Product Description

In her witty, wry, insightful new novel, Roz Bailey follows the adventures of one woman who's discovering a new state--and a whole new state of mind...

Some signs are hard to ignore...

When Ruby Dixon's car is stolen--again--on the day her husband is offered a job in Portland, Oregon, the message seems clear. It's time to give up stressful New York living in favor of bucolic bliss in the Great Northwest.

Others you don't see until it's too late...

Now Ruby, Jack, and their three children have a palatial house in a peaceful burb, and everything's perfect. Except that Ruby can't get a decent haircut, can't seem to crack her neighbors' shells...and Jack is constantly away on business. If it wasn't for her new friend Ariel, another transplanted New Yorker who's earned the ire of the local PTA, Ruby would be about ready to cry uncle.

And some guide you right where you need to be But if life is dependable for one thing, it's unexpected turns, leaving Ruby and her children in a far from familiar place. Their new situation is beyond terrifying...But it's also somehow exhilarating. Because Ruby is about to find out just what can happen when there are no compromises, no safety nets, and no rules to follow but your own...

Roz Bailey went to college in New York City and never

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #954789 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Ruby Dixon's real life is a far cry from her romance writer persona. Cheerleading for her successful businessman husband Jack, caring for three children under the age of eight and trying to maintain her busy writing career leaves the 36-year-old Queens resident little time for the Cosmo-fueled nightlife she writes about. And after her husband's big promotion takes them to Portland, Ore., she feels like a total fraud. While relishing the smashing success of one recently published book, Ruby's struggling to finish another, adjusting to West Coast culture and dealing with a suddenly rocky marriage. Is husband Jack jealous of her newfound career high? Or have his many recent business trips been more bedroom- than boardroom-oriented? Oddly, though, there is little, if any, bad mommy behavior going on. The writing is snappy enough, but readers looking for the raucous romp promised by the title will be disappointed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Ruby Salerno has it all—three kids, a husband she loves, a house in Queens, and her work writing serial romances. Now she is almost finished with her first "chick-lit" novel. Her agent is excited, her current publisher wants nothing to do with it, and husband Jack is acting passive-aggressive. As the holidays and crunch time with Ruby's new book approach, Jack gets a promotion he cannot refuse that requires their relocation to Portland, Oregon. Ruby is surprised that Jack, who has never lived more than ten blocks from where he grew up, is willing to move, yet here she is handling the packing, the children, and her writing. While Ruby humorously adjusts to her new world, her career takes off. The only problem is balancing family life, fame, and her disappearing husband. Bailey changes the focus of her writing from novels about successful singles (Postcards from Last Summer, 2006) to a witty, honest look at marriage and family, creating a richly entertaining story that will please her maturing fans and draw new readers. Engelmann, Patty

Customer Reviews

Light-hearted romp
Quick moving story of a likable woman, Ruby Dixon, as she moves her family from New York City to Portland, Oregon. Her career as a writer is beginning to soar just as her marriage to Jack is beginning to sour. Roz Bailey writes with a light touch that will leave you smiling in your seat and rooting for Ruby to come out on top.
I did find the ending a tad trite. Ruby never fully wallows in anger or self-pity as one might expect from a woman whose husband has been cheating. In truth, she seems a bit removed from the reality of such a deal-breaking situation and glosses over Jack's indescretions too flippantly. I'm not so sure a real woman who "has it all" as Ruby does, great kids, great career, would be so quick to swallow her pride and even consider continuing her marriage when the bond of trust has been broken so totally.
I also think the title is a misnomer. Ruby doesn't behave badly. In fact she comes across as the almost perfect wife and mother we all strive to be. Methinks the title has more to do with selling books than what's inside the book.

Misleading Jacket Cover And Title
I picked up this book because I thought it would be a funny and sarcastic look into the backyards of the suburban set while exploring the politics of soccer mom society. Instead it is a "Mommy Lit" piece of fluff that seems written to meet a deadline and is as formula as any Harlequin Romance out there. The plot borders on the point of fantastical and is Bailey's take on the vapid fantasies of suburban housewives.

Although I did like her portrayel of the children these good moments were not enough to save a sinking ship.

Inserting Jack's POV every few chapters did nothing to propel the plot and only served to hit me over the ahead again and again what was obvious from the first two chapters.

Usually I savor what I read but I found myself skipping whole chapters in "Mommies" out of sheer boredom. I wondered: "If this is so laborious to read how was it to write?" I knew from the first chapter where the plot was headed and Bailey didn't surprise me once (although I read it to the end hoping she would). Her protagonist was laughably naive and the "happily ever after" ending left me with a sacharrine aftertaste.

Almost all the character development and plot twists were harvested from common articles found in women's magazines like Redbook and Ladies Home Journal.

Still, if the prose is witty and sparkling the journey might be worth it, right? Ummm....No. Bailey tries hard but among other gems supposedly passing for humor I was subjected to trashy, trite and tired phrases like "rode hard and put away wet."

If you enjoy suspense, character development, and a thoughtful read don't buy this book.

Mistitled
I think this book was mistitled. I don't think our main character behaved badly, I think her husband did. I will back up though. I did enjoy this book. It was lighthearted and a fun easy book to read. Had me laughing in lots of places and a lot of the thoughts were true.

Our main character, Ruby has three children and a husband whom she loves dearly. New York doesn't have the glitz they once loved, so they decide to move to Portland, Oregon. Her husband is away quite a bit, and I think we all knew from the beginning what would happen.

The ending does wrap up too smooth, but maybe it doesn't have to be hard and she didn't have to hold a grudge. In the end, you decide to hold onto the bad things or to move forward. Bravo! I have another book by this author and won't hestitate to pick up anything else by her!