Pretty Woman

March 14, 2005
Rotund Rosie Bliss, née Gardener, is miserable. She has known all along that her husband married her for her money—she runs a successful mail-order business, Nature's Decorations—but she has always lacked the courage to do anything about it. She even lost her best friend and business partner, Vickie, over the truth. In a rare show of spine, Rosie throws out the sorry Kent when he misses their third anniversary dinner. Kent isn't sorry to leave ("You're nothing but a fat pig with big feet"), but he slinks back the next day when he discovers that Rosie has won the lottery—a $302 million jackpot. As she fights to keep Kent's hands off her windfall and resolves to become the pretty woman he never saw in her, Rosie is cheered on by wonderful trainer Jack Silver, housekeeper Luna Mae, and Vickie, with whom Rosie renews her friendship. Kent schemes alternately to get Rosie back and to steal from her, but ends by almost believably growing up, even seeing her transformation as an inspiration for his own necessary changes. Rosie, however, isn't waiting around for him. The concluding triathlon, in which Michaels's likable heroine shows her stuff, is a strong finish to a frothy read.