Monday, May 12, 2008

Pg. 69: Sherri Rifkin's "LoveHampton"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Sherri Rifkin's LoveHampton.

About the book, from the publisher:
It’s almost summer, and in certain circles, summer means summer share. After an intervention by her three best friends forces her out of a breakup-induced personal hiatus (read: depression), TV producer Tori Miller ditches her old look with the help of a makeover on a reality show pilot. She premieres her new-and-improved self in a rented Hamptons summer house she's sharing with seven complete strangers. Over the next three months, Tori becomes the wing-woman to a glamorous new B.F.F., attempts to win over her house’s prickly Resident Alpha Female, is drawn into a web of secrets by a charming Brit, and suddenly finds herself entangled in one too many complicated romances. But it isn’t long before Tori starts getting tripped up by the many Hamptons Unwritten Rules of Survival, which threaten not only to implode her new, carefully cultivated social standing but more importantly, call into question Tori’s ability to see people for who they truly are, including herself. Ultimately, Tori must decide who she really is, what she wants, and what she’s willing to give up to get there—all by Labor Day.
Among the early praise for LoveHampton:
“A perfect teaser for summer fun to come, this breezy novel follows the exploits of a Manhattanite who finds that there’s more to life in a share house than party, party, party.”
People StyleWatch

“In this breezy book, young New Yorker Tori Miller rents a summer house with seven total strangers in hopes of mending her broken heart by Labor Day. Think The Real World, only juicier.”
Cosmopolitan Magazine

“In Rifkin’s dazzling debut, Manhattanite media pro Tori Miller shares a posh Hamptons summerhouse with five upwardly mobile 30-somethings. Wanting out of the depressing slide her life takes after being dumped by her first love and losing her dream job, Tori starts MillerWorks, her own TV production company. Still, Tori’s depressed, bringing about an intervention staged by her loyal employees, Jerry and Jimmy, her best friend Alice and the Transformation Trio—three make-over experts who use Tori as the pilot subject for their new reality TV show. Tori flirts with a glamming lifestyle, and her fling with George, a rich playboy with a publicist, while she’s also secretly canoodling with a housemate, banker Andrew Kane, is a recipe for disaster. Tori must think fast on her borrowed Manolos, especially when Cassie Dearborn, her new friend and housemate, needs help with her own disastrous Hampton hijinxs. Hotter than a sand dune in August, cooler than a mojito in South Beach (or Southhampton), this book will appeal to Sex and the City fans and summer beach readers alike.”
Publishers Weekly

“Sherri Rifkin writes like Edith Wharton’s angry love child. Brilliantly done!”
—E. Jean Carroll, “Ask E. Jean” columnist for Elle and author of Mr. Right, Right Now!
Read an excerpt from LoveHampton, and learn more about the author and her work at Sherri Rifkin's website and her blog.

Rifkin, a former TV marketing executive, lives in New York City, where she writes for a variety of entertainment and media clients, including Bravo, USA Network and the Style Network.

The Page 69 Test: LoveHampton.

--Marshal Zeringue