Arm Candy » (Unabridged)

Jill Kargman is the author of The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund and Momzillas, and the coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers Wolves in Chic Clothing and The Right Address. She lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her family.

For two decades, thirty-nine-year-old Eden Clyde has been enjoying wealth and glamour as the muse and lover of Otto Clyde, the ultrafamous, and much older, king of the art world. Genetically, she hit the lottery, but Eden is unlucky in love: Eighteen years ago she put aside her dream of true love and marriage, and has turned a blind eye to Otto’s philandering in exchange for a life without want. In her younger days this seemed like a fair bargain, but as forty looms overhead — and as the beauty for which she’s known begins to fade — she feels the cost of the arrangement finally taking its toll on her happiness.

Eden leaves their cozy downtown loft for New York’s frostier Upper East Side, where she begins to search for the girl and the life she left so many years ago. With encouragement from a raucous but lovable group of girlfriends, Eden soon finds herself embroiled in a heated love affair with Gotham’s most eligible bachelor: the much younger Chase Lydon. But just as their relationship is getting serious, an old flame resurfaces. Does Eden want the life she’s living — and loving — right now, or the love she left behind? On the brink of her fortieth birthday, it’s time for Eden to follow her heart, but this time not even Eden is sure where that will lead. . . .

Poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, and written with heart and humor, Arm Candy shows that although sometimes forty may feel like the ultimate f word, it’s never too late to find true love.

Publishers Weekly

She's “as perfect as it gets,” the tabloids blare, but suddenly, Eden, the heroine of Kargman's fun and flashy if not exactly groundbreaking latest, is staring at middle age, a dead-end relationship, and regrets about the one who got away. Still, the biggest downer for the downtown arts-scene beauty is her upcoming 40th birthday. So she does what any tasty piece of arm candy does—finds a rich, charming, 28-year-old hunk of her own. “Don't be afraid to cougar out,” best friend Allison urges. Not everyone is happy with the choice, least of all art-king Otto, who still needs the leggy beauty for his muse. But when young Chase falls hard for Eden, she finds herself thinking more and more about her first, perfect love, Wes. The ending is a foregone conclusion, but Kargman's quick wit and fast-moving story bounce along agreeably, assisted by the amusing quotes that kick off each chapter (“Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician”). Kargman (The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund) gets it, even if her heroine doesn't. (May)