Here’s what we said about this unique fantasy novel: “A young woman whose family has always warned her to stay away from perfectly handsome men receives a proposal of marriage from a man who is sadly ‘perfect’.” One of the 11 books on this list was Pinch Me: A Novel by Adena Halpern, which had just been released the previous day. On July 20th, we posted what we called Another Summer Reading List. I will definitely be reading more from Adena Halpern.Ī review copy was provided by the publisher. I found myself laughing out loud while reading Pinch Me, especially throughout the conversation that takes place between Lily’s mother Selma and grandmother Dolly as they try to convince Lilly that she should not get married (that conversation alone is worth your time!). I read the story in two short sittings, cheering for Lily and Gogo and I began to wonder if perhaps we all hold some family curse brought on by something we or our predecessors may have done in the past. Halpern kept my attention with Lily – her strong-willed main character – and her quirky but loving mother and grandmother. This was a fun and lighthearted tale and I was entertained to the end.

However, I was quickly made optimistic by the author’s direct and flowing dialogue, and the enticing storyline that began on page one and continued throughout the novel. I have to admit that I initially thought the theme of this story was hokey and I was hard pressed to believe it would live up to the standards set by the novels I have recently reviewed.

The story takes us on Lily’s hilarious and somewhat sad journey to get her husband back while undoing the family curse for good! For once ignoring her family’s advice, she marries Gogo and in desperation to prove she has beaten the curse, she asks her new husband to pinch her. Then she meets Gogo, a handsome, successful pediatrician who adores her and asks for her hand in marriage. Witnessing what her mother, Selma, and grandmother, Dolly had gone through, Lily takes this advice seriously. Throughout her life she has been advised to date someone who she would never love so that the family curse, created generations before she was born, would not do unthinkable things to the men she loved. Lily Burns has spent her twenty’s dating the wrong men… on purpose. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, for the main character in Adena Halpern’s novel, Pinch Me, it is.

Imagine meeting the man (or woman) of your dreams: successful, intelligent, loyal, charming, attractive, and who wants nothing more but to spend the rest of your life taking care of you. “Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.” Grandma Dolly, 82 and Mother Selma, 55 Pinch Me: A Novel by Adena Halpern (Touchstone, $14.99, 288 pages)

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