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, by Invitation Only, by Jodi Della Femina, Sheri McInnis
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Nobody knows the Hamptons like Jodi Della Femina, who captures the inside world of love, society, and scandal in this delicious summer page-turner.
Toni Fratelli has a busy summer ahead.
After several setbacks in Manhattan force her to move home to East Hampton, her To Do list is full. She has to help her father run his popular Italian restaurant. Start up her own catering company. And plan, cater, and be the Maid of Honor at her best friend’s wedding on the beach.
Unfortunately for Toni, the groom’s mother is a competitive New York socialite who’ll stop at nothing to make sure her son doesn’t marry a local girl – especially on the family’s Southampton estate. The biggest caterer in the Hamptons is trying to run her fledgling business out of town. And worse than anything, Toni seems to be losing her best friend to a circle of snooty bridesmaids. Everything might be tolerable – if her dad could just stop treating her as if she was seventeen again.
At least Toni finds love. When she meets a sexy surfer named Chris, it quickly turns into the most romantic summer fling of her life. But there’s more to Chris than his vintage Mustang and used guitar … and he’s not sure Toni’s going to like the truth. Before the end of the summer she’ll be forced to face her hopes – and fears – as trying to forgive becomes her biggest challenge yet.
- Sales Rank: #4079971 in Books
- Published on: 2009-06-23
- Released on: 2009-06-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.56" h x 1.45" w x 6.42" l, 1.32 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 368 pages
Review
“A frothy summer read.” –InStyle magazine
"Using humor and a “To Do” list that rings true, the authors provide an inside look at the worlds of restaurants and wedding planning through the perspectives of rich, well-developed, and often hilarious characters." --Booklist
"Filled with romance, food, and an insider's view of the Hamptons." --27 East
"A fabulous summer beach read, with the lush atmosphere of the Hamptons glitterati, the warm feeling of old friendships, and the excitement of new romances." -- Parkersburg, W. VA News and Sentinel
"A wonderful story with great characters. I could see this story actually happening due to the terrific story telling. Fantastic reflection on the Hamptons in the summer." --Night Owl Romance
“Fun, fast-paced and clever, like eating a souffle, only funnier. This book is so hip, even insiders will be keeping a scorecard.” –Steven Gaines, author of Fool’s Paradise and Philistines at the Hedgerow
"Jodi Della Femina has guided many a Hamptonite out of a traffic jam with her infamous Jodi's Shortcuts books and now she has given us the quintessential beach read full of laughs and heartwarming moments." –Katie Lee Joel, chef and food writer
“A wonderful book that will give you an insider’s look at the big money, big romance, food wars, catering wars, restaurant wars, local newspaper fights and comical vendettas that make East Hampton America’s most talked about small town.” – Jerry Della Femina, owner of Della Femina Restaurant
About the Author
Jodi Della Femina is the author of the bestselling Hampton's guidebook, "Jodi's Shortcuts." She worked in her dad’s landmark East Hampton restaurant, helped start the local paper, “The Independent,” and is the co-author of two cookbooks. She lives in Brooklyn and East Hampton with her husband, three children, and their dog, Daisy.
Sheri McInnis has worked in television, radio and P.R. She is the author of one other novel and has been writing about the Hamptons for years.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
"Have you finished packing?"
"All done. Last night." Everything boxed, taped, stacked in a U-Haul, and ready to go. "But what if I have trouble sleeping out there? It’s so quiet. Maybe I’ll need a prescription or something."
"You haven’t had insomnia for a while."
"No, but I’m not going to be in my bed anymore. I mean, I will—but I won’t. It’s all going to be different. Or the same? I mean"—she takes a deep breath—"I’m going home."
A word that was supposed to evoke happy memories. Christmas. Reunions. Birthdays.
Home.
But today it just makes her feel desperate.
"Lots of people move back home, Toni."
She notices he said back home. Back in time. Back on the path of her life.
"But my father roams around all hours of the night. He makes a pot of espresso at midnight and then wonders why he can’t sleep. He’ll probably keep me up too."
"Let’s worry about that when it happens, okay?"
She sighs and goes back to staring at the framed poster on the far wall, an explosion of black and gray drips.
Dr. Weinberg picks up a chocolate-chip cookie from a plate on his desk. She brought him a dozen this morning wrapped in blue-checked tissue paper, stacked together and tied with white ribbons like a New Year’s Eve firecracker. He tells her again how delicious they are.
"Thanks," she says. "Salt. That’s the secret. You always add a dash of salt, but I use extra. It enhances the sweetness. Really opens up the flavors." She starts to expound on the virtues of adding just the right amount of salt to recipes, how many different kinds of salt there are—rock, sea, kosher, fleur de sel—and how her grandmother’s salt and pepper shaker collection inspired her love of vintage dishes. She’s so lost in her reverie that when the doctor’s watch makes a little ping at the end of the hour, it actually surprises her.
