Catch 26: A Novel

by Carol Prisant

What if you could live your life all over again?

There’s just one catch…

Frannie Turner is a plain, middle-aged housewife married to Stanley, a self-absorbed retired dentist who hasn’t slept in her bed in years. No children to love and be loved by. No exciting career to look back on. Just loneliness and lost dreams. So when the mysterious new hairdresser in town offers her the chance to get everything she’s ever wanted, Frannie figures she has nothing to lose -except her soul. And surely, as a stunning twenty-six-year-old singleton in New York, finding true love within the stipulated year should be a piece of cake, not to mention a hell of a lot of fun!

But New York City is no place for the naïve, and Frannie will soon learn just how dangerous a deal with the devil can be…

‘Catch-26 marries confection with thriller to create a tale that's at once compelling and comic, delightful and deep, classic yet modern, just like its older-but-younger heroine and theme. I read it straight through yet its memory lingers, the signs of a wonderful novel.’

Pamela Redmond Satran, author of Younger

‘In her tantalizing novel, Catch 26, Carol Prisant serves up a thoroughly modern woman's Faust. This irresistible story comes wrapped around a devilish If you could have it all—sex, love, beauty, money and eternal life—would you sign on the dotted line?’

Dylan Landis, author of Rainey Royal

Genres: Contemporary

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2016

Reviews

[Danielle Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catch 26 is an outstanding woman's novel. Every woman will get a kick out of it. Aging, sex, finding love, and selling one's soul to the devil. This read has it all. Instantly, I was able to connect with the leading female character. Her plights became my own as I continued turning the pages. Her life seemed lost. So lost that she landed right into the hands of the Devil himself.

Imagine being married to a man who doesn't love back and one who shows how ugly age has made you turn into. This plus, having not ever really loved her husband, leaves Frannie in one of the strongest internal struggles that I have seen characters deal with...her wanting to be loved and to be pretty is strong. But the older she gets the more that fades.

Then fate decides to bring Frannie an alternative that she can't resist. Catch 26 is about Frannie signing a contract to give up her soul to the devil. All for a chance to be young, fall in love and to have kids. But what if she can't have kids? Or find love? Then, she will die a torturous death at the hands of the Devil. The events inside this entertaining page-turning read will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Laughing out loud moments to sexy love scenes to feeling fear. The ending of her contract is up and Frannie has yet to find the love of her life. Oh, she will find some men to like and maybe love but just when things go one way...a surprising twist pops up and readers are guessing again. Carol Prisant's writing is superb. I couldn't get enough of the main character's dilemmas. Her struggles were believable. Finding love is a gamble that may or may not be worth dying for...overall, I highly recommend this novel to all.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. The description was exciting and very promising... the story itself was so underwhelming. Many parts were flat and sort of boring, others were over the top (the final scene in the church for example)
This definitely wasn't a happy book, the cover makes it look like a light chicklit read when it's not. It's a dark novel, made of regrets, unfulfilled dreams, treachery, and so many sad thoughts. The ending not only wasn't happy, but it was one of those annoying paragraphs where something completely new happens and then it's left unexplained.
The supposed leading man, from his physical appearance down to his low morale, was simply not attractive.
I'm sorry but, from pace to storyline, I couldn't save anything in this book.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review and more can be found at my blog:
https://chicklituncovered.blogspot.co...

The premise of Catch 26 was interesting and one I simply had to read it. After all, don't we all wish for changes in our lives? Beauty, money, the chance to be younger again? But if you had the chance, would you bargain away your soul? At first, Frannie's agreement is understandable. A woman with no love in her life, her dreams lost over the years - well, there's not much to lose. But throughout the book, Frannie does begin to learn quite a few lessons about life as she embarks on the challenges set.

I loved Frannie from page one. She seemed quite naive on the surface at first, a woman who has spent a lot of her life being walked over, wasting her potential somewhat. But deep down there was a headstrong, exceptionally smart and sensible woman just waiting to get out. Which made her transition a whole lot more interesting when everything she wanted was there for the taking.

