Love in Bloom's

April 29, 2002
Oddball characters and humorous hijinks abound in Arnold's (Somebody's Dad) touching, romantic tale of an Upper West Side delicatessen akin to Zabar's. Julia Bloom, a fledgling divorce lawyer, is summoned by her formidable grandmother to take over Bloom's after her father's death. Julia rebels but is persuaded by her tattoo-sporting sister, Susie, to bring the deli into the 21st century. Tension mounts when Julia's jealous Uncle Jay tries to sabotage her, and her pushy mother, who believes she's the rightful heir to the business, makes it clear that Julia's just standing in for her as president of Bloom's. In addition, Julia must contend with the puzzling problem of those bagels that go missing—like clockwork—every week, while fending off Ron Joffe, the hunky but meddlesome business reporter from Gotham
magazine (à la New York) who's determined to get the goods on Bloom's. While Susie falls in love with goyische
bagel-maker Casey Gordon, who knows more about those missing bagels than he wants to admit, Julia is unwillingly swept off her feet by Joffe. Anyone who has ever dealt with an interfering mother, domineering grandparent, flaky sibling or improper boyfriend will relate to this story. Charming, humorous and loaded with New York references, this lighthearted tale is satisfying subway reading. (June)Forecast:The book's coy cover and title label it a romance, but there's a universality here that, with the right promotion, could help this little gem find a place on the charts. Fans of smart women's fiction and urbanites looking for a fun, fast-paced distraction are the book's primary readership.