What do you think?
Rate this book
Bombshell
There should be a four-letter word for beauty.
She has more shoes than Sarah Jessica Parker and a skin-care system that could make Madonna swoon, but unlike her celebrity counterparts, Grace Noonan doesn't have it all. Her latest utterly-eligible-yet-maddeningly-unavailable boyfriend has just revealed that having sex with her is one thing and having babies quite another, forcing Grace to move on�again. And now that her employer�a top cosmetics company once devoted to "beauty beyond thirty"�is pursuing a teenaged supermodel as its future face, this thirty-four-year-old marketing exec is starting to wonder if she is going to get it all before the closing credits. Could it be time for Grace to back out of the beauty race and trade the singles scene for the sperm bank? Or is there something even this savvy bombshell has yet to discover about life and love in New York City?
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2004
12 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Lynda Curnyn
15 books26 followersLynda Curnyn is a native New Yorker who hasn't migrated very far from her Brooklyn birthplace. She grew up on Long Island and has since made Manhattan her home.
After getting a liberal arts degree from New College at Hofstra University, she went on to New York University for her master's degree in English Literature, even contemplated a Ph.D until she realized she didn't want to spend her 20s in the library. So she did what all good English majors do-she went into publishing. Now, after more than a decade of working with some of the top authors in women's fiction, she has settled down to her dream life of full-time writing. In between plotting novels and stories, Lynda enjoys hanging out with her family, dishing with her girlfriends, and summers spent on Fire Island.
After getting a liberal arts degree from New College at Hofstra University, she went on to New York University for her master's degree in English Literature, even contemplated a Ph.D until she realized she didn't want to spend her 20s in the library. So she did what all good English majors do-she went into publishing. Now, after more than a decade of working with some of the top authors in women's fiction, she has settled down to her dream life of full-time writing. In between plotting novels and stories, Lynda enjoys hanging out with her family, dishing with her girlfriends, and summers spent on Fire Island.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 23, 2008
Enjoyable Chick lit. Curnyn enfuses her characters with a believable vunerability. In this story, Grace Noonan is a single woman working for an upscale cosmetics firm in New York City. Realising suddenly and painfully that her current boyfriend is not interested in a permanent future and feeling a surprising yearning for a child, the story starts with her breakup. Grace moves on quickly, as she has developed a wall of protection over the years and an ability to make pre-emptive strikes - breaking up with her boyfriends before they can break up with her. This wall has grown because of a string of men who have an interest in having her their bed, but not in their lives. On top of that, she is adopted, searching for her real mother, who has not replied to her letter asking to meet. There is a little more depth to this character than some others in chick-lit. A sequel to "Engaging Men", though it can be read alone without having read the first one.
March 26, 2008
Ok, all in all. I really liked parts of it but there were other parts I felt dragged on. Not one of my favorites.
February 11, 2008
Good summer read.
October 8, 2021
1,5 stars
The best thing that came out of this book, for me, is the following:
"So long as a woman has twinkles in her eyes, no man notices she has wrinkles under them."
I can relate to most points that were brought to the table by the author, but the pacing and the general plotting made this a forced read, an unfortunately, not a very easy, careless and carefree one, as one would expect from a chick.lit romance.
The best thing that came out of this book, for me, is the following:
"So long as a woman has twinkles in her eyes, no man notices she has wrinkles under them."
I can relate to most points that were brought to the table by the author, but the pacing and the general plotting made this a forced read, an unfortunately, not a very easy, careless and carefree one, as one would expect from a chick.lit romance.
July 24, 2020
This book is a good way to pass time. While some parts of the story are intriguing, especially the protagonist's relationship with Dr. Somerfield, it could have been written better. Also, while it was obvious the author was trying to offer closure at the end of the book, it was rather abrupt and ruined what little momentum the book had going for it.
June 4, 2019
The ending felt too rushed.
March 31, 2020
Too many things left up in the air. What happens to the company and both campaigns. Are her romance problems actually solved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2014
Thirty-something year old Grace Noonan has just dumped her boyfriend Ethan because he's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want to have a baby with her. From that point, she embarks on a little bit of soul searching.
BOMBSHELL had a lot of gusto. In this novel, our heroine has realistic insecurities and real life issues. Struggling with the emptiness she feels from losing the biological mother she's never known, her psychologist swears that every negative issue or concern that comes her way has something to do with this unfortunate event.
