Mating Rituals

Something wasn't right, and she knew it before opening her eyes.

This is the first sentence from Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton, a delightful story about soul mates, following your heart and not your head, and the importance of communication.
Peggy and Luke, level-headed strangers, marry the night they meet in Las Vegas. This begins a year of intrigue for the two, as they attempt to keep their marriage on a platonic level, while having all around them believe in the whirlwind courtship. Luke, the last of the Sedgwicks, a revered family that can trace their heritage to the Pilgrims, and Peggy, daughter of free-spirited parents who travel the country in their RV, couldn't seem more different from the outside. Raised with a rigid code of etiquette and an insular circle of friends, schools, and careers, Luke, an aspiring poet manages what little is left of his family trust, working from the ballroom of his family's crumbling mansion. His is a fairly solitary life, living with his 90 year-old great aunt and seeing childhood friends for poker. Always wanting roots, Peggy has created her own family in New York, building a business with her friend Bex and living with Brock, her boyfriend of seven years. Peggy and Luke will both benefit by staying "married" for one year, which will allow Luke to sell the historic Sedgwick House. The money will help Peggy's business, and Luke will finally be able to travel and leave what he sees as the burdens of his family name.
To some, this may seem like a silly premise, very Harlequin Romance, if you will. Explained as a one-liner, it is, but Lauren Lipton fleshes out her characters, showing their strengths and areas in which they need to grow. (As a teacher, this is the phrase parents prefer. I can't say weaknesses.) Luke is so adorably vulnerable, at least to the reader if not those around him, overwhelmed with his own mediocrity in financial management, caring for his rapidly declining great-aunt Abigail, and doing all of the demanding upkeep on a house where pieces literally fall off daily, all while longing for a quiet, esoteric life of writing. Confused, self-reliant Peggy is at a cross road in her life, wanting to be married and to start a family, which Brock is reluctant to do. Being Luke's "wife" on weekends while Brock is away, and observing the marriage of her friend Bex, have her questioning what exactly she wants from life. With Luke's Yankee reserve holding him back from speaking his thoughts and feelings on any topic, Peggy also does not want to say what she feels, which of course leads to misunderstandings and arguments.
The story takes place in the fictional town of New Ninevah, CT in Litchfield County, although there really is a town named Ninevah. Litchfield County is one of the bastions of very old money, privileged families, unlike beautiful downtown East Granby, CT, where I grew up with the newer immigrant population, from the 1800s! I loved all of the funny and true New England and Connecticut things that Ms. Lipton used in this book. The fact that so many houses are white with black shutters, how do you give people directions to your house? Between March and May it is Mud Season. A town green is a great place for protesters to gather.
Mating Rituals of the North American WASP will be available as a paperback in May, making it a great one for summer travel and beach reading. I liked it so much I am going to get Lauren Lipton's first novel, It's About Your Husband, from my library. She also has a very funny blog to which I've linked, so check it out!
By the way, this is just one of the books I will be giving away next week during the May Day Giveaways. Be sure to come back and check it out.