TEMPTATION

A first hardcover from an author of some 30 YA and adult titles: an amusing if predictable fairy tale/romantic comedy that follows the perilous journey of a wisecracking New York woman of the 90's as she struggles with black magic and her own ineffectual wishful thinking to make her dreams—and those of her sisters—come true. Rachel Swann, a not-so-successful magazine journalist and single mother of precocious four-year-old Becky, has trouble holding back the tears these days. Not only is her career floundering, but her relationship with bland, balding, sexually inept Howard is heading straight for the rocks. Moreover, Rachel's nasty, well-to-do ex has just foisted a politically incorrect Cheerleader Barbie on young Becky and is threatening to sue for full custody. The only comfort left to Rachel is in her relationship with her two sisters—Molly, a zaftig feminist Columbia professor, and Sis, a happily married Long Island housewife—yet they also have their troubles, and outbreaks of sibling rivalry are far too frequent. Change is in the air, however: Rachel, while on assignment to review a hot new primitive- culture exhibit at the Met, finds herself sneaking inside a temple of black magic; there, she makes a fateful wish—that love, success, and wealth will soon be hers...and Molly's and Sis's. What follows: a blind date from (literally) hell, an ungodly pact, and a heap of trouble as the three sisters have to face down the consequences of a dream-come-true that's taken an ominous twist. Sitcom-like in its predictability and easy solutions, but funny and lively as well—especially regarding the difficulties of modern family and romantic relationships.