On top of it all, she watches as the only man who she's ever really had any true feeling for, marry a woman for the same exact reason he broke it off with her. Grace begins to slowly but surely take life with a grain of salt. Grasping the realism that it is quite alright to be a buxom, bodacious blonde, who doesn't have the perfect body, life, or outlook on dealing with the male species, Grace is the perfect example of the caterpillar turning into the beautiful butterfly.
But of course, there is always the prince charming that comes along and steals our protagonist's heart away. This is where Dr. Jonathan Sommerfield comes in. Her relationship with the good doctor is one that is best left with minimal details, as it is a relationship that the author has put together so adequately. The way the two evolved into such growing individuals just by being with each other was so sweet!
I didn't read ENGAGING MEN prior to picking up BOMBSHELL. Not having the background on the characters prior, wasn't a problem for me as much as it was for a few other readers. I enjoyed it nonetheless.
BOMBSHELL had a lot of gusto. In this novel, our heroine has realistic insecurities and real life issues. Struggling with the emptiness she feels from losing the biological mother she's never known, her psychologist swears that every negative issue or concern that comes her way has something to do with this unfortunate event.
On top of it all, she watches as the only man who she's ever really had any true feeling for, marry a woman for the same exact reason he broke it off with her. Grace begins to slowly but surely take life with a grain of salt. Grasping the realism that it is quite alright to be a buxom, bodacious blonde, who doesn't have the perfect body, life, or outlook on dealing with the male species, Grace is the perfect example of the caterpillar turning into the beautiful butterfly.
But of course, there is always the prince charming that comes along and steals our protagonist's heart away. This is where Dr. Jonathan Sommerfield comes in. Her relationship with the good doctor is one that is best left with minimal details, as it is a relationship that the author has put together so adequately. The way the two evolved into such growing individuals just by being with each other was so sweet!
I didn't read ENGAGING MEN prior to picking up BOMBSHELL. Not having the background on the characters prior, wasn't a problem for me as much as it was for a few other readers. I enjoyed it nonetheless.
May 16, 2021
Grace Noonan is a 34 year old career girl who finds herself longing for more than the stream of non-committal men in her life. She wants to be recognized for her talent at work. She wants to hear from her birth mother whom she recently found. She even finds herself wanting to have a baby! We follow Grace's antics in the cosmetic world and with a young colleague of her father, Tom, who- even though a fashion-backwards professor - does something to her that she can't explain, or resist.
It's nice to read a book when you already know the characters. But, you could pick this up without having read "Engaging Men" and still enjoy it just as much. Grace is a wonderful character, with real reactions to everyday problems. I like that the book ends without tying-up all (or any) of her loose ends too. It shows that the point is being happy for yourself and with yourself and everything else will fall into place. I'm hoping a sequel will come at some point.
It's nice to read a book when you already know the characters. But, you could pick this up without having read "Engaging Men" and still enjoy it just as much. Grace is a wonderful character, with real reactions to everyday problems. I like that the book ends without tying-up all (or any) of her loose ends too. It shows that the point is being happy for yourself and with yourself and everything else will fall into place. I'm hoping a sequel will come at some point.
March 27, 2009
Okay so my foray into "chick lit" is not going well. This book was better than "Good in Bed" but not quite as good as "Something Borrowed". All three of them were overall just OK! Just OK is not what I am looking for in a book.
There really isn't a lot to say about this book because it was boring and didn't have a lot of meat to it. I am so glad that I bought these books at a used bookstore because I only paid half-price and now I can (hopefully) sell them back and hopefully save someone else from spending full price on them.
The only good part of this book was the fledgling romance between the main character and her newly widowed professor boyfriend. Probably th only part that kept me reading.
There really isn't a lot to say about this book because it was boring and didn't have a lot of meat to it. I am so glad that I bought these books at a used bookstore because I only paid half-price and now I can (hopefully) sell them back and hopefully save someone else from spending full price on them.
The only good part of this book was the fledgling romance between the main character and her newly widowed professor boyfriend. Probably th only part that kept me reading.
March 14, 2013
I read this book fairly quick. It had my interest from the beginning however there was some "whining" I could have done without. I think that is my biggest peeve about Chick Lits. The authors seem to feel that having the main character whine about their life is going to make it seem like real life. Instead it makes me irritated and will make me put the book down. For Grace's age and how many men she had bedded by the time she was 35, she was a complete whiner on her age and where she was in her life. Yes she thought she had a fabulous job and so much money, but her happiness was completely missing. I did finish the book and it was a good book.
