Book Inspection: Mating Rituals of the North American WASP (+ Giveaway!)

Plot Sketch: Peggy Adams and her best friend Bex own a small bath products shop in New York. Bex is married to Josh, who still lives in the apartment down the hall from her. Peggy lives with her boyfriend of seven years, Brock, who just won't propose. Under a constant barrage from the everyday pains of owning a small business, they take a break for another friend's bachelorette party in Vegas. Peggy gets super drunk and falls. A stranger rushes to her to help her up. Enter Luke and the Little White Wedding Chappel. Luke is from New Nineveh, CT and is as WASPy as they get. He lives in the Silas Ebenezer Sedgewick House, built shortly after the Revolutionary War and added onto again and again. He lives there with his great aunt, Miss Abigail. Back to Vegas. Peggy wakes up to find herself in bed with this strange man, but still fully clothed. She sneaks out to find her friends have checked her out of her room and she's got to catch her plane home. When she returns to work, she gets a phonecall from Luke Sedgewick of New Nineveh and found out that actually, she got married to him while in Vegas. This is the tale of their marriage and its quirky little twists and turns.

Verdict: I Heart It. It's a nice relaxing story, a great summer read. I recommend it, however, I got frustrated with the characters because they don't communicate. I kept screaming at them, "Just talk to each other!" It wasn't an inconsistency or a misunderstanding of people on Lipton's part, it is true to human behavior; I just couldn't help myself from thinking, "Geez. Just talk." That was my only hang-up, and like I said before, it didn't have anything to do with the writing. I appreciated that even though it was an adult book, it was clean both language wise and sex wise. I honestly think it could have been rated PG.

The Gauntlet:

At what location does most of the story take place?
New Nineveh, Connecticut, USA

What is the main character's name?
Peggy Adams

Does I Heart Monster like the main character?
I do and I don't. It annoys me that she's so ignorant to herself, but I admire her spunk nonetheless.

How long did it take I Heart Monster to finish the book?
I read it over the course of 4 days.

Did I Heart Monster get stuck at any points in the book? If so, why?
No, but it took me longer to read than I thought it should have. It's not a page turner, but it's a good story. It's a relaxing read.

Is this a good read for Monster?
Nope.

What, if anything, would I Heart Monster change to make the book more interesting?
Nothing. I enjoyed it.

What was I Heart Monster's favorite line?
"An aphrodisiac will disappear, delusional, like permeanence of wealth..." you'll understand why it's my favorite when you read the book!

How many chapters were in the book?
26

Does the author have a website?
Yes: LaurenLipton.com

Stats:
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: 5 Spot
Publish Date: May 29, 2009
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446197971

Acquire It:

Paperback

Notes:

• Join the Lauren Lipton fan group on Facebook.
• Check out Lauren's blog at http://www.laurenlipton.com/blog/
• This Book Inspection is part of Hachette Book Group's Blog Tour. Check out the other participants!

GIVEAWAY!!

(open to residents of U.S. and Canada only please and no P.O. boxes, ends Monday, June 1)

Enter to win your very own copy of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP.

To enter, just leave a comment saying that you would like to enter. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

Extra entries are as follows: (PLEASE leave ALL entries in the SAME post!)

+1 If you tell us your favorite bath product (since Peggy owns a bath products shop, I think this bit could be fun!)

+2 Join Lauren's fan club on Facebook (link above and tell me.)

+2 Visit Lauren's blog. Tell us the name of one of the characters that Lauren refused to change in her book, even though it was similar to other exisitng characters in similar works. (hint: click the tag that is the same as the book title on the sidebar to find the appropriate article)

+2 Existing Followers/Subscribers (tell me!)

+1 New Followers/Subscribers (tell me!)

+2 Link to this giveaway (leave link for me)

Other Blog Tour Participants:

http://thereviewfromhere.wordpress.com/ http://librarygirlreads.blogspot.com/ http://hiddenplace.wordpress.com/ http://kylees2009.blogspot.com/ http://www.devourerofbooks.com/ http://burtonreview.blogspot.com http://bookopolis.blogspot.com/ http://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com/ http://www.foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com/ http://www.xanga.com/bravehsgirl http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/ http://inbedwithbooks.blogspot.com/ http://www.bookconfessions.com/ http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/ http://www.readingwithmonie.com/ http://www.sheistoofondofbooks.com/ http://2kidsandtiredbooks.blogspot.com/ http://www.squidoo.com/bookbin http://www.acircleofbooks.com/ http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset http://www.thisbookforfree.com http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/ http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/ http://lastexilewords.blogspot.com/ http://unmainstreammomreads.blogspot.com/ http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com http://www.bermudaonion.wordpress.com/ http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/ http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/ http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/ http://bookslovejessicmarie.blogspot.com http://www.thenovelbookworm.com/ http://proudbookworm.blogspot.com/ http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/ http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/ http://epicrat.blogspot.com/ http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/ http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/ http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/ http://www.thebookzombie.com/ http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/ http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/ http://www.linussblanket.com/ http://donnasbookreviews.blogspot.com/ http://www.skrishnasbooks.com/ http://www.morbid-romantic.net/ http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com/ http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/ http://diaryofaneccentric.blogspot.com/ http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/ http://danys-san.blogspot.com http://debbiesworld.wordpress.com http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com