Blog Tour & Excerpt, Review + Giveaway: Love and Other Hazards by Claudia Riess
8:30 AM
In celebration of the tour and the months since its release, before I get started on my review, I'd like to send some massive (and belated) congratulations to Riess on her novel's publication! Without further ado, let's just dive right in! Follow the cut for an exclusive look at Love and Other Hazards, a giveaway and my review of the novel as a whole.
ABOUT THE BOOK
by Claudia Riess
Genre: Adult Romance
Release Date: June 6th 2017
River Grove Books
Summary from Goodreads:
Love and Other Hazards is a novel about urban singles stumbling toward fulfillment in an odyssey of sex, love, and parenting.
Glenda Fieldston is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her seven-year-old daughter, Astrid, when Eugene Lerman comes walking by with his eight-year-old daughter, Meredith, a schoolmate of Astrid’s. The families spot each other, Glenda and Eugene engage in long-range cursory assessments, and then they go their separate ways.
But not for long. Glenda and Eugene cross paths professionally soon after, and circumstances at work bring them into close association. So begins a friendship fraught with complications. Glenda’s independence is self-imposed and fierce. Eugene’s was foisted on him by a wife who left him. Although Glenda’s and Eugene’s personal demons are incompatible, their longings are, confoundedly, in harmony. Their cautious friendship is further inhibited by past and present relationships, and it remains to be seen if they can break out of their set ways to make a break for uncharted love.
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★★★☆☆ (3.5)
As Love and Other Hazards by Claudia Riess is my first experience with this particular writer, I was a little nervous. You know how it is, that ache and flutter of wings in your belly that makes you both excited and a bit scared to begin work by another author. It's anticipation. It's everything winding up at once. In a lot of ways, that is how I felt for the duration of Love and Other Hazards--a feeling that was both thrilling and not-so-fun.
A word of warning before I begin: it took me a little bit of time to fully come to appreciate these characters. I had a slow start to Love and Other Hazards but that is neither here nor there.
You should know that there wasn't anything wrong with the novel itself but it did take me a quarter of the story to really get into it; despite the elegant prose of Riess partnered with her frank and complex musings, and observations, of love and sex. There were times, at the beginning, that the characters felt lacking of life--but that all boils down to the way I unraveled their narrations and relationships and what it was that made them tick.
After a time, once I really got into it, I couldn't put it down. While the lackluster beginning did make it difficult for a few chapters, Love and Other Hazards was crafted beautifully. If anything, the prose was the best part. Riess has this melodic way about her penmanship that compels you to read further. She can turn the most mundane of thoughts into something of great beauty. In her writing, you find the complexities of love, lust and life.
There's something about both Glinda and Eugene as characters that makes a reader really intrigued by their thought processes, their connection and the way they approach their respective relationships on their own. Their pasts, their newfound companionship in one another as it blossoms, as well as the bonds they hold with their own children, make the heart swell with various emotions. Riess is able to capture so much life as the story moves forward, that you can't help but to feel deeply for them and their future.
While, of the two, Eugene was by far my favourite standalone character from the book--it was Glinda and her relationship with her young daughter that was, perhaps, my favourite part of the book. You're easily charmed by Glinda's independence and the way she communicates honestly with Astrid. It's impossible not to get attached to them.
What I loved about the pacing of the novel is how things just gradually fell into place. In so many ways, one might see their earliest interactions as pure potential to develop into something more. It makes it easy for readers to see this connection build in real time--they don't fall into one another the very moment they meet; instead, they grow together organically and come to balance each other out in ways that are satisfying to the audience.
I'll admit, I had many doubts about the pacing from the start but the more Riess develops these plots, these obstacles, these relationships and so-on, you really can see the groundwork she put into it. Everything is calculated in the most coherent way possible--the end product being something admirably honest, raw, poetic and beautiful. Love and Other Hazards is definitely worth a second look.
I enjoyed this one!
Excerpt
At
8:57 Glenda arrived in front of her office building at Rockefeller Center on Fiftieth, its site graced by the colossal
bronze statue of Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders. Directly across the
street, Saint Pat- rick’s Cathedral aspired in grand elegance toward the
heavens. When she’d first started working here, she’d liked to think that the
two buildings showed Man and God vying for the attention of the soul. To
Glenda, both images illustrated purpose and initiative, perfect for Monday
morning.
