Queen Takes King

by Gigi Levangie Grazer

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Starter Wife comes an outrageous, sexy novel about what happens when a highly visible, hugely powerful, long-married, media couple splits—and each ex tries to live a separate but equal life.Jacks The prodigal son, heir to millions, built his own Manhattan real estate empire and revels in seeing his moniker on glittering skyscrapers around the city. Here’s a man who always loved to see his name in ink. Until now.Cynthia Hunsaker The epitome of elegance and society, the former prima ballerina met a struggling painter, fell in love, and only later learned she’d won the Power lottery.The morning after the Power silver anniversary gala at the Waldorf, Jacks appears twice in the New York Post— once gallantly dancing with his wife of twenty-five years; and once hand-in-hand with Lara Sizemore, morning television star, exiting her Upper West Side apartment building that very same night.Let the Divorce Games begin.Whether they’re changing the locks on each other in their Park Avenue triplex or sabotaging each other’s dinner parties, the Powers’ split-up will trump the most scandalous divorces known to polite New York society. It’s a battle of wits, of charm, of two of the biggest egos—and personalities and bank accounts—in Manhattan, and neither side will go down without a fight.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Gigi Levangie is the author of six prior novels, including The After Wife and the New York Times bestseller The Starter Wife, which was adapted as a miniseries for USA Network.

She is the original writer of the screenplay for Stepmom and has written for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and other publications. Levangie lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Mommalovesbaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised by the lower score reviews on this book as I was reading it. However, by the time that I finished reading the book, I could see exactly why this book had lower scores than some of her other books.
It just felt like the ending was hurried and contrived. None of the characters seemed to come to the end that Ms. Grazer had been leading up to. The daughter Vivi and the bartender Adrian, their hint of romance fizzling and dying with no real explanation (other than he slept with her mother!). Yet, the author spent so much time at the hint that the lesbian Vivi might just be able to fall in love with Adrian. Jackson Power ended up in the same position, the all-powerful "kept" man whining about what his love (his former mistress turned fiancee) was up to. Most disappointing was the end for Mrs. Powers. Just when you think that she had firmly established her voice, independence, and style, you are left to believe that she falls for the same kind of jerk as her ex.
Overall, this book just didn't live up to the potential it started out having. I also admit that I had a hard time really getting into this book. It was fairly easy to put down and go do something else.

[Elixxir · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't poorly written, it didn't make me want to gauge out my eyes or yank hair out in fistfuls. But it also didn't have a single original thought, character or plot twist. I may just be burnt out on the genre but I could cry from The Boredom. Does chick lit and/or trashy fiction have nothing new to offer anymore?

[Sydna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her writing style annoys me. The style is merely a continuous stream of conversation back and forth, which is short, choppy, and irritating to read. This book, much like her other one I think, would make a better movie. Just not motivated to finish it.

[Sara Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I feel guilty for enjoying this frothy read when I could have been reading for research, aka work? Of course I do and that’s part of the fun. If anyone told me back when that I’d enjoy a fictionalized reprise of the interminable Trump Divorce (the first one), I’d have backed out of the room and run like hell. Imagine my surprise to discover that guilty pleasure is mostly just pleasure. Make no mistake, that’s thanks to Grazer’s skill in making the story zip along and the characters come alive, hallmarks of a genuinely good writer who cares about her craft. Call it late summer fever, call it a mini-vacation, call it what you will. I say “Queen Takes King” is the perfect accompaniment to a nicely chilled Pinot Grigio and a bowl of raspberries.

[Les · Rating 2 out of 5]

So you loved Maneater and Starter Wife and you think hey it's Gigi. Well think again. This book is set in New York, starring the Powers (think Trumps). It is reminiscent of reading Vanity Fair back in the 80's when NY was happening and Cornelia Guest was a deb.

I can't explain why but it is harder to get interested in the marital breakdown of an Uber rich NYC couple verses an Uber rich LA couple. Maybe it is because the lifestyles in LA seem so superficial and silly while in NYC they seem depressing.

None of the characters in the book are particularly likeable. And you really don't care what happens to them.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

so much ick that I barely got past page 50.

[Melissa]

BIG OLD DNF. I got about 25 pages in and couldn’t do it anymore. I’m not sure if it was the writing style or what. I normally like this type of story but this book was not for me.

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty-fifth wedding anniversary party of the New York Power couple shows a man and wife dancing divinely, and the photo ends up in the paper the next day along with another photo of the husband leaving a woman's apartment the same day. Thus begins the story of a very public, very acrimonious divorce in which one up-manship is the goal.

The wife has had it with Jackson Power (Jacks) and his affairs, and she's suing him. Both remain living in the upscale Manhattan apartment, they divide it up while he tries to reconcile with her (and keep his mistress happy with the promise of marriage).

It plays out like a chess game, and each move brings them closer to checkmate, but who will win this game? Ancillary characters like their daughter, the tv personality (mistress), the seducer, etc. make the novel come alive. Fun story.

[Judy B]

Just don’t

[Ghira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like a good beach read, but this book did not measure up to those meager standards!

