Nothing But the Rent

In yet another debut that tries too hard to re-create the power of Waiting to Exhale, four friends, reunited at a Minneapolis wedding, discover that none of them is able to find love. Shy, workaholic bank manager Gayle nurses a quiet crush while she balances her stalled career and her responsibility to her ailing mother. Boston social worker Roxanne tries to overcome a series of rejections from a reptilian businessman boyfriend (who insists on calling her ""a friend""). Cleveland lawyer Monique rebels against her bourgeois mother's carefully laid plan for her life. And, from Tampa, Fla., churchgoing PR flack Cynthia battles a dangerous eating disorder and bewildering loneliness. Although many readers will sympathize with the problems these women face, Mitchell's portraits are unintentionally unflattering. The friends spend a lot of time sniping at each other's hair, figures and attitudes toward men, while contrived Worst Possible Date scenes and superficial minor characters keep the novel's tone regrettably shallow. (Apr.)