Window Dressing

WINDOW DRESSING by Nikki Rivers August 12, 2006 Rating **** Here is another wonderful selection in the NEXT series line of books. WINDOW DRESSING is the story of a woman who finds herself in a bind. Lauren Campbell has lived in the same house since she was married to her husband Roger, but they have been divorced now for 10 years. Her son Gordy has started college, and she is informed that the stipulation of the divorce was that the money originally coming from Roger to support Gordy was now to going to a trust fund, and that the house she's been living in all these years now reverts to him. He has asked her to move out, as he's already hired a Realtor and is putting the house up for sale. Lauren, always living in a fantasy world, did not anticipate this day. What had she been doing these past 10 years? She had been living as she had before, being a full time housewife and mother. She never once thought of learning a trade so she could support herself. Lauren's excuse: she thought she had four more years. She didn't really plan for her future, content in the way things were, pretending that life had not changed once Roger moved out and hooked up with someone much younger. Now, Lauren is desperately trying to earn a living. She has no skills, no experience in working in an office. She tries a temp agency, and all she can do is dress up in silly costumes and try to push products at grocery stores and restaurants. But when a temp job lands at her feet where she can decorate Xmas trees at Grant's department store, she gets very excited. Christmas was one of the only happy memories she has of her ex-model mother, the mother who never really was maternal material, and constantly berates Lauren no matter where they are or what she does. It is Lauren's chance to bond once more with her mother. In the mean time, Gordy is going through a phase and Lauren feels he's drawing away from her, and the once close bond they had is deteriorating. On top of that, Lauren finds herself attracted to the man she has hired to redo her kitchen. It is her best friend's idea to have an affair with this young man, who is only a few years older than her son! This reviewer can't say nor have enough of these NEXT books. For fans of women's fiction, this series is wonderful! The stories all are well written, with stories that the older romance reader will relate to. In WINDOW DRESSING, Lauren is a forty-something woman who is dealing with a new life without the support of a man, and it's a big change for her. She's a woman with faults, a woman who has made many mistakes. But she is willing to put herself on the line to make those changes in her life, and learn to stand on her own two feet. WINDOW DRESSING was very enjoyable, and while one may shake their head at Lauren's denial and the way she lived after her divorce, the reader will not dislike her for her need to hide from what is in front of her. She's a character that grows and evolves, and for this the read

I have yet to read a "Next Novel" book I didn't like. Window Dressing is funny. After being a "housewife/soccer mom" type for years, Lauren Campbell must accept the fact that she no longer has the support of her ex husband. She spends her time making lemonade out of lemons and very strange things happen along the way. A good read for all Harlequin lovers.

Though they been divorced for a decade, Lauren Campbell had not expected the rat to do what he did. When their son left home to attend college, her spouse sold the house she has resided in all these years without warning her of his intent though their legal divorce papers stipulate that his support ends once the nest is empty. Lauren realizes she must take care of herself and can no longer rationalize that she is raising someone else while behaving as a PTA poster mom as she must accept responsibility of having no nest. She accepts work selling cheese in the grocer though she feels a bit uncomfortable dressing up like a milkmaid. Though lacking skills after looking within, Lauren decides she must find something fulfilling, but before she can learn to fish she must first eat. Thus Lauren begins the transformation to self sufficiency obtaining a job and perhaps a lover. This is a poignant yet humorous look at a middle age woman struggling with more than just empty nest syndrome as her former spouse forces her by his actions to see her current lifestyle for what it is: empty. Rather than brood, Lauren moves on starting with her cheesy job and soon finds she enjoys life much more participating as herself rather than the image of a nurturing mom with no aspect of her life solely her own. Nikki Rivers provides a deep powerful look beyond the WINDOW DRESSING at self actualizing who is the true essence of a person as all of us wear different roles in varying relationships. Harriet Klausner