The
constructive part of her day began here in this smooth terminal of business,
now alive with the sound of intent: her heels clicking on the marble floor, the
swishing elevator doors, the economy of words. “Up,” she called to one of the
elevators as its doors were sliding shut; as if by magic, it reconsidered and
opened to admit her. “Thanks,” she said, stepping aboard. “Floor?” asked a man
in a black coat with a token closed-lips arc. “Twenty-two,” she replied,
returning his smile.
She
headed to her cubicle of office space at Business Advisors, LLC, her usual
ambition brewing like the coffee at the receptionist’s station. The floor was
divided into five such areas for consultants like herself, one slightly larger
to accommodate two secretaries, and one unequivo- cally private office for the
president of the company, Matthew Crowley.
Glenda
sat at her desk and gathered together the material on her most recent client,
Richard’s Fur Outlets, for whom she had been making systems-streamlining
recommendations. That was her job, to ensure that companies were using the most
up-to-date computer systems and processes possible, while Matthew, the company
president and chief CPA, ensured that their record-keeping was efficient and
compliant. She reviewed her notes for her morning meeting with Matthew: Limited compatibility between
departments, need additional cloud storage, tutorial a must! Printing her
notes along with other pertinent documents—Matthew, who had been in the
business for twenty-five years, still preferred presentations in hard copy—she
got up and went to Crowley’s office.
“Hold
my coffee for now,” she advised the receptionist, Jeff, who was chatting in the
pathway with a hyperactive young consultant whose expertise was mailing-list
management.
“Morning,
Danny.”
“Morning, babe.” Danny’s moustache twitched
mischievously. “Doing anything for lunch?”
“Why?
Has it ever done anything for me?”
“I’m
getting through to her,” she could hear him confide sotto voce to Jeff as she
walked by. “She didn’t say no.” Her regret for being the cause of his
unrequited crush was, as ever, void of self-satisfaction.
Compared
to the company’s main working area, all commercial carpet and functional
furniture, Crowley’s office was plush. His carpet was dense; desk and
bookcases, sandalwood; chairs, leather; window, draped. A commodious couch and
a floor lamp suggested the context of home.
Crowley
was not, at the moment, enjoying his comforts. He was jogging in shirt and tie
on the moving belt of the treadmill situated alongside his desk, headed for
cardiopulmonary efficiency and tireless tennis. “How’s it going?” he asked
without altering his pace. “Have a good weekend?”
“Yes.
You?” She held the printout of her notes to her chest.
“So-so.”
He frowned, deepening the crease between his dark blue eyes.
“Where
are you with Richard’s specs?”
At
fifty-two, though twenty-three years Glenda’s senior and four years her boss,
his tone was that of an equal. He had great respect for her talent.
“I’m
about finished with the initial planning,” she said. “There are a couple of
questions that I’d like to discuss with you before I prepare my final outline.”
“Can
it wait until tomorrow? I’ve got a prospective client whom I’ve promised to get
the ball rolling on, and you’re the best man for the job.” He smiled; the lines
bracketing his mouth and etched around his eyes offset the regularity of his
features. Time had invested what had been a good-looking but bland face with a
past, and thus with character. Along with his graying temples and agreeable
diction, he could have been mistaken for an anchorman.
“It
can wait, sure,” Glenda answered.
There
was a lengthy pause while Crowley gradually slackened his pace, taking short
breaths with pursed lips, until he came to a halt. “Whew,” he said, patting the
modest paunch on an otherwise trim physique.
“Okay,
let’s talk. Sit.”
Glenda
sat opposite him at his desk as he changed from sneakers to shoes. “Have I ever
mentioned my old college buddy Jack Henson? Of Henson and Blackman Publishing?”
Glenda
shook her head.
“They
publish periodicals in the medical management line. Perspec- tives in
Neurology and Physician’s Marketplace, plus a couple I can’t recall.
Would you like some coffee?”
“I’ll
hold off.”
“Right.
