Love Sold Separately: Library Edition

Lauren Weisberger meets Janet Evanovich in this fast-paced and funny novel by Ellen Meister that follows the adventures (and misadventures) of Dana Banks, a newly-minted NYC shopping channel host.

Dana Barry’s life is a mess. Newly unemployed after getting fired from Hot Topic for mouthing off to customers, she has too much free time on her hands, which always means trouble. And while she loves performing with her theater troupe Sweat City, their tiny plays don’t pay the bills. So when she learns the Home Shopping Channel is auditioning for new hosts, she dives in with nothing to lose and is stunned when she actually lands the job. Her keen eye for detail, an uncanny knack for knowing what makes people tick, and a lot of sheer bravado make her perfect for her new role and she is suddenly on the brink of a strikingly successful career.

But when the Shopping Channel’s star Kitty Todd is found shot to death in her office, Dana can’t help but involve herself in trying to track down the killer. She was never one to mind her own business, and like any true actress, she inevitably winds up at the center of every drama. Plus, she knows the homicide detective’s prime suspect is innocent — they were together on the roof for some slightly illicit alone time when they heard the gunshot, after all. Lorenzo’s record may not be squeaky clean but she can tell the single father has a heart of gold. He may even be marriage material – something she’d be able to focus on if only Detective Marks wasn’t so handsome and their chemistry wasn’t so electric. Dana is this close to having it all if, just this once, she can keep herself out of trouble and not screw it up. But for Dana Berry, trouble usually comes easier and is always a lot more fun…