Outside on the sidewalk, she buttons up her jean jacket and catches a glimpse of her reflection in the glass door. Chocolate brown eyes, wide mouth, long dark hair looking like it could’ve used a blow-dry this morning.
Why didn’t she dress up? Put on some makeup, at least.
Because the cookies were more important, that’s why.
She sees people hurrying down the sidewalk, hugging themselves against the late April chill. She smiles to herself. New Yorkers are always so eager for the winter to be over, they toss their scarves and gloves at the first sign of spring—then freeze for a month.
She’s the same way.
She takes a spiral-ringed notebook out of her bag and flips to today’s To Do List. She strokes off Cookies for Dr. W. and heads toward the drugstore on the corner.
Inside the entrance, she stops and savors fluorescent lighting for the first time in her life. She looks at the long lines of people waiting at the counter. She is filled with nostalgia. She must be the only person in New York who’s actually going to miss the ubiquitous Duane Reade.
Someone bumps her from behind. "Sorry," she says.
But the man keeps walking, barely noticing her. He has dark trendy hair, an expensive pin-striped suit. "God, I hate my life," he’s saying into his Black-Berry. "I was up half the night singing Bee Gees songs. Remind me never to . . ." He seems lost, checking the signs above each aisle, before disappearing into First Aid.
Toni grabs a shopping basket and wanders through the store, picking up more things than she’d planned. Conditioner. Hand sanitizer. Sunblock. In Stationery she sees them, her favorite spiral-ringed notebooks for her To Do Lists. She grabs a handful and heads for the cashier.
On line, she’s the only person not tapping a foot or looking at a watch.
"God, my head . . ."
She turns to see the man in the pin-striped suit approach a woman standing on line behind her. The woman is in her late twenties, her black coat open to reveal a cashmere sweater. She holds a bottle of Advil and some sodas.
Toni turns forward again.
"What time did you get in?" the woman asks.
"Who knows? But if I have to go to one more karaoke bar with a bunch of guys who can’t—" The violent clatter of tablets. "What is wrong with this thing?"
"It’s childproof." The crack of the plastic seal.
"You don’t have anything stronger—like bullets?" he says. "What the hell’s taking so long? Is it National Trainee Day or something?"
Toni just rolls her eyes.
At the counter, a cashier walks up and unlocks another register, motioning to Toni. "May I help who’s next, please."
Toni goes to step forward, but the man butts in front of her, tossing his Advil on the counter. While he digs for his wallet, his cell phone rings. "Yeah? . . . No, no, he defaults on the debt if"—he seems frustrated, motioning for the woman in the black coat to pay— "if it’s more than six times the cash flow . . . Yeah, that’s what we . . ." He walks out of the store still on his phone. The woman in the black coat smiles and motions for Toni to go ahead.
Out on the street, Toni walks slowly toward the subway, taking in every sight she can. The Starbucks where she used to get green-tea lemonade before her sessions. The diner where she had breakfast with Kevin that time.
She bristles when she sees the man in the suit, pacing the sidewalk outside a black town car. He’s now yelling into his phone.
"That is total bullshit! Then he’s the only goddamn person in the history of"—his voice drops as he notices her; he has that dead look in his eyes Kevin sometimes got when he was on his phone—"in the history of Delaware corporate law to get out of a binding contract!"
Figures, she thinks. Her stroll down memory lane ruined by a self-important Master of the . . .
She stops in her tracks.
Her heart squeezes in her chest when she sees a little girl turn the corner with her mother. The girl has two balloons on different lengths of string, one red, one blue, as she skips along holding her mother’s hand. Toni watches the balloons as they pass. A song is suddenly going through her head.
"Row, row, row your boat . . ."
She feels a deep twist in her stomach.
"Gently down the . . ."
The next thing she is aware of is a swing of sky and tree branches, everything not where it’s supposed to be.
After that, she is drifting. Everything is dark. She tastes copper and salt, like potato chips in her mouth, and if she were a little older she would know that this taste is blood. But she is only three.
Excerpted from By Invitation Only by Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis.
Copyright 2009 by Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis.
Published in June 2009 by St. Martin’s Press.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
A tour guide of the hamptons and Vogue designers reference in one
By Selleree
I honestly didn't think this book was anything great. It was recommended by my library's book club, that it was funny. Well it wasn't.
