After at least two breakups with the same guy, this book kept me sane and occupied when the temptation to brood came calling. Wacky in some ways -- in that Glamour-Mademoiselle-Cosmo quasi-psychobabbly kind of manner -- yet oddly practical in others, "The Heartbreak Handbook" makes a wonderful case for moving on.

When it's 3 a.m. and it's too late to call up my best girlfriend and weep into the phone over the latest weasel in my life, I'd rather have Frankel and Tien's warm humor and sincere empathy than the clinical tone -- if not outright back-patting chirpiness -- of a lot of self-help authors dealing with the same topic.

And no, I'm neither with nor hung up on the aforementioned weasel any longer. So the book must've done some good.

This book is absolutely fantastic at making you feel like you're not the only one out there who feels close to death due to a break-up. No matter how down you are and you think, "nothing can make me smile," I'm not kidding - you will bust out laughing at this book. I've never been so uplifted right out of the dumps before, that I sometimes read it just for laughs and to get me out of other types of blues. The book has a real talking-directly-to-you-like-it's-your-best-friend-when-they're-not-around type of feel. It outlines all the thoughts we've all had about being dumped or doing the dumping in a humorous way that points out how you aren't the only person in the world who's ever suffered so horribly. I especially like the stories of others who have suffered, some are so hilarious that you'll think your own break-up was practically a party. Unlike other books that deal with the psychological trauma and the cycles of relationships blah blah blah this one actually does the job of lifting you up and helping you move ON already. There are several funny quizzes that will leave you in stitches as well as (what we've all been waiting for) how the GUY handles the break-up and what he's going through. But don't worry guys, even with this section, this book is for you too, most of the writing just plain and simple covers all people and all of that yucky, no-one-will-love-me-again pain. Last but not least, it humorously walks you through each day after the break-up and all the neurotic stages you'll be going through, as if you're given a humorous invitation on the never-to-love-again roller coaster ride. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Do not pass this book by if you are a heartbroken woman or has a friend who is. This book is painfully funny from begining to end and you get some really great advice along the way. The author's have included several do and don't list's that range from what to do with his stuff, music, food, and (gulp) dating again.

As a fan of Smart vs Pretty, I was excited to read The Accidental Virgin.

Poor Stacy Temple is on the verge of her 1 year anniversary of becoming officially a "virgin" again. She has had no sexual contact which in today's society, should be commended. Anyway, she is driving herself crazy trying to hook up with a guy, any guy so that she doesn't hold this title.

There's no mystery here what the book is about, but it's oh so funny to read about Stacy's little "sexcapades" with anyone (girl/guy) that will partake.

If you think this book is a serious tome on relationships between men and women and on love ~~ don't bother to pick this book up. If you are looking for a book that is pure escapism, fun, light, saucy and sexy ~~ this book is it! It is a very fun read ~~ I read it in two hours and had a great time reading it. Frankel's writing style is crisp and clear ~~ and very vivid. It is funny and I am being honest here, I couldn't stop turning the pages from the beginning to the end. It's been awhile since I can say that ~~ and I was fortunate enough to have an understanding husband who let me read this book uninterrupted while he took care of the babies.

Stacy is on a quest. She realized that in just one week, she will have been celibate for a year and not wanting to regain the "virgin" status she had worked so hard to get rid of sixteen years prior, she decided to find a man to break her celibate cycle. And this begins a riotous attempt to beat the end of the year. She works at an internet lingerie company, which was also having problems as well ~~ so in between meetings to save the company and setting off a new design line and meeting men ~~ Stacy's life quickly became a whirlwind. Preoccupied with sex, she bungles every attempt ~~ and it just gets more and more hectic towards the end of the book ~~ and more unpredictable.

Frankel didn't write the typical chick book ~~ where girl bemoans the lack of man, romance/sex in her life and obsessing over her weight and desires to have a family ~~ only to find that true happiness lies in herself all along. Nope. Frankel took a different twist on the single woman's life by allowing Stacy to be obsessed with sex and it was getting to the point where she didn't care ~~ and that's the fun part of this book. Frankel never leads the reader on to believe that this is a typical chick lit ~~ which is refreshing in itself for a change. Everything that can go wrong between a man and woman in that precoital haste ~~ happens in this book.

So, kick back and enjoy a few hours of escapism ~~ don't forget your diet coke or whatever you drink ~~ and just enjoy this book. Forget the real world for a few hours.

3-23-03

Can you become a virgin again, once you've well --- done it? According to Valerie Frankel's newest novel, "The Accidental Virgin", the answer is ... YES you can. Haven't had sex in a year or more? Boom, you're a virgin again. Frankel (of "Smart vs. Pretty" fame) produces a really funny and smart book with interesting characters, a great plot and wonderful charm.

Without a doubt, this isn't your usual "chick-lit" endeavor. It's better than that. It's really well crafted and well thought out. I think Ms. Frankel is extremely talented and I continue to be charmed by her work.

I loved main character Stacy, and found myself really relating to her and her struggles. She's an everyday gal and would certainly fit in with the ladies I call friends.

A wonderful read --- loved every minute of it. Highly recommended.

It's rare that I find a book so awkwardly written and uninteresting that I can't finish it. I gave up at Chapter 12, because the dialogue was fake and the characters were flat.Yuck. Don't waste your time.

I was very disappointed in this book. The book was rather dull and the smart/pretty connection never really surfaced.

This book could have been fine - a story of the struggle as two sisters try to maintain the family business amidst late 20th century commercialism and materialism, as the chain stores wipe out everything else. And with sisters and people as different as these two, they're bound to have a whole peck of troubles, enough to entertain and interest a reader for a couple of hundred pages.

But Smart vs. Pretty falls short of even the most modest expectations. For starters, neither sister is particularly appealing, with the 'smart' one being stereotypically cold and uninteresting while the 'pretty' one is as lacking in common sense as she is full of new-age intuition. These just are not very dynamic characters, and a book built around them collapses because the center is so weak, and there are really no other characters that are strong or interesting.

This would be enough of a problem as it stands, but the plot is utterly ridiculous, verging from what I assumed with be a small story about a coffee shop to a tale of murder, revenge and smuggling - seriously. And this was so not what I expected - or what I felt to be even remotely within the realm of possibility for either character - that I felt the book dissolved into ludicrousness.

I probably wouldn't have kept reading or be bothered so much if I hadn't felt as though the book or the author had potential. Clearly, many other readers did like the book, as their reviews indicate, but this is one I wish that I had steered clear of... or not spent my money on!