Rubber Gloves or Jimmy Choos - Softcover

Faith Bleasdale

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340895888 ISBN 13: 9780340895887

Publisher: hodder and stoughton, 2003

Synopsis

One office party, three couples, lots of secrets. What could possibly go wrong?

Harry Augustus, the third generation boss of Augustus Estate Agents, is hosting the biggest and best Christmas party yet.

He is pulling out all the stops and has a big announcement to make.

Gabby, the glamorous office manager, is in charge of the festive bash.

But she’s also sleeping with the boss.

Their office romance has been anything but subtle and is made more scandalous by the fact that Harry is married with two kids.

But theirs is not the only secret relationship in the office...

Caroline, Harry’s dutiful PA, is dating her irresistible colleague, Rob Sharp, who wants to keep their relationship private so it won’t affect his chances of an upcoming promotion.

But Caroline is at her wits end; she’d rather face the inevitable gossip than the icy front Rob puts on in the office.

Why does she feel like she’s the one having the affair?

Gabby takes Caroline for a drink at the ‘Olive’ to plan the party and tells her she thinks Harry is going to leave his wife for her.

That’s what the announcement is going to be about.

While leaving the bar, Gabby sees Evie and Joseph, two juniors at the company, sharing a tender moment.

She thinks they’d make a cute couple but Evie has set her sights on Rob...

As Gabby, Caroline and Evie grow closer, their secret relationships threaten to catch up with them.

Trouble is brewing...

What is Harry’s speech going to be about? How will the couples cope when the truth is revealed during a not so secret ‘Secret Santa’ present swap?

Can mistletoe and wine save the day?

Praise for Faith Bleasdale:

‘Riotously funny’ (Company)

‘A steamy rampage through London . . . No bed is left unturned in this brilliant comedy’ (The Mirror)

‘What-next romp for the twenty somethings’ (The Bookseller, Star Ratings)

‘A light and entertaining novel . . . many a twenty-something will empathize’ (Scotland on Sunday)

‘Fast-paced and wickedly funny’ (Heat, on Pinstripes)

‘Girl power which will make you giggle. A lot.’ (Company, on Pinstripes)

‘Sparks fly . . . this is a juicy reality TV read’ (Heat, on Peep Show) ‘The perfect tonic...hilarious!’ - OK

Faith Bleasdale lives in London and writes full time. ‘Deranged Marriage’ is her fourth novel. She has written another Christmas novel called ‘Lonely This Christmas’. To find out more about Faith and her other novels visit www.faithbleasdale.com.

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About this title

Review:

Rubber Gloves & Jimmy Choos? observes the highs and lows in the lives of a group of twentysomething girls, newly arrived in London, as they try to adapt and fit into the urban scene. Ruth and her flatmates Sophie, Sarah and Jess are just out of university and suffering from "what-next syndrome?". Ruth, the lead character, devastated by the break up of her long-term relationship at 21, drifts to London, drifts into a job and drifts into a series of one-night stands. As she and her friends navigate their paths through bars, recruitment agencies and flats of unknown men, the reader is treated to a bird's-eye-view of relations between the sexes.

As Bleasdale's book treads its well-worn route, it does take one interesting detour, which is the prologue to each chapter--surreal interludes, consisting of dreams, fantasies and nonsense--that set the agenda for the upcoming pages. These sharp shifts to fantasy can be viewed humorously, mockingly or otherwise. Either way, they stand out: "A little man approached me. He was very fat and very red. He introduced himself as the devil. He asked me if I would sell him my soul ... We struck a deal. I can't tell you what life is like without my soul, because I can't remember what it was like with it." If, however, jimmy choos aren't your thing and rubber gloves are so passé, but you're still a city girl at heart, Wendy Holden's Simply Divine, Helen Fielding's Cause Celeb and Patricia Scanlan'sCity Girl may be designed just for you. --Nicola Perry

Review:

Riotously funny (Company)

A steamy rampage through London . . . No bed is left unturned in this brilliant comedy (The Mirror)

What-next romp for the twenty somethings (The Bookseller, Star Ratings)

A light and entertaining novel . . . many a twentysomething will empathize (Scotland on Sunday)

Fast-paced and wickedly funny (Heat, on Pinstripes)

Girl power which will make you giggle. A lot. (Company, on Pinstripes)

Sparks fly . . . this is a juicy reality TV read (Heat, on Peep Show)

About this edition

• Publisher: hodder and stoughton
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0340895888
• ISBN 13: 9780340895887
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 359