Reviewed by Gannon Carr
Publisher: Penguin
3.25 stars
Take twelve women, add food, alcohol, laughter and rolling dice and you can’t help but have a good time. Kitty Burke is one of the Bunco Babes of Whispering Bay who get together every Thursday night for a night of fun with the girls. The Bunco group was started by Kitty and her two closest friends, Shea and Pilar. Kitty is the only Babe who is still single and now that she’s thirty-five, the situation depresses her more than usual. Not only is she alone, but her finances are dwindling and to add insult to injury, her toilet has decided to overflow just before her friends arrive for Bunco. Well the Bunco Babes want Kitty to have fun on her birthday, so they hire a male stripper to entertain at their weekly game. Not exactly what Kitty wants, but what the hell. When a very sexy tool-belt-wearing man arrives, Kitty thinks it’s the stripper, but surprise, surprise, it’s the plumber.
Steve Pappas is helping out his Uncle Gus, who’s the local plumber, by fixing Kitty’s toilet. He does the job quickly so as not to disturb the obvious party going on, especially Kitty’s encounter with Officer Bob, the stripper. In Steve’s rush to leave the house, he forgets one of his tools and returns later for it. By then, the party is over, but he and Kitty do a little more celebrating of the intimate sort! When Kitty wakes up (alone) the next morning, she is mortified that she had sex with a man she just met. Steve the Plumber is sexy, no doubt, but with an iffy career and three divorces behind him, he’s not exactly prime husband material.
Besides, Kitty has bigger problems. Her real estate business is taking a nosedive due to the new community, which is being handled by another broker. Her house needs major renovations, but her mother would rather sell it to the highest bidder. Kitty needs to make some big changes in her life, but should a relationship with Steve be one of them? Her fellow Bunco Babes, Pilar and Shea, think Steve is Mr. Wrong, but Kitty’s not sure they’re right.
Bunco Babes Tell All is a fun, lighthearted read. Having spent many enjoyable hours playing Bunco with my girlfriends, I could definitely relate to the laughing, eating and drinking. Hey, that’s the best part of Bunco! My one “issue” with the story was that Kitty and Steve had too many secrets that they kept from each other. Although, everything was resolved in the end, I couldn’t help but wish for a little more honesty. Still, it’s an amusing summer read with plenty of laughs.
Loading ...
Marisa
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 6:12 am:
Gannon – enlighten me, what would one do if one were playing Bunco with one’s girlfriends? I’m not sure I’ve ever done that.
Maria Lokken
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 9:40 am:
Clearly I’m not living right. I had no idea about Bunco. Gannon give – is this a popular thing?
Buffie
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 3:29 pm:
Ladies, bunco is a dice game that is very popular (at least in the South) with women. My sister played with a group for years and thoroughly enjoyed it.
PJ
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 4:38 pm:
We play Bunco once a month in my neighborhood. It’s fun!
Good review, Gannon. This one was in the box of books I won at the Brenda Novak auction but I haven’t had time to look at it yet.
Gannon
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 8:43 pm:
Thanks, Buffie, for filling in the M’s about Bunco. Marisa and Maria, all you need is 12 women (although, I suppose men could be included), 4 people at each table rolling 3 dice. Of course, it’s all about the food, drink and laughter!
Maria Geraci actually gives instructions about how to play in the back of the book. I think Bunco with all of the RNTV chicas would be tons of fun!
Marisa
on Jun 12th, 2009
@ 5:59 am:
Gannon it absolutely would be tons of fun! Sounds like the RNTV chicas of the south would be able to teach the RNTV chicas of the north a thing or two.