Mr. Right, Right Now!: How a Smart Woman Can Land Her Dream Man in 6 Weeks

Elle romance columnist Carroll's advice on man catching can be boiled down to four mantras: be happy, look good, go where the guys are and just do it. Carroll stretches this advice out over 200 pages thanks to a witty prose style--and a spacious layout design--that usually works. The author tries her best to make this book appropriate for contemporary women, combining watered-down scientific theory about synchrony with advice on exactly what to say when flirting (biceps feature prominently). Readers are encouraged to be proud of who they are, but also to head over to the golf range or racetrack for maximum male populations. The author engages in some typical E. Jean-style (i.e. lighthearted) self-aggrandizing: numerous anecdotes highlight her fabulous lifestyle, her Vivienne Westwood suits, her butter-yellow convertible Cadillac, etc. Overall, however, the book is a fun, quick read, though the underlying theme--that the work of romantic love rests solely with smart, ever-so-slightly duplicitous women--may depress some readers. Carroll delivers a reasonable plan for what she promises, a six-week strategy for catching a guy (though not necessarily the dream man of her subtitle). No one who is familiar with her""Ask E. Jean"" romance column would expect any less, or more.