http://www.ldsmag.com/article/1/14914
LuAnn Brobst Staheli doesn't usually write in the Romance genre, but she's a talented writer and gave it a try. The result is Temporary Bridesmaid, a fun look at romance after thirty.
Jenny
receives a wedding invitation from one of her closest friends and
realizes she'll soon be the only single left in her circle of friends.
She's getting closer to forty than she cares to admit and there are no
prospects in sight. Perhaps it's time to stop dreaming of marriage and
raising a family. Instead she should concentrate on her career.
On
the day she decides her chances of marrying are slim to none, a
handsome temporary worker shows up at her office. He's not your usual
temp, just starting out, but an innovative computer expert who just sold
his multi-million dollar computer business to obey a strong impression
that he should do so and go to Salt Lake. He doesn't advertise his
background to anyone in his temporary job, though a few people figure
out he's a well-known figure in the computer world. Of course he and
Jenny get off to a bad start and Jenny accuses James of stealing her
wallet. As they struggle to both work together and avoid each other, she
is overwhelmed with efforts to advance her career, earn more money,
take care of her mother, and serve as her best friend's maid of honor.
A
secondary story of one of Jenny's friends runs parallel with the main
story, telling the story of a woman who married too quickly to avoid the
stigma of approaching middle age and still single. She discovers she
doesn't know her husband very well. She hadn't expected marriage would
cut her off from her mother and friends. Her husband won't even allow
her to have access to a telephone. As he becomes increasingly abusive,
she discovers she's pregnant.
Jenny
is strong and capable, but she's also impulsive and judgmental. Under
stress she's rude. Still it's easy to sympathize with her as all of her
friends marry, leaving her to face a future no one wants to share with
her. Her pride takes a blow, but worse, the future she'd spent a
lifetime dreaming of seems to be moving completely out of reach. James
is fine with being single. Only his mother sees his single state as a
problem. He likes Jenny, but suffers embarrassment and wounded pride at
her hands. Staheli does an excellent job of making her secondary
characters distinctive individuals. All of the major characters and the
more important minor characters show growth and a greater awareness of
their lives, expectations, and values as the story progresses.
There
are not a lot of surprises in this story. It isn't as much plot
oriented as character driven and I'm not sure how many
approaching-forty-brides actually go in for all the frills and
cutesiness that younger brides dote on, but the story is fun while
giving the reader glimpses of the problems and concerns faced by older
single women who desire marriage and children.
Lu
Ann Brobst Staheli got her start as a celebrity paparazzi reporter. She
went on to an award-winning career as a ghostwriter for celebrity
memoirs. She also taught junior high English, then became a school
librarian. Some of her more well known books include Men of Destiny: Abraham Lincoln and the Prophet Joseph Smith and When Hearts Conjoin: The True Story of Utah's Conjoined Twins. She and her husband live in Utah and are the parents of five sons.
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