I felt cheated reading about the Jackson Power character. Why? Because it seemed the author gathered tabloid articles from the 80s/90s/TMZ about Donald Trump, changed the name to Jackson Power in MS Word, and fashioned a story around these press clippings.

Secondly, Jacks' admin spoke in "pidgen" english and was a Jamacian stereotype. ARGH - I think this pissed me off the most about this book! I mean really, how many c-suite admins of Fortune 500 companies speak broken english? Very few...

I've read a couple of her other books, and thought this was just a cop out.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a guilty-pleasure read. It was amusing to see the rich and famous messing up their lives so completely. None of the characters was particularly likeable--although I sympathized with Cynthia the most--but the book was certainly never boring. And all the great Zorba quotes ("When everything goes wrong, what a joy to test your soul and see if it has endurance and courage!") made me want to read Zorba the Greek.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this on my way out of town (because the cover was sparkly), and it beat my expectations! I thought her first book was decent (Starter Wife) but the show wasn't great, so I didn't have high hopes for this one. It proved me wrong, and kept me turning the pages. Cute characters, good storyline that didn't have me in a lull in the middle of it. A nice quick read!

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read her stuff before and never liked it so I dont know why I thought this one would be different. Her writing is kind of stilted and doesn't flow smoothly, which throws me off when I get into a rhytmn. I was looking for some good brain candy reading and this wasn't it. Ugh. And now I'm mad at myself for even finishing it.

[Damona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I simply can't help myself. I thought it was just the right amount of zany and madcap, and just the right amount of pathos and emotions. It was exactly what I wanted to read just now.

[Laureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book could have done the job without the constant f-bombs. I'm no prude, but come on. These weren't socialites, they were truckers. Other than that, pretty predictable.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just can't seem to get into any of Ms Grazer's books:( What do you like about that I'm missing? I saw that it's getting re-released as another title, Fairytale Ending later this year....

[Darby Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a personal rule to never write negative reviews. I am worried that the author would read it and feel disheartened. Writing is very vulnerable! Who am I to denigrate someone’s published work when I have never published any of my own?

That said, I feel compelled to write about how much I delighted in disliking this book, so I think these thoughts fall somewhere in between a positive and negative review.

I cannot, in good conscience, give this book a high rating. It has almost no literary merit— the narration is ludicrous, the dialogue stilted, the plot completely unoriginal, and the characters are almost grotesquely stereotypical. But it is precisely because of all its glaring flaws that I so enjoyed this read. It was kind of like reading a Hallmark Christmas movie. I knew the whole plot from the moment I read the title. None of the characters surprised me whatsoever. But it was exactly that awful corniness that drew me in. Some of the lines were just perfectly, fabulously gaudy. (For example, at one point the spurned wife contemplating divorce from her philandering spouse thinks something to the effect of: “My husband? More like my was-band.” I mean… pure genius.) I giggled audibly throughout this tale.

The book was obviously meant to be a fluffy, escapist read, but it is wholly something else— it is campy without trying to be; it reads like a satire of the beach read genre without meaning to be satirical.

So, while I don’t think this is a “good book,” I genuinely enjoyed it, and I recommend it if you are looking for something especially ridiculous in your next read.

[Nese · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like romance novels and soap operas, you would like this book with extremely wealthy and beautiful characters who have the best of everything, except intimate and loving relationships. Even though I don’t like this genre, I enjoyed the writing style, smooth storytelling, the character development, and descriptions of the complex and ambivalent relationships. One of the main characters is a famous Manhattan developer who is insecure, incompetent, superficial, narcissistic, a serial cheater and is the son of a real estate developer who made his billions in Queens. This character needs constant attention, reassurance, and praise and to be the center of attention at all times and you can see his pictures on the trucks of his water company. (Does this remind of someone you know?)

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

High powered New York couple where the male bears a striking resemblance to a recent former president with a large personality. It is not poorly written, but the quality of the content is very mediocre. I did learn two new words though. I didn’t really pick this, it came in a box from a friend. I finished it. That’s really all I can say. Meh.

[Stephenie Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters in this book! It was confusing at times but I caught up after a few re-reads of the offending pages ....lol but I loved the story line and how the heroine comes out in the end better than it began! I don’t like the ending personally but good book!

[Sarah C]

Just don’t. I read half of it and then speed read the other half to finish it. It was so choppy. I was expecting a war of the roses plot, but it was not entertaining and the characters were not likeable.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book.

[Colleen Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, husband cheats on wife, gets caught, time for a divorce.

[Trudy Nye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting...imagine "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" files for divorce.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good. Didn’t care about any of the characters. The last two books I’ve read by this author haven’t been good, so I won’t be reading any more of her books.

[Barbara Cryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

K. I liked cynthia and Vivienne.

[Jenny Serrano-Grygiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was meh. Predictable and boring.

[Max "Mr Divabetic" Szadek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable beach read. There was plenty of sand between pages and I wasn't even on the beach!

[Happpy Flower · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF page 50. This one goes into the recycling bin.

[Deedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ONLY READ THIS ONCE! (if it says 2 times - I can't seem to delete the second date)