Bosses and boyfriends behave a lot alike in the novels. Then they dump you. In The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Jane Rosenal is a rising star in her publishing company until Mimi Howlett, her new boss, arrives. Mimi demotes Jane from the promising position of associate book editor to de facto personal assistant. She also relentlessly criticizes Jane's professional work while generously offering her tips on how to improve her appearance.
Jobs go from bad to worse following a firing.
Jane Rosenal languishes as a temp worker in a bank. What's more, as prospective mates they're virtually indistinguishable. In the traditional romance there was one special guy for every special girl. The special girl found her special guy by administering a set of means and morals tests and then using her powers of discernment to pick him out of the pack. Dump literature rejects this premise.