Tempting Fate
Popular chick-lit author Green (Family Pictures, 2013) tackles another hot issue for women in her new outing: temptation outside of marriage. Gabby Cartwright is a happily married mother of two who meets an attractive man a decade her junior while out for a night with her girlfriends. Gabby has an instantaneous and powerful connection with Matt, an entrepreneur with a successful website. Though nothing happens the first night they meet, Matt begins e-mailing Gabby, and she finds herself looking forward to his messages and responding in the middle of the night while her husband, Elliot, sleeps. Though Elliot is a devoted husband and loving father, Gabby hasn’t quite forgiven him for having a vasectomy and denying her the third child she’s been longing for. Given the book’s title, readers might have an inkling of what to expect when Elliot goes to a conference out of town, leaving Gabby on her own for the weekend, but Green takes things in interesting directions as she deftly explores the aftermath of Gabby’s rash, impulsive decision, making her latest a captivating cautionary tale. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A substantial initial printing, author appearances, book-club call-ins, and many other media and online promotions will mobilize best-selling Green’s large, social-media-stoked fan base. --Kristine Huntley