Frannie maintained her sensibilities, which I admired. Also, Carol Prisant knows a LOT about art and antiques, being an antiques dealer and an author of non-fiction books on the subject, and it shows in this novel, in Frannie's passion and dedication for her new-found job in the art world.
Catch 26 is a wonderful novel. It's contemporary fiction with a dark twist, with elements of an old-fashioned fairytale. (And, of course, with a plot reminiscent of Faust). It's thought-provoking, comedic at times, and the ending is so beautifully tragic. It's a novel that really makes you think about life and makes you ask yourself, 'would I give it up in exchange for what I want?' Needless to say, I highly recommend Catch 26.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

What if you could live your life all over again?
There’s just one catch…
Frannie Turner is a plain, middle-aged housewife married to Stanley, a self-absorbed retired dentist who hasn’t slept in her bed in years. No children to love and be loved by. No exciting career to look back on. Just loneliness and lost dreams. So when the mysterious new hairdresser in town offers her the chance to get everything she’s ever wanted, Frannie figures she has nothing to lose -except her soul. And surely, as a stunning twenty-six-year-old singleton in New York, finding true love within the stipulated year should be a piece of cake, not to mention a hell of a lot of fun!
But New York City is no place for the naïve, and Frannie will soon learn just how dangerous a deal with the devil can be…

Well, I have to say - this wasn't the book I was expecting when I asked for a copy from Net Galley. I was expecting more of a laugh-out-loud women's fiction kind of story but what I got was just a little darker than that. Grim at times. But that wasn't really a bad thing. Just took me by surprise.

On the face of it, this story seemed pretty simple - strike a deal with the devil that says "I will give you everything if you find true love within a year. Or else." Lots of laughter, hijinks and silliness everywhere, right?

Not really.

Sure, there was some of that. Some of the humor was quite clever and the situations that Frannie got herself into were just as I suspected. But there was more to this story than just sex and comedy - there is a darker vein running through it which makes it both more attractive (to me) and more unlikable (from the reviews). And I guess that's the risk you run writing a novel that isn't quite as easy to fit into a category.

I liked it. Didn't love it. Wouldn't read it again...

But I liked it.


Paul
ARH

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frannie Turner is an elderly woman who is weary of her life and consumed with regret for the child she had never been able to conceive. When she encounters an agent of the Devil in the guise of a supernaturally gifted and beautiful hair dresser, Frannie accepts an offer of 12 months of youth so that she can conceive the longed-for child, and then...

Youth is given Frannie. As are an unbargained for beauty and wealth plus a discerning eye which leads to a dazzling Manhattan career in her favourite, lovingly described, area of interest - art. There are paintings that carry a hint of infernal interference in Frannie's (now Fernanda's) life and there are other occasional moments of terror - a Faustian dog, repellent manifestations of the female Mephistopheles and bleak intimations of what is to come. Fernanda adjusts in time to the mores, language and style of her new coevals. She takes part in their bacchanalia. Still, she needs to find the right father for her projected child....

It's been a while since I've sacrified sleep for a novel but I was propelled through the twists and turn of this sophisticated, wry, morality play. The suprises continued to the very last word.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Catch 26 because it looked like chick-lit with a twist, which I suppose it was. I wasn't anticipating quite how racy it would be! It felt quite disjointed to me; Frannie Turner sells her soul to the devil to be 26 and beautiful and go have a child - the only catch is that she has only a year in which to do this. Considering this time frame, she seems to spend more time working than looking for love! I can't quite put my finger on what specifically I didn't like about the book, but I just feel that the idea was a good one, but it wasn't achieved quite as well as it could have been. That being said, I had no idea that the book was written by an older woman, so she was perfectly able to capture both sides of Frannie / Fernanda with skill, which is great for a first novel. All in all, I wouldn't bother to read another book by Prisant, and I wouldn't exactly recommend it either, but of course it's personal taste!

