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After her beloved boss announces his retirement and her latest commitment-phobic boyfriend hits the road, all Claire Truman wants to do is drown her sorrows in pizza and TV. But her best friend, Bea, drags her out of her tiny New York City apartment to attend yet another gallery opening—and that’s where everything changes. There, Claire runs into Randall Cox, the gorgeous (and rich…and highly successful) guy she’d obsessed over throughout her entire freshman year of college (and—let’s be honest here—ever since). And so begins a whirlwind romance that’s straight out of the fairy tales (well, almost).
As it turns out, Randall is more than just gorgeous. He also happens to have a few connections that could advance Claire’s career as a literary editor. He hands her contact information over to Vivian Grant, the most powerful woman in the publishing industry, whose books (which are notoriously heavy on smut and controversy) repeatedly land on best-seller lists. And before she knows it, Claire has a job offer—for three times what she’s been making at her old job. With her boss leaving, how can she refuse? Of course, there are a few warning signs—especially Vivian’s reputation for overworking and verbally abusing her employees. She’s even been known to throw things—like staplers…or lamps. But Claire can’t resist the opportunity to advance her career—and to work with one of the biggest names in the industry. So she takes the job—promising herself that she’ll last a year, and then she’ll move on. But juggling both her confusing relationship (and, after not too long, an even more confusing engagement) and her demanding job soon proves to be more exhausting than she ever expected.
First there was The Devil Wears Prada, the 2003 novel (and now a movie), that shows what it may or may not be like to work in the fashion industry for someone who may or may not be Vogue’s notorious Anna Wintour. Now, Bridie Clark does the same for the publishing industry—showing what it may or may not be like to work for a tyrannical boss, who may or may not be a certain female publisher who lost her job shortly after higher-ups pulled the plug on a certain book featuring O.J. Simpson (and, just for the record, Clark once worked for female publisher in question).
So, as you can imagine, Because She Can has a certain Page Six appeal to it. It’s gossipy—and it’s fun to read. Vivian is a wonderfully evil character—whose only real redeeming quality is that she’s wickedly entertaining (as long as you don’t have to work for her). I only wish more of the book’s focus had been on her. Instead, Clark devotes a lot of ink to Claire’s love life—the outcome of which you’ll easily be able to predict after the first few pages of the book. So if you like a plot with twists and surprises, this isn’t it. But if you love the occasional quick and sinfully juicy read, sit back and enjoy—you’ll be sure to devour this one in no time.
