Zander-Brown, Cami's charismatic and wildly successful literary agent father. Instead, lurking in the shadows of Mike's new life is the beautifully dressed Claudia, a self-described "managed perfectionist."The Zander-Browns have money. Lots of money. The plans for their daughter's dream wedding grow more fabulous by the day, and loving every minute is Claudia. With her perfect taste, Claudia can't help thinking she would make a much better mother of the groom than Darcy. This wedding is her chance to entrench herself in Mike's life---and take credit for the two sons Darcy has worked so hard to raise right.It's a battle of will and wits. What Darcy learns about herself---and about family and friendship---makes for a delicious, hilarious, touching read.
Like another reviewer, I have always enjoyed Kathleen Gilles Seidel's books. Unlike that reviewer, I don't miss the romance. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good romance, but when KGS writes a story, it is complete and stands on its own merits with or without romance. Such is the case with this book. The characters are real, some endearing, some not so much. Like real life, even the villain isn't totally a villain, just too self-involved to think of anyone else, and too focused on the ultimate goal to let anything get in her way. But, I digress. If you want a book about people who are interesting, whose lives you become involved with, a book that makes you want to see the best things happen for most of the characters, where the situations are totally engrossing without involving murder or mayhem, then read this book. It is great to know that good stories are still being written.
Witty insight hits the marks
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
The story builds gradually, with lots of intricate layers. Just when you think you've got a character figured out, there's a small (or large) surprise. Some things you see coming, but others... well, it took a great deal of effort to put the book down sometimes. I just HAD to know what was coming! The author nails her characters and is scrupulous in the details, making them very believable. Can't wait for her next one!
Realistic characters in real-life situations
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Although this book started off slowly, and seemed to sit on my nightstand forever before I picked it up, once I did, I couldn't put it down. The characters are vivid and real, and the modern-day dilemmas and situtations are astonishingly real. Betsey Shpiro, Author "Queen's Hostess"
A terrifically smart and funny read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
WONDERFUL book! I'm tempted to reread it immediately because I like Seidel's voice so much. The narrator, Darcy, is an ICU nurse with two sons and a fairly recent, fairly amiable divorce. Then her older son, who is graduating from college and going on to med school and his similarly directed girlfriend decide to get married--and life changes. The future daughter-in-law, Cami Zander-Brown, is really nice even though her parents have this 12 bedroom beach house in the Hamptons and tons of money. But the Zander-Browns are good people, and the family includes a medically fragile youngest child and some complicated relationships. Darcy, as mother of the groom, finds that her ex's new girlfriend, a Martha Stewartish blogging queen, wants to take over the wedding and edit out anything that isn't in Perfect Taste, and that includes Darcy. But that's just the basic set-up. Seidel is an absolute master of insightful relationships, and all the many characters are beautifully delineated. This is women's fiction at its best--as entertaining as it is thoughtful. Highly recommended.
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