Well, Jack and his partner just acquired MD Forefront and Gynecology
Today, which is a great deal. But it’s a lot more volume for them, and
they’re kind of at loose ends operations-wise. They’ve got to beef up their
system and educate their staff. Blackman is not an enthusiast—he thinks he’ll
lose touch with the operation if he can’t personally wish each of his readers a
happy birthday. But that’s another matter. What I want you to do is lay the
groundwork. Get a general idea of what they’re using now to handle billing,
mailing, editorial, produc- tion, and their online editions, as well as the
general stats on distribution, advertising, and pricing. Then, give me a couple
of ideas about what you think they’ll need, and meanwhile I’ll go over their
tax returns for the last couple of years to see what compliance issues we may
need to address. Excuse me.” He buzzed Jeff on the intercom extension. “Has a
parcel from Henson and Blackman come in yet?
Right. Thanks.” He hung up. “They haven’t already sent their tax returns
over, so you can pick those up when you go. They should include statements from
the acquired publishers as well.”
“I
take it you want me to run over there today,” Glenda said, brushing the hem of
her jacket.
“Yes. Jack’s kind of counting on my being
there, but I figure I won’t be of much use until I’ve got a coherent picture of
the accounts. I’ll come to your next meeting. Besides, I’m up to my ears in
that electron- ics deal Sherm and Danny are working on.”
“I’ll
call Henson and Blackman now, then.”
“Appreciate
it, Glenda. They’re on Madison, in the low thirties. I’ve got the number here
somewhere.” He moved the papers on his desk without really searching.
“No
problem. I’ll find it.” She rose.
“Good.
Keep me posted.” His private line rang as Glenda reached the door. “That’ll be
the wife. Yes, Sybil,” he answered, glancing at her framed photo angled toward
him on his desktop. “What? I made him distraught? Whose word is that,
his or yours? . . . Sure, I’ll meet him for lunch.” He acknowledged Glenda’s
departure with a nod. “Yes, Sybil, I realize he’s my son too.”
Glenda
pulled off her knit gloves and thrust them into her coat pock- ets. “Glenda
Fieldston. I have an appointment to see Mr. Henson at ten-thirty?”
A
pale young woman made paler by the overhead fluorescent lights tapped a key on
her computer. She nodded, agitating a long and other- wise unremarkable
ponytail. “Mmm, yes, of course. I just spoke to you. From Business Advisors.”
“Yes,”
said Glenda, just as two men in overalls who carried cartons on their shoulders
appeared at the open door of the establishment ten feet behind her. At the same
time, a woman in a red coat, who was approaching from down the inner hallway,
broke into a run.
“Down!
Elevator down!” Glenda stepped aside to clear the runway, but the workers and
the woman still almost collided in front of the receptionist’s desk just as the
elevator closed its doors for departure.
“Hell!” the woman exclaimed, and then she
looked back to smile at Glenda. “Sorry,” she said. “Back at noon, Claire.”
“That
was Mary Mahoney,” offered the receptionist, Claire. “Our creative director.”
“Where
do you want this stuff from the West Side?” one of the men asked Claire as he
adjusted his burden.
“Is
it MD Forefront, or Gynecology?”
“It’s
heavy,” he said.
“Okay,
bring it down to the end of the outer hallway. There’s an empty room on the right.”
“My
pleasure.”
“We’re
a little hectic here,” Claire confessed to Glenda, holding her ponytail for security. “Moving the files for the
new publications and all. We’ve just acquired additional office space. We’ve
got the floor to ourselves now.”
“You
must have over two thousand square feet,” Glenda estimated, peering down the
corridor.
“Mmm,
probably,” she said. “Oh—if you want to see Mr. Blackman, he’s out of the
office today. I’ve already buzzed Mr. Henson. You can go ahead in. Fourth door
down, on your left. Just past his secretary’s.”
The
floor of the hallway, although of high quality parquet, could have used a good
waxing, Glenda thought. The observation made her feel prissy. She banished it.
Henson’s
door was half open. There were two men in his office: one sitting behind the
desk, and one standing in front of it with his back to Glenda. The man behind
the desk rose from his chair.
“Come
in. You must be Glenda Fieldston. Jack Henson.” He extended his hand as she
approached and the second man turned.
