Book Review: “The Vow”

w/PICCaption: “The Vow” by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray, and Mitzi Millerc. 2005, Amistad, 334 pages.By Terri Schlichenmeyer It isn’t going to be long before you’re going to have people all in your face, asking you about your New Year’s resolutions. So what will you decide? Will you promise to lose 10 pounds? Will you quit smoking or spend more time with your family? Would you resolve to be married by December 31st, 2006? In the new novel “The Vow” by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray, and Mitzi Miller, three single women make a marriage-minded pact that has them all humming “Here Comes the Bride” instead of “Auld Lang Syne”. Trista, Amaya, Elise, and Vivian have been girlfriends since forever, and at Elise’s New Year’s Eve wedding, her glowing happiness makes her friends think about all they’re missing. In a show of girlfriend solidarity, Trista, Amaya, and Vivian each make a vow to find love and get engaged in the next twelve months. Easy, right? Not so much. For three years, Amaya has had Keith wrapped around her little manicured finger. He buys her expensive gifts and takes her to quiet romantic places. If it weren’t for the residual checks from a long-ago TV commercial and the money Keith gives her, Amaya would be practically homeless. Too bad Keith is already married. Every time Trista sees Damon, she can’t help herself. She fell in love with him in college, and now she falls in bed with him too easily, even though they were over long ago. Trista has a hot job at a Hollywood Agency. She’s seeing another man who might be “the one”. She’s proud, strong, and in control. So why does Damon still make her weak in the knees? When Vivian got pregnant while she and Sean were still in college, she thought the future was clear: she and her baby daddy would get married and raise their son together. Sean saw things differently. Sure, he supports his son with regular checks and he spends all kinds of time with little Corey, but it isn’t enough. Can’t Sean see that he and Viv were meant to be together? Trista, Amaya, and Vivian are sure they can fulfill their Vow. First, they have to choose between the men they’ve loved and the new men in their lives. Can they make it to the church on time, and still be friends? Trash, Flash, and Cash. Three words that pretty much sum up this book, and I loved every page of it. “The Vow” is full of Hollywood glitter, expensive clothes, wild parties, and other things that most of us will never experience, which makes this a fun novel straight out of the tabloids. I wondered, as I read this book, if authors Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray, and Mitzi Miller created one character apiece, or if they co-conspired for this whole book. Either way, I think you’re going to enjoy each of the women in this funny, sad, sexy, and happily unpredictable book. If you’re looking for a total-escape kind of novel, “The Vow” is the book for you. Make a resolution to pick it up soon.