[Lebokai · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Catch 26 tells the story of Frannie, a lady who is feeling dissatisfied with the life she has led. She is in a loveless marriage, has had no children and no career. Enter Randi, hairdresser extraordinaire that is devilishly good at her job.....As both a hairdresser and as Satan’s soul broker. She offers Frannie the chance of living the life she wanted rather than the one she has. She chooses true love and a child and tries to get the better of a deal with the devil.....

I loved the premise of this story. The first few chapters speed along with a sly sense of humour that I found really appealing. For example the line “This Randi was someone out of nineties-fifties Hollywood or a bad novel” really tickled me. But then we get into the life that Frannie has picked and well she's a bit boring. She could have had any life and is given a great one but in her quest for pregnancy and true love she initially embarks on a series of one night stands and orgies. Yes I know that doesn't sound boring but somehow it is. But then Randi makes an appearance again and the book picks up again. The real strength in this book is the the characters from hell but they're just not in it enough. Just for those parts I'll give it three stars.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

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I liked the idea of this story, but I didn't connect with the central character and the story didn't fulfil it's potential. I didn't finish this book, which is rare for me.
This story is too dark, the main character doesn't seem to have any good memories in her life and came across as someone who lets life pass her by. This passive personality trait makes it unlikely she would 'make a deal with the devil', as we are supposed to believe. If she couldn't break away from a man who clearly thought of her as a possession rather than a person how could she make such a risky, out of character choice? It's the lack of credibility of the main character that spoils the story.
There are many humorous moments and plenty of passion as she searches for her true love but these don't compensate for the lack of authenticity for me.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.


Carol Prisant

[Christina Dudley · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Rounding up from 3.5 stars.)

Protagonist Frannie finds herself going to pot and unloved in her mid-60s and makes a deal with the devil: one year of youth and beauty and the chance to start again, in return for her soul. If Frannie can get pregnant or meet her "soul mate," she's off the hook.

The book was a page-turner, and I loved the glimpse into the art auction world, but don't expect to find the usual happy endings or "true love" that anchor women's fiction. You'll find glamour here, and New York City, alongside meaningless sex, loneliness, and the bitterness of aging. And I totally didn't get the end. Huh?

Frannie was sad and endearing, although she behaved like someone at least in her mid-70s when the book opens, just because of her lack of cell phone and cluelessness about things. All the ladies I know in their mid-60s are light years ahead. (And, when she's supposedly in her early 80s, she read like someone in her early 90s. I'll chalk that bit up to the devil, though.)

In any case, an original premise, moments of humor (and depression), and a good yarn.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book for an honest review.

Sadly this book wasn't my thing. I'm not really into the whole meaningless sex thing. It just ends up annoying me when I read these books. But I will say there are a few moments in the book that are funny. So it wasn't all bad.

Prantagonist frankie finds herself loosing the plot while coming to the age of 70 years old. Reminiscing on things she hAs missed out on in her life. So she makes a deal with the devil. One year of youth and beauty and the chance to start again in exchange for her soul. If frankie can get pregnant or find her soul mate she is off the hook.

If you are looking for a typical romance story then you might what to think again. But if you like your romance stories with sex, not typical happy ending, glamour and New York City. Then you have come to the right place.


I am still confused by the ending and I never did find myself endeared by frankie.

[Fiona Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catch 26 is the story of an older, unsatisfied woman who makes a deal with the devil selling her soul to be younger again.
The ending of this book was jaw dropping, seriously mind blowing. It also left the story a bit open handed, sort of like what was the story of the other character? What does it mean for Frannie?

I thought the devil, evil as she might be, cheated a bit too much in the storyline.

The story was one hundred percent unpredictable, not what you expect with the final twist-and-turn up to the very last page. But don't expect your HEA fairy tale because this book is different.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written book about an old woman that wants to be young, she got her wish but she didn't know what she was "trading for". Very chocking end. I thought the book was dark and I could't follow the story without feeling a little depressed. Overall was interesting.

[C bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

via netgalley

interesting read, I liked it.