Henson,
Glenda knew, was about the same age as Crowley, but while the years had
sculpted Crowley’s face, they had inflated Henson’s, obliterating his jawline. “Hi,”
she said, grasping his hand firmly. The younger man
in Henson’s office was moderately tall, with a pleasant face: brown eyes, a
nose with a prominent bridge, a slightly asymmetric smile. “I hope I’m not
interrupting anything,” she said, addressing him.
“Not
at all,” Henson replied for him. “Oh, sorry. This is Eugene Lerman, overworked
editor. Take the lady’s coat, Gene.”
“Glad
to meet you, Miss, uh, Mrs—say! Aren’t you—”
“Glenda’s
fine,” she said.
“Aren’t
you the woman—”
“Lerman—you’re
Meredith’s father!”
“—from
the museum?”
“You
long lost cousins or something?” Henson interjected.
Eugene
grinned, offering Glenda his hand. “We nearly met at an anatomy lesson,” he said.
“Our
daughters go to the same school,” Glenda submitted, shaking
Eugene’s
hand.
“What a delightful coincidence,” Henson remarked, with a touch of sarcasm.
Eugene
reached out to help Glenda off with her coat, but she beat him to it. She could see him hesitate before
placing it on the rack with Henson’s old umbrella and spare sweater.
“What
brings you to our hallowed halls?” he asked.
“Glenda’s
here to see we’re optimally computerized,” Henson explained, caressing the
place where he might have worn a tie.
“Don’t
let me hold up the stampede of progress—I was just leaving,” Eugene said,
taking a pile of galley proofs from the desk.
“You’re
okay on Dr.Thayer’s article, then,” Henson said.
“You’ll
have it by the deadline?”
“I’ll
have the translation ready by tomorrow.”
“Oh?”
Glenda was impressed. “What language are you translating from?”
“Bad
English,” Eugene said, backing out of the office. “Ciao.”
“Have
a seat, Glenda,” Henson said, pointing to the only one free from papers and mail. “I apologize for the
commotion around here. What a time for my doctor to order me to quit
smoking—you wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette, would you?”
“I
don’t smoke.”
“Damn.
You sure?” He rummaged in his bottom desk drawer, unsuccessfully.
“Isn’t
this a smoke-free environment?” Glenda asked.
“Of
course. What a stickler you are. I only wanted a puff.” He slammed shut the
drawer.
“Ah,
well, onward to distraction. I’m going to give you a rundown on what we do
here, and then we’ll call on the office manager, Harriet Vickers, who will tell
you her side of the story.”
“Very
good.” Glenda removed a notepad from her bag.
“I’m
all ears.”
As
Henson progressed with his briefing, Eugene, two doors down, waded through the
convoluted prose of Dr. Morton Thayer describing his techniques of pre-surgical
consultation. The article had been accepted by a physician on the editorial
board with the understanding that all participles would be undangled before
publication. Midway through a sentence that grammatically placed a neo-vascular
growth on a patient’s bill rather than on his retina, Eugene was interrupted by
an office assistant, Connie Falls.
“Excuse
me, Eugene, but I’m going to lunch now. Will you be going out, or do you want
me to bring you back a sandwich?”
“A
roast beef on rye would be great, Connie. Thanks.” He started to reach for his
wallet.
“Never
mind, I trust you,” Connie said, her little heart-shaped mouth curling into a
grin.
Eugene
liked Connie. She was an easy person to co-exist with. There was something
vulnerable and nothing arresting about her. She was 5’ 2”, heavy-chested and
hippy, with a round face and an upturned nose like an editor’s caret. She was
twenty-three, and she took pride
in her work.
She deserved more attention, he thought. Unfortunately, however, about a month
ago he had made the mistake of giving it to her, and he had regretted it ever
since.
About the Author
Claudia Riess is a Vassar graduate who has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker magazine and Holt, Rinehart and Winston books. Her first novel, “Reclining Nude,” was published by Stein and Day. Oliver Sacks, author of “Awakenings,” had said her first book was “exquisite—and delicate… a most courageous book, full of daring—a daring only possible to a passionate and pure heart.”
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