From the acclaimed author of Breakfast at Stephanie’s comes a hilarious new novel about falling in love, breaking the rules, and other sinful pleasures.
A junior copywriter at a London ad agency, Cynthia Fishbein is the original good girl. She works hard, never complains, and takes care of everyone around her. Even Cyn’s therapist tells her she’s too nice. But all that’s about to change when a catty co-worker steals one of her ideas.
So Cyn goes her one better: She steals the woman’s identity.
Suddenly she’s breaking out of her shell, concocting a wickedly brilliant scheme to salvage her career–and maybe get a little revenge in the process. And once Cyn gets started, she just can’t stop. Soon she’s breaking the #1 rule of group therapy by dating Joe Dillon, the group’s sexy commitment-phobe. Leading a thrilling but terrifying double life, embroiled in a deliciously forbidden affair, she is having the time of her life–until her scheme starts to backfire in a major way. And unexpectedly Cyn is faced with a crisis that threatens her career, her relationship–and just might finish off her sterling reputation for good.
Kirkus Reviews Low-wattage Bridget Jones knock-off about a young Irishwoman who finds love and professional advancement once she breaks a few rules. Dubliner Cyn Fishbein is too nice for her own good. Thirty-two and single, she works as a junior copywriter at a cutting edge ad agency and hangs out with her pals: Hugh, a gay would-be writer from a posh but moneyless family, and Harmony, a former model and wildly successful hair-stylist worried about turning 40 without a child. Cyn is also still close to her typically eccentric but lovable family, as interminable pages of visits home attest. Despite a full recovery, her mother's bout with cancer when Cyn and her brother were kids has scarred Cyn by making her too eager to please-as Cyn's therapy group leader Veronica has told her many times. Then Cyn discovers that her co-worker and main competition for a senior copywriting position, Chelsea Roggenfelder, is out to get her. First, Chelsea, the daughter of an American advertising mogul, maneuvers Cyn into driving a car plastered with advertisements for a hemorrhoid ointment. Then Chelsea steals Cyn's brilliant idea for a major ad campaign for a new low-fat doughnut. When Chelsea ends up hospitalized after a yoga accident, Cyn finds herself breaking a few rules as she impersonates Chelsea with the doughnut people in order to prove that she, not Chelsea, came up with the campaign. Meanwhile, a handsome new stranger named Joe has joined Cyn's therapy group, and soon Joe and she are breaking Veronica's big rule by fraternizing outside of the group. Their romance, complete with surprisingly graphic sex, hits a snag when Cyn discovers Joe joined the therapy group under false pretenses. And her own falsepretenses with the doughnut people almost get her into trouble at work. Tepid sitcom from the prolific Margolis (Apocalipstick, 2003, etc). Not one of her best.

Margolis, Sue

Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers

Random House, Incorporated

Delacorte Press

United States, United States of America

New York, New York State, 2005

0, PT, 2005

From the acclaimed author of Breakfast at Stephanies comes a hilarious new novel about falling in love, breaking the rules, and other sinful pleasures.
A junior copywriter at a London ad agency, Cynthia Fishbein is the original good girl. She works hard, never complains, and takes care of everyone around her. Even Cyns therapist tells her shes too nice. But all thats about to change when a catty co-worker steals one of her ideas.
So Cyn goes her one She steals the womans identity.
Suddenly shes breaking out of her shell, concocting a wickedly brilliant scheme to salvage her careerand maybe get a little revenge in the process. And once Cyn gets started, she just cant stop. Soon shes breaking the #1 rule of group therapy by dating Joe Dillon, the groups sexy commitment-phobe. Leading a thrilling but terrifying double life, embroiled in a deliciously forbidden affair, she is having the time of her lifeuntil her scheme starts to backfire in a major way. And unexpectedly Cyn is faced with a crisis that threatens her career, her relationshipand just might finish off her sterling reputation for good.

When a coworker steals her idea for an ad campaign, Cynthia Fishbein, the quintessential good girl, reaches her breaking point, taking the other woman's identity and embarking on a double life

2023-06-28