Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes

Almost a decade ago, prior to the onslaught of New Adult literature, sassy Chic Lit was at the height of its popularity (think Sex in the City, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Bridget Jones's Diary).

I bought this book around the same period while craving for something light and fun to read. Its quips and chic repartee was quite the fashion at that time and, hardly admitting to it, I was thoroughly entertained by the hyper reality and indulgence it presented.

These Park Avenue princesses get a fair amount of curiosity (perhaps envy, too) with their glamorous lives and foibles. In my case, it was just a guilty pleasure, a random veer from my usual orbit.

It was quirky and hilarious in a petty girly kind of way and I'm not sure how the girls got away with almost anything (hey, this is still fiction anyway) but I got carried away all the same by the story.

It was worth noting the main guys here were a far cry from the tormented dashing ones we see on lit nowadays. Here they seemed ordinary but are really not. They were cuties, sharp and unassuming bright young men who could still make me gush.

Vogue magazine writer turned novelist Plum Sykes may be in her element here bringing social comedy to dramatic degrees. Having been familiar with her features previously, I noted her signature tone in writing is much obvious in the book, too.

Though there were moments when I could not help suspending disbelief, I liked how her heroines ended up in their romantic paths which made the story sweeter for me.

Summary

With invitations to high-profile baby showers and benefits, more Marc Jacobs clothes than is decent, and a department store heiress for a best friend, our heroine known only as Moi is living at the peak of New York society. But what is Moi to do when her engagement falls apart? Can she ever find happiness in a city filled with the distractions of Front Row Girls, dermatologists, premieres, and eyebrow waxes? Is it possible to find love in a town where her friends think that the secret to happiness is getting invited to the Van Cleef and Arpels private sample sale? And how is she going to deal with the endless phone calls from her mother in England demanding that she get married to the Earl next door?

Title: Bergdorf Blondes
Author: Plum Sykes
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Published: 2005 (first published 2004)
Publisher: Miramax
Rating: ♨♨♨ (3 cups - Incredulously entertaining and somewhat sweet, too.)