BOOK:   Adventures of a Salsa Goddess

AUTHOR:   JoAnn Hornak

SUMMARY: When I heard about a new Milwaukee author, I thought it would be fun to read her book. I was right. It is a wonderful remedy for winter doldrums. This is a delightful, quick read that the author describes as "chick lit". It was fun to read about the protagonist living on Prospect and going to a Brewers game. This was a contrast to her professional life as a magazine writer in Manhattan. These settings, of Milwaukee and new York City were as diverse as the two men who enter her life. Hornak takes Sam on a humorous search for love against the odds with many bad dates. Her escapades had me laughing out loud as I read her descriptive, irreverent prose. Talking about entering graduate school, getting a Ph.D and becoming a professor was Samantha's goal when she says," I'd quickly learn that I was about as scholarly as a trashy romance novel". The author also brings mystery to this book. Her past career as an assistant district attorney showcases a legal and criminal aspect of this novel, which adds to the entertainment value of this book.

PLOT: Samantha Jacobs, a 41-year old working for Tres Chic magazine, gets an unusual assignment from her boss, Elaine. A condition for her promotion at this magazine is a New Year's Eve wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New YorkCity. The only problem is Samantha isn't even dating anyone. Quoting a Newsweek statistic," about a forty-year-old single woman being more likely to be killed by a terrorist than to ever be married", Elaine propels Sam into this odyssey to achieve the "impossible dream" and this magazine is selling dreams. Sam's boss wants " each of our readers to know if you can find a husband in Milwaukee (the 'absolute worst, most abysmal marital statistics for single, professional women in this country') her readers can find a husband anywhere." Upon arriving in Milwaukee, Sam sets about renewing an old friendship, signing up with a dating service and joining various activities to meet a professional man to marry by her deadline. She meets Robert through a dating service and Javier on the dance floor… the salsa dance floor. Samantha's uncertainties are as diverse as the men in her new life. Is all what it appears to be? Is there a mystery to be solved?