Getting Even

September 15, 2014

Oh, what a tangled web. Orianna and Ivy are longtime coworkers at a London advertising agency. Orianna is quietly dating her superior, Dan. Ivy is having an extramarital affair with the firm's financial director, Russell. Dan and Ivy's personal trainer, Rob, has an unrequited crush on Dan. From this cast of characters, Rayner (One Moment, One Morning) spins a tale of revenge. When Orianna is promoted over her, Ivy plots to get even, attempting to undermine Orianna's faith in Dan, drawing an unwitting Rob (and another coworker, Cassie) into her scheme of casting doubt. But Ivy should protect herself--she has secrets, too. VERDICT Quoting Shakespeare at the beginning of every chapter doesn't make this book, originally published in the UK in 2002, literary. The characters are cliched; Ivy might as well be twisting a villain's handlebar mustache whenever she speaks. However, it's silly, frothy fun when the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good ones their happy ever after.--Jennifer Mills, Shorewood-Troy Lib., IL

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
Betrayal and revenge fuel this smart, sexy tale of intrigue at a London ad agency. Collegial art director Orianna Bianchi and abrasive copywriter Ivy Fraser are a longtime creative duo at Green Integrated and trusted friends outside work. But Orianna, who was burned once before, conceals her interoffice romance with Dan Cohen (never mind that Ivy has a similar untold secret of her own), then accepts a promotion to creative director without bringing Ivy along. This puts Ivy in full revenge mode. She deftly uses other people (particularly Rob, the gay personal trainer who has the hots for Dan) and happy coincidences to sabotage Orianna's relationship with Dan at every turn. Will Ivy's ploys work? What will Orianna eventually discover? Will true love find a way? (And are all ad agencies such hotbeds of lust?) With Rayner's brisk, snappy prose, spot-on characterizations (especially Ivy, as the epitome of bitchiness), and deft plot twists, this is chick lit with an edge. Pure entertainment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)