Leave It to Cleavage

Full disclosure: I'm a male reader who stumbled onto this one when I noticed its intriguing title and appealing cover design in a bookstore. ;) So on a lark I picked it up and read the brief synopsis on the back cover. It seemed fun, so I gave it a try. Very glad I did! It proved to be thoroughly enjoyable and I still take it off the shelf every so often and re-read it for fun. I won't re-hash the plot since the editorial and reader reviews have already done so. But I will say that I quite enjoyed the basic story-line - the former beauty queen uses her skills, poise and intelligence to save, transform and grow the family business (and thus the small southern town that relies heavily on it for its economic well-being). I will second the earlier review by IRRS in that I too appreciated the intelligent dialog, as well as the refreshing lack of mindless physicality and cheap subplot gimmickry (i.e. no murder, terrorism, or other such unrealistic details). The bizarre details of Miranda's fugitive husband certainly make for an unusual backdrop, but the subject is handled well and is obviously relevant to the story-line. I respected Miranda and I especially liked Andie Summers, the effectively motherless teenage daughter of Sheriff Summers (the male protagonist). She desperately wanted to be seen as something more than a school jock, and - after taking a de facto apprenticeship from former Rhododendron Queen Miranda - succeeds brilliantly in a most edifying manner. Uplifting ending all around. Enjoy!

From the first sentence this book had me hooked. It is a romantic comedy and a mystery as well. The title: Leave It To Cleavage: An Uplifting Tale foreshadows the gentle humor within. The title refers to the heroine's family business, a lingerie company located in a small Georgia town. The company banner becomes: Ballantyne Bras, Home of Custom Cleavage: Creating The Perfect Bra One Stitch At A Time. This book does not take itself too seriously. There are many "creamy shoulders", "orbs", and robes that fall open. Still it is not crude eliminating some of the sexual detail found in many romances. There are no forced sex scenes between virginal girls and handsome heroes. The heroine, Miranda, is a strong beautiful woman with an MBA who is forced out of housewifely retirement and into running her family business. Tom, her cross dressing husband of fifteen years has ravaged the family business and left it in tatters. He leaves her abruptly with a curt note and no further explanation. The romance in the book occurs between the heroine and Blake, the handsome sexy police chief who suspects wrong doing in Tom's disappearance. Miranda conceals the fact that Tom has left her and taken their personal funds. Further, Tom has embezzeled Ballantyne company funds leaving the company in a precarious financial situation. She feels she must conceal Tom's sudden departure in order prevent panic, reinvent Ballantyne and save the company and the town. The town's largest employer is Ballantyne. There is an interesting side plot as well. Blake, the divorced police chief has trouble accepting the fact that his teenage daughter needs to grow up and seperate. He resists accepting the fact that she is a sexual being, the typical father daughter dilemma heightened by the fact that she is beautiful and very attractive to teenage boys. This is a beach book. I have given it five stars, because for its genre it is one of the better examples. This is not to be confused with great literature. Read this book for relief between reading the heavy hitters. Now I am ready for another heavy hitter.

to create a wonderfully delightful novel!! Sorry, but this book 'had me at Hello'!! From the first line in this story, I was laughing so hard, I was crying! Wendy Wax has an interesting way of leading the reader on...tempting us per-say with wanting Miranda and Blake together so badly and then nothing! Once things begin flaming, it makes the reader appreciate it even more! The characters are so believably real, you can't help but fall in love with them and the story!

There are times in your life when you need something funny to happen. What happened to me was Leave it to Cleavage! From the moment I picked up the book I had a grin on my face. That's okay on an airplane, but to laugh aloud did cause curious stares. I simply held up the book. People saw the title and nodded. This book is thoroughly enjoyable. I couldn't put it down. From the time the heroine found out her philandering, women's underwear wearing husband had taken off with the family fortune, to the final moments when she saves Truro, her home town, saves the family business and gets the man--the town sheriff, I'm hooked and laughing. Wendy Wax has come into her own as a comedy writer. I can't wait for the next book!

Miranda Smith's comfortable life of social functions and charity fundraisers is forever turned upside-down when she accidentally discovers pictures of her husband of fifteen years dressed in women's lingerie (with a pristinely manicured female hand on his rear). In just one day, everything becomes painfully clear-Tom's penchant for women's underwear, his infidelity, and, finally, his disappearance. When she reads Tom's "have a nice life" letter, Miranda thinks that her life has hit its lowest point-but then she discovers that Tom did more than just leave her. He also emptied out their bank accounts and left Ballantyne Bras, her family's business, in serious financial trouble. Suddenly realizing that she's the only one capable of saving her family's business (and, consequently, the entire town of Truro, Georgia) from bankruptcy, Miranda dusts off her MBA and fills in for Tom, claiming that her husband asked her to take care of the company while he went on an extended business trip to China. Miranda manages to cover up her husband's disappearance using fake emails and phone calls, but Blake Summers, the chief of police, isn't falling for it. Miranda can't seem to hide from the persistent chief-nor is she totally sure that she wants to. The plot of Leave It to Cleavage (a jilted woman forced to take charge and make it on her own) isn't necessarily a unique one, but Wax does a wonderful job of taking the plot and making it her own. She creates characters (especially Miranda and Blake's daughter, Andie, the teenage tomboy turned beauty queen hopeful) that you can't help but love. She creates a tension between Miranda and Blake that's absolutely electric-so electric, in fact, that you'll feel it. And her devilish wit only adds to the fun. From the very first sentence, Wax will have you hooked, and you won't be able to put down this uplifting tale.