First, the characters were underdeveloped. The only one character that had any history or motivation was Toni. All we really know about Didi (the mother-in-law) is that she's really scared of getting old. The author stressed again and again about how Didi is scared of the sun or doing anything to make her old. Example p213 Did thinks of herself as "old cheddar." The repetition of Did's age as an issue is overdone. Then there is Chris - Toni's love interest. When the book starts, the author makes a small attempt to describe him and his friends. After those few pages, we really don't get ANY MORE input or ANY understanding into Chris (forget even his friends) until 2/3 of the book - p218. Seriously... all we know is Toni loves him and that Chris is keeping a secret. We also learn that Chris miraculously kisses Toni every time she had an doubts about him. But we don't understand Chris, what he thinks, what motivates him, or WHO he is, his background, etc. Chris, for all we know, could just be any male "boyfriend character" placeholder - Totally attached and devoted to Toni, but devoid of personality. Our picture of Layla - the other important female character- is just as bleak. All we know it's she's gorgeous, about to be married to a very rich family, and she likes to be on the beach getting tan while her friends do all the work.
What I did learn is that this book is NOT about summer love, NOT about best friends, not about Careers or success. Essentially this book is written as a thinly disguised Hamptons tour guide and Vogue designers reference in one. We don't NEED to know every LOCATION that Toni remembers or goes to. WE don't need to know the roads that all the rich people live on or how much traffic there is. We don't NEED to know the names of celebrities who live or have owns homes there. I really don't give a crap about how many people remember Toni as a kid. The author went TOO overboard with all this, it just overtook the entire story. It read less as a look into Toni's past (which was what the author fruitfully tried to achieve) and more like like the Guru Guide to Hamptons that she quoted too often.
I know I'm being harsh, but that's because I can speak from my own experience. I've been to the Hamptons and been stuck in traffic, went to farm stands, and local restaurants. it's really NOT that much of a big deal. No need for all that text.
Finally what bothered me about this book is all the constant brand name throwing and reference to Hamptons luxury. For example: p.207 Jimmy Choos, p215 "It's not that big" referring to a Hamptons house (a pool house mistaken for the mansion). iPhone, Tiffany's, Bagley Mishka, and tons of other luxury brands just busting out. I'm not materialistic, but I love reading Vogue and even have a subscription. Vogue is honest in its intent, in that it's a luxury magazine about luxury brands, and unlike the book, doesn't not pretend to be something it's not. It feels like like the author just stole all the ads and inserted the brands into every which spot in the book she could find - a brand guide pretending to be a novel - very dishonest. Really.... we KNOW they're rich without constantly throwing it out there.
My favorite part of the book is the ending. The bride finally gets the wedding she wanted, Toni gets the customers and the guy (who btw quits his rich job to help Toni was a restaurant - totally unbelievable), and Didi all of a sudden becomes nice to everyone. A miracle ending that everyone saw coming, yet still sweet. Why DID on EARTH did Didi all of a sudden bring herself down to the "ordinary people" level. Jail day alone wouldn't have done that. It just erks me how under developed Didi's character is. The author just flings an ending at us that we all know we''ll love.
There is NOT MOTION, or ACTION throughout this whole book. NOTHING HAPPENS. It's just a lot of names, places, and Toni rushing to get stuff done. A whole lot of NOTHING. If you took out all the shopping, dressing, tour guide text, and poor character development, you'd be left with a 20 page short story. NOT worth reading at all.
So there you have it folks. I've never tore a book apart in this manner before. Nor have I given a book 1 star before. But I guess there is a first time for everything.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
That was fun....
By Too Square to Be Hip
Ok - that was fun! My wife bought a copy, and I read it first. My only thought was that I should have saved it for the beach. Great summer read... and I have to admit, I am a sucker for books like this. It was quick and lively - and the characters seemed true to the setting (not that I have spent a lot of time at the Hamptons). Escapist? Maybe... but it seems spot on and timely given all that is going on... I recommend it.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Hampton's Bound!
By N. Riley
No worries if your vacation budget doesn't allow for a trip out to the Hampton's this summer, because authors Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis do it for you. This is a delightful summer read, with the lives of several different people, in the Hampton's for different reasons, intersecting.
Toni Fratelli, her friends, and her family are interesting characters and I devoured this book in a few short days. The authors do a great job showcasing the difference's between the locals who live there all year, and the wealthy people who summer there. They were even able to eventually make Didi, the future mother-in-law of Toni's best friend, Layla, sympathetic. In lesser hands, she would have turned into a caricature of a wealthy socialite of a "certain age" that you automatically hated.
The relationship between Toni and her best friend, Layla, was well drawn out as well. By going back in time every so often to tell a story about the two friends growing up, there was the basis for the believable friendship these two women shared.
This is a great story about love, friendship, and family that is a welcome addition to your travel suitcase as you pack up for the beach, pool, or just sitting in your backyard!
Noreen Riley is the author of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Her Brother's Shotgun Wedding.
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