The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken

The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken by Mari Passananti   267 pages

             Brendan and Zoe were college sweethearts and have been together for 10 years. Yet a month before their big wedding, Brendan decides to come clean with Zoe; he’s gay. Not only is he gay, but he’s found someone else.

            Zoe is heartbroken. How could she not see the signs? How could she not know? She and Brendan were perfect for each other, or so she thought. She dreads the New York City dating scene. Especially after all these years. To top it off, she’s not sure she’s still in love with her job as a headhunter. Her boss, Carol, is psychotic. Zoe and her colleagues have learned to gauge their boss’s moods by her makeup.  The wilder and uneven the makeup, the more out-of-control Carol is.

            With her desk practically in the office’s front window, Zoe tries to function on everyday tasks.  One day, a bouquet of roses arrives with a note: “You’ve been looking sad lately. Drink? P.S. I’m across the street, one floor up from you.”

            Enter Oscar Thornton. He could easily be the guy to pick up the pieces, but Zoe isn’t sure. He sure seems to be the man that all women want: romantic, sensitive, smokin’ hot, drop-dead gorgeous, and rich. But Zoe isn’t sure he really is all those things. There’s no way he could make the money he’s spending working in marketing, even it is in Manhattan. Zoe decides she MUST find out before she gives him her heart. How far will she go to prove to herself that Oscar isn’t what he seems?

            Hazards is a quick read. I think it fits comfortably into the chick lit/romance genres with a toes in women’s lit and contemporary fiction genre. It’s a different take on the boy meets girl plot structure. A great beach read; or stuck in the airport read.