June 7, 2010
Grace Noonan doesn,t have it all. Her latest boyfriend has just revealed he doesn,t want to have babies with her forcing her to move on yet again. And now her employer a top cosmetics company has decided to enter into the youth cosmetics market instead of just concentrating on the women over thirty market. This 34 year old marketing exec is starting to wonder if she is ever going to get it all.Or should she leave the beauty race and focus on the sperm bank. Is there something she has yet to discover about life and love in New York.
March 4, 2015
Typical chick lit book. I, however, found myself relating to Grace more than I've really ever related to another chick lit heroine. At one point she says that she's sick of men wanting her in their beds but not their lives. I know that feeling all too well. So to read about a woman who feels the same is somewhat refreshing. I want more of her story. I want to know if anything happens with Jonathan. I want to know how things at work pan out. So many unanswered questions.
February 9, 2011
More mart than heart.
Grace Noonan had pages in which to develop some depth of character -- her conflicted search for her birth mother, her cut-short relationships with men, her consuming career goals. All this was diluted in the pages the author decided to spend on shopping sprees and on decisions of what to pull out of the closet for Grace's next event.
At times, this book read like a fashion catalog. Highly recommended but only if that is what you enjoy reading most!
Grace Noonan had pages in which to develop some depth of character -- her conflicted search for her birth mother, her cut-short relationships with men, her consuming career goals. All this was diluted in the pages the author decided to spend on shopping sprees and on decisions of what to pull out of the closet for Grace's next event.
At times, this book read like a fashion catalog. Highly recommended but only if that is what you enjoy reading most!
January 10, 2013
While this book has some of the normal trappings of a regular romance novel, it actually got better the more I read. The book becomes much more about love and loss rather than the typical romance novel. The book encourages the participants to come to terms with their past losses in order to move on with life. While there is certainly a romantic tone to the book, it is more than that and I found it an enjoyable story.
October 22, 2014
Please don't ask me to tell you exactly what this book was about or to give you a detailed account as I won't be able to. This was borrowed from my library quite a few years ago and I only have vague recollections of enjoying it while it lasted.
I want to say that this main female lead was suppose to be bigger than average but by no means fat, yet I might be mixing it with another book with a similar cover.
I wonder why I never did seek out other books by this author....
I want to say that this main female lead was suppose to be bigger than average but by no means fat, yet I might be mixing it with another book with a similar cover.
I wonder why I never did seek out other books by this author....
October 18, 2014
1,5 stars
The best thing that came out of this book, for me, is the following:
"So long as a woman has twinkles in her eyes, no man notices she has wrinkles under them."
I can relate to most points that were brought to the table by the author, but the pacing and the general plotting made this a forced read, an unfortunately, not a very easy, careless and carefree one, as one would expect from a chick.lit romance.
The best thing that came out of this book, for me, is the following:
"So long as a woman has twinkles in her eyes, no man notices she has wrinkles under them."
I can relate to most points that were brought to the table by the author, but the pacing and the general plotting made this a forced read, an unfortunately, not a very easy, careless and carefree one, as one would expect from a chick.lit romance.
September 19, 2011
It was okay, but sometimes I felt as though the writer was trying to trick us into thinking she was pregnant. Also, I felt as though more could have been developed between her and her sister. I also got really annoyed with the young clebrity, and could never really see her importance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2007
A good story, but flat in some areas. Curnyn has been somewhat hit or miss in Red Dress Ink.
March 10, 2008
I quit with the Red Dress Inks!! While every now and then I stumble upon a gem, the majority are just the same old stereotype.
October 29, 2009
This was a cute book, and I liked that the main character was unabashedly hot and sexy, instead of the usual self-deprecating cute girl characters these books usually have.
Read
September 22, 2010Entertaining.
December 12, 2010
Ok so don't hold this against me, I read it because I'm friends with the author. Having said that, this is certainly a quick, enjoyable story.
July 4, 2011
2.5 Liked the character, but kept waiting for more to happen. :)
May 21, 2012
A good summer read, certainly isn't going to make you a deeper person, but a cute romantic story.
April 3, 2013
Good book
September 13, 2012
funny, warm and touching
October 9, 2012
Cute beach read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews