Vanessa Chavez is a successful sous chef in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's rich with friends, loved by her family, but she has one giant Achilles heel—she keeps falling for married men. Not that she knows they're married, but each and every time she ends up duped, mistaken, taken for a ride, outright fooled. When The Husband Habit begins, Vanessa has just fallen for a married guy yet again—but this time, the wife finds out about Vanessa and tries to run her over with her minivan. There's nothing for a girl to do but take a vow of celibacy and figure out why she makes bad choices over and over again. Vanessa focuses on work (sure, whatever), hangs out with her parents (boring!), and resists the efforts of her friends Manny and Lucy to set her up on dates. They introduce her to Kevin, and even though on paper he's all wrong, he's got great manners, and he's awfully good looking. Not bad in the kissing department, either. But just when her guard goes down, the red flag goes up—Kevin, of course, is married. But could there be an innocent explanation?
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"Not at all what I expected since the title was not at all enticing. I think I avoided it for months and then I got the nerve to pick it up and there I was laughing and sympathizing with the main character who seemed so clueless. I gave it four stars since it was a page turner and focused on one main character who seemed to have the depth of several characters. I enjoyed it!"
— Kimmy (4 out of 5 stars)
“Paul and Vanessa’s messy lives make them a couple to root for. Pride & Prejudice for the CNN age.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Neither the dialog nor the writing in general were as good as I would have expected from Ms. Valdez-Rodriguez. She did included some very poignant impressions about the effects of war, namely the Iraq War, on the members of the armed forces, their families and friends, and the innocent victims who happened to be in the wrong place when fighting occurred. She also included some very relevant statements about the selfish and less than honest views of those who made the decision to begin the war in the first place. "
— Mary, 1/3/2014" Interesting fiction based in ABQ. Very easy read. I love this author. Very descriptive and sensual in her writing. A very "dessert" kind of book, but it was enjoyable! "
— Yvonne, 12/23/2013" Fun fluff. Predictable. "
— Russeller, 12/16/2013" Very unique writing style. Loved it. Great characters and interaction. Very humorous. Scenery discriptions of New Mexico were interesting. Loved the whole cooking theme. Only part that tainted the story was the political/religious slant the author kept interjecting. I felt like I was being scolded at times for not having the same dissatisfaction in those two areas. Otherwise, a very enjoyable book. "
— Julie, 12/9/2013" Very good...fun. "
— Andrea, 12/7/2013" This book was good!! Loved that it all took place in ABQ and she mentioned actual places like Flying Star and Nob Hill!! Great book!! "
— Celina, 11/24/2013" Loved the realtionship between Vanessa and Paul. The ending needs work. I felt the author did not know what to do for an ending, hence the las few chapters. Still a great read. "
— Rebecca, 11/17/2013" Didn't like this one. It took almost half way through the book to get the storyline going. I loved the other 3 books of hers that I already read, so I'm really disappointed. "
— Jeanette, 11/11/2013" I love her books. Strong latina women do things the way they should and not everythign is wrapped up neatly. This one features a chef who loves dogs so it really struck a chord with me. A good summer book. "
— Abby, 10/2/2013" I liked the first half of this book but was really disappointed with the 2nd half. I dislike being force fed a political agenda--it left a bad taste in my mouth. Too bad really because up until that point I was enjoying this authors writing style. "
— Mindy, 8/28/2013" I loved it, enjoyed every word ! "
— Genie, 1/24/2013" First book I've read in one day :-) "
— SiSi, 7/22/2012" Was going great until she bogged the entire thing down with way too much introspection. I mean honestly, it was like reading through an existential thesis of living in Arizona. Blimey, how much is too much? Read this book. "
— Beanse, 5/8/2012" Thought this was a really cute novel. Light read, good story, I enjoyed it. I have enjoyed all her books actually. "
— Brittany, 12/14/2011" I found this book rather hard to get into. I almost didn't finish the book, but it picked up about halfway through. "
— Nicole, 12/7/2011" I usually like this author, but this was not one of her better books. By the title and cover, one would think it was going to be a fun summer beach read. It's really not. It also got a bit too preachy with the political messages. "
— Lindsay, 9/4/2011" slow start, but great ending "
— Yolanda, 8/19/2011" I thought this was a chick-lit book, not a mantra for the liberal agenda in American politics. Not very impressed with writing style. "
— Kelly, 7/30/2011" Pretty good, not as dynamic as her other books since there is only one main character. Still a good read! "
— Natalie, 7/1/2011" Albuuerque "
— Polly, 6/13/2011" Cute story, but very predictable and didn't like/appreciate the strong political and religious view points thrown in. "
— Robin, 5/12/2011" a very light read... I liked the food parts. "
— Lisa, 3/23/2011" Thought this was a really cute novel. Light read, good story, I enjoyed it. I have enjoyed all her books actually. "
— Brittany, 1/15/2011" First book I've read in one day :-) "
— SiSi, 7/9/2010" New Mexico chef that continues to fall for married men....thought it could be funny but it was not. The author throws in a huge political aspect into the book and although I agree with the author, it does not fit in the storyline. Would not recommend. "
— Stephanie, 6/15/2010" a nice story but i can't stand the way she writes. it's all half sentences!! "
— Lisa, 6/3/2010" Interesting fiction based in ABQ. Very easy read. I love this author. Very descriptive and sensual in her writing. A very "dessert" kind of book, but it was enjoyable! "
— Yvonne, 5/17/2010" didn't enjoy it til the very end. her dirty girls club books are stronger. "
— Meredith, 3/25/2010Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Dirty Girls Social Club and Playing with Boys, among other novels. She is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist and Pulitzer-nominated former staff writer for both the Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe. She has written and sold pilot scripts to Nickelodeon, NBC, and Lifetime Television, as well as a teen crossover feature film based on The Kindred.