7 Days and 7 Nights [Mass Market Paperback]

Dr. Olivia Moore is a therapist who hosts a radio talk show, "Liv Live", in Atlanta. Olivia offers advice to her listeners dealing with actual, grown-up problems. Matt Ransom hosts the show "Guy Talk" where he prefers to discuss issues such as sports and cars. Unfortunately, the station can no longer afford to continue carrying both shows, so one will have to be cut. How to decide which show gets the boot? Let the listeners decide. Lock the two hosts up in an apartment for a week. They will do their shows from the apartment, web cams will be installed, and their every moment will be broadcast on the internet 24/7. During this week, listeners will make food donations to a local charity in the name of the host that they support. The person who receives the most donations will get to keep their show.

Spending a week together will be difficult for Olivia and Matt. Their personalities are like night and day--Olivia is responsible and serious, while Matt prefers to relax and go with the flow. And making things even more difficult is the fact that years ago, while working for a radio station in Chicago, they were lovers (information that is unknown to anyone else). That affair didn't end on the friendliest terms.

There is a sub-plot involving two listeners, JoBeth and Dawg. JoBeth is 41 and ready to settle down and start a family. Dawg has already been married and divorced and is in no hurry to repeat the experience. JoBeth seeks Olivia's advice and Dawg seeks Matt's. This sub-plot was enjoyable and blended beautifully with the rest of the story.

I had two very small complaints about the book. (1) About 3/4 of the way through the story I started to get a little irritated with Matt. It took him entirely too long to wake up and face facts. Of course, he did eventually come around, but as a reader, I was ready for it to happen just a tad bit sooner, because his constant denial of his feelings did start to get a bit old. (2) I didn't like the fact that the love scenes were completely skipped. I was so involved in the story that I wanted to follow these characters right into the bedroom, so when that bedroom door was slammed in my face :) I didn't care for it. Note: what I wanted most was not necessarily descriptions of the physical act itself, but the emotions that went along with it. However, the story was so good I was more than willing to overlook these two very small things.

The book is well written. The writing is fresh and humorous. Wonderful, likeable characters. Just a very entertaining book. It's definitely going on my keeper shelf.

Wendy Wax has created a gem for her first novel. Dr. Olivia Moore has a morning talk show called "Liv Live." She helps callers with their problems. Most of her callers are women. Plus being a woman who has gone through a very public (think tabloids) divorce, she has a lot of experience to dwell from while helping her callers. The radio station's late night show, "Guy Talk", hosted by Matt Ransom, seems to be the catalyst for the male callers to express their (perceived) women-biased opinions of "Dr. O." Matt really just wants to talk about football and cars but he finds himself giving out relationship advice. Matt is voted "Atlanta's Most Eligible Bachelor" again (he has held the title since his arrival into Atlanta).

The radio station, WTLK, is a smaller radio chain, twenty stations. The suits have decided that "Guy Talk" and "Liv Live" are too expensive and they need to get rid of one. Charles, WTLK's PR guru, has convinced the station manager, T.J., to pull a publicity stunt as a competition and food drive. The two radio personalities will be locked up together for 7 days and nights. Each will perform their show from the small apartment. Also there will be a webcam (without Audio) for people to spy on them. The goal is to get their listeners to donate money and food on behalf of their cause. Matt and Dr. O aren't thrilled about this but each wants to continue their show.

As they start living together, we learn all sorts of things about each of them. Hummm... they used to work together in Chicago (back in the day). I really like the way Ms. Wax didn't make Matt too obnoxious. He is a typical guy whose motto is "relax and have fun." Dr. O was a little uptight but not so much that she can't benefit from Matt's philosophy. Like any good relationship, they learn from each other. The observations between the sexes were clever.

Another storyline was the story of Dawg and JoBeth. Dawg was once an Atlanta Football player who was injured. When we first meet them, they are living together and have been together for three years. JoBeth wants to get married but Dawg's previous marriage has soured him on the idea. Dawg calls into "Guy Talk" and gets told by Matt that he should have been up front with JoBeth about it never getting serious. Meanwhile, JoBeth calls into Dr. O's show because she is confused. Dr. O tells her to stop giving the milk away for free.

Ms. Wax has woven two stories about how men and women communicate and see things. Both stories struck the right balance between he said and she said. Stereotypes are kept to a minimum and the humor pretty high. My only complaint was the storyline between Matt and Dr. O after they left the apartment somehow seemed to float out there. It got reeled in by the end but for about 50 pages it was just sort of out there not really connected to the rest of the story. Overall, this was a very entertaining book.

Dr. Olivia Moore is a recent divorcee and radio psychologist (think a younger and less conservative Doctor Laura). She shares the airwaves with Matt Ransom, the station's night talk jock who appeals to the more masculine crowd. Unbeknownst to the station personnel, she and Matt share a torrid past that neither of them wants to discuss, and Olivia wants nothing to do with a guy similar to the one she just rid of.

When the station management decides that they can only afford one of the talk jocks, a competition is devised - the two will share cramped quarters a la "Big Brother" and report from the apartment, while the room is wired for video for the web crowd. Neither realizes how difficult the next week will be, with all the pent up tension between the two.

When the week is up, the aftermath of their captivity changes each of their lives. For Matt, being stuck is for a week with a psychologist meant discussing things he never wanted to think about; for Olivia it meant coming to terms with her feelings about her divorce, Matt, and what she wants for her own future.

The two are counseling a couple (JoBeth wants to marry; Dawg was burned by his ex-wife), giving their own form of advice that at times is poignant, and other times is hysterical (particularly when they exchange audiences for one day). As Matt and Olivia change, the advice they give this couple changes.

This is Wax's debut contemporary romance. It has a good storyline, with a great premise. It is choppy at times, but thankfully it has pretty snappy dialogue, and the bantering between the two leads is great. Wax's follow up novel, "Leave it to Cleavage" cements her position as a great contemporary storyteller in the vein of Jennifer Crusie.