Such a Girl

Book excerpt: Karen Siplin, whose first novel, His Insignificant Other, earned her critical praise from her peers and fans, presents Such a Girl -- a sexy and engaging new novel. In Such a Girl, Siplin brings to vivid life the story of a woman who ends a love affair for the "right" reasons, only to have a chance at beginning again years later. Nine years ago, Kendall Stark ended a relationship with the love of her life. As her college friends never tired of telling her, Jack was going nowhere fast. Now Kendall is thirty-one, working as an operator at a prestigious New York hotel and listening in on the personal calls of the celebrity guests, while she carries on a doomed affair with a married colleague. And while deep down she knows she should be leading a more fulfilling life, Kendall believes she is content with the choices she has made. Until the morning Jack reappears. Only now, Jack is the wealthy owner of a New England brewery, and he's staying in the hotel where Kendall works. His unexpected return leads her to rethink all the assumptions she ever made about success, love, and happiness and forces Jack to decide if he can ever forgive the woman who broke his heart so many years ago. Just as Bridget Jones's Diary did for Pride and Prejudice, Karen Siplin here updates (and shakes up) the premise of Jane Austen's Persuasion, placing the characters in a modern, multicultural landscape. The daily intrigues of a luxury hotel provide the perfect backdrop for exploring the subtle (and overt) caste systems that still persist. Part romantic comedy, part social commentary, and imbued with the wit and contemporary urban sensibilities that Siplin displayed in her acclaimed debut, Such a Girl is an exciting and thoroughly entertaining new novel from a talent to watch.