Happy Endings

by Sally Quinn

Former First Lady Sadie Grey has been devastated by tragedy. Allison Sterling is dynamic, sexy, and famous, a successful reporter who now finds herself yearning for motherhood. When these two extraordinary women cross paths, they must cope with the pain of unexpected change and the challenges of love.

Genres: Romance

567 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sally Quinn is a longtime Washington Post journalist, columnist, television commentator, Washington insider, one of the capital’s legendary social hostesses, and founder of the religious website On Faith from The Washington Post. She writes for various publications and is the author of The Party: A Guide to Adventurous Entertaining, Regrets Only, Happy Endings, and We’re Going to Make You a Star, a memoir based on her experience as the first female network anchor in the United States. She lives in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Anna]

Apparently this erotic hero of this book is based on Anthony Fauci. I’m off to find a copy

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this for fun with a bunch of smart women, as a sort of American Studies project. It was genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read but one of the most fun books I've ever talked about with ladies.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journalists Allison, Des, and Tyson cover the news. Sadie, the former First Lady, Michael, an AIDS researcher all become involved over several years. Interesting story of the arena of power, passion, and politics in Washington, D.C.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't track down a copy, y'all - it's not worth it. Problematic characters and the casual homophobia and racism that was typical of the 90s. I'm sure there's better Anthony Fauci fan fic on the internet somewhere.

[Jessica 🐶 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost a year later and I have finally finished this absurd novel… got too far in to DNF so was determined to see it through to its inane ending
Only thing saving it from 1 star is that it is *very* DC

[Lauren Fogarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Endings was entirely different from what I expected. I’d heard that somewhere out there existed a romance novel whose male protagonist was based on Dr. Fauci, and I was immediately intrigued. (Sidenote-the character based on Dr. Fauci doesn’t appear until well into the book, and he and the other male characters are all secondary to the two female protagonists.) I don’t normally read romance novels; I just never gave them much thought, but it has been brought to my attention that romance novels are often dismissed as trivial and without substance because their intended audience is primarily women. That’s a topic for another day, but there was much more substance to this book than I expected. I can’t speak to what the traditional bodice-ripper is like, but Happy Endings did not fit the picture I have in my mind of one. The characters are complex and dynamic, and while I often found myself disliking them and their decisions, they read like real people with real flaws. The book grapples with religion, addresses gender discrimaton, shines light on the nascent AIDS crisis, and provides a glimpse into the under belly of politics and DC journalism during the late 80’s/early 90’s. Its depiction of American politics hit pretty hard at the time I read this (during the final weeks of the Trump administration and the first week of Biden’s term) and shows that, apparently, we haven’t learned anything in the past 30 or so years. But I digress. There is plenty of sex, romance, and exquisite agony in this book, yes, but it is more than that. Happy Endings explores the personal slings and arrows of the human experience. Is it Anna Karenina? No. Did I enjoy it and feel that it was well worth the read? Yes.

[Mary Shelton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for the same reason I once read Star Trek and Man from UNCLE novels. Unfortunately, the reason I read it didn't show up until page 151, and it took me over ten days to finish--partly because I just don't have any time anymore but mainly because I kept forgetting who was who. I don't like criticizing books, and I don't even think it was the book's fault. The book was exactly what it set out to be. The parts about politics journalism in D.C. were interesting, and it was nice to revisit the 90s, so I can't really complain. If I had it to do over, I'd still start on page 1, but I'd wait until I was working less so I could read it in a weekend.
https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/05...

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a novel called "Happy Endings," this absolutely had no happy endings. Every character is just awful. They all cheat on each other! And Sadie is the worst. I hated her SO MUCH! She honestly didn't deserve a happy ending for how many lives she ruined.

[Sherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long, very long and hard to get through.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this out of curiosity about one of the characters specifically. Neither the prose nor the genre are my cup of tea, but the ending was sweet (as advertised)!

[Margaret Pagnotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess that technically it did pass the Bechdel Test, but just barely.
I was curious about one of the characters being inspired by Dr. Fauci, but ?

[Lezley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What better person to take us behind the scenes of politics and journalism than Sally Quinn! At heart a romantic novel, but elevated to a good read by the role religions play in the characters' lives. The reference to the movie Swept Away fit right into the plot.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good book to read at the coast this week. a bit trashy but ok...written in 1991 so no cell phones or e mails. people actually wrote letters and notes to each other.

[Amy]

"The moral challenge of life is how to live with integrity in a world that doesn't make sense."

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even a bizzaro version of Dr. Fauci could save this one.