Pg. 69: Jenny Gardiner's "Sleeping With Ward Cleaver"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Sleeping With Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner.

About the novel, from the author's website:

Claire Doolittle realizes her life hasn't quite met up with her expectations. Overwhelmed with the demands of motherhood and life in general, it doesn't help that the funny, romantic and thoughtful man she once married has turned into a real-life version of Ward Cleaver, the famously dull, bossy father from the 1950's sitcom Leave it to Beaver. And the last person in the world Claire ever imagined having to sleep with for the rest of her life is a man whose sex appeal more closely resembles that of George Washington than George Clooney.

Throw in an ex-fiance who returns via e-mail to try to woo Claire back with promises of what was, and a sexy young colleague of husband Jack's, whom Claire suspects of some sort of hanky panky, and you have the ingredients for a mid-life crisis that threatens to plunge Claire's world into chaos.

Among the praise for Sleeping With Ward Cleaver:

"Jenny Gardiner's debut novel offers a boisterous and engaging glimpse of the realities of marriage. As brash and funny as it is moving and insightful, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver will leave readers wanting more from this delightful new author."
--Kristy Kiernan, author of Catching Genius

"You won't kick Jenny Gardiner's debut book out of bed for eating crackers! Sleeping with Ward Cleaver is a sassy and sexy read."
--Eileen Cook, author of Unpredictable

"Honest, real, and wickedly funny, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver is a keeper!"
--Jane Porter, author of Flirting with Forty and Odd Mom Out

"If you enjoy funny, laugh-out-loud books, stories of women going through mid-life crises, you will enjoy Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Although the situations are serious, the author looks at them with such a comedic bent that readers will laugh, even when the situation is somewhat grim... Well written and well paced, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver is a romp and a lot of fun -- it is a book readers are sure to enjoy."
--Marilyn Heyman, Romance Reviews Today

"Fast paced and funny...Sleeping With Ward Cleaver is a clever and engaging romance with humor and heart."
--Carrie Padgett, Armchair Interviews

Read an excerpt from Sleeping With Ward Cleaver, and learn more about the author and her work at Jenny Gardiner's website and The Debutante Ball group blog.

Jenny Gardiner's work has appeared in Ladies Home Journal, the Washington Post, and on NPR’s Day to Day.

The Page 69 Test: Sleeping With Ward Cleaver.

--Marshal Zeringue