From Publishers Weekly
Amy Sherman is pretty; Tara Messer is a beauty. Amy has a nice Manhattan apartment; Tara's suburban Tudor castle boasts an actual turret. Amy was engaged to Stuart Lasher, who took maid of honor Tara to bed and then to the altar. Now Tara has chronicled her perfect lifestyle in a book called Simply Beautiful, about to be published by Lowry and Trammell-where her editor plans to make her "the next Martha Stewart, without the baggage" and where Amy is publicity director. Can you spell delicious conflict? Heller (Lucky Stars) goes for the laughs and gets them, but there's more here than meets the funny bone. Just when the reader is ready to kill the perfidious Tara (perhaps by beating her to death with accessories and garnishes), Heller switches out of Amy's point of view and into Tara's. It turns out Tara's a real person, too. And she's in trouble. It seems she did Amy a favor by stealing Stuart, who grabs every passing ass and may bring down the family business with a fake caviar scheme. And it isn't Tara who's pregnant with Stuart's baby. Meanwhile, in another switcheroo, Amy's got a great romance budding with Tony Stiles, the gorgeous mystery author. Of course, they're only pretending to pretend to be in love-Amy to save face (she told Tara she was engaged) and Tony to research relationships-and things are going swimmingly. Though the happy ending is a sure thing, getting there is fabulous fun. Heller makes a familiar story read as brand new, thanks to a rich humanity abetted by smart dialogue, zippy pacing and all-around craft.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Heller writes fast-moving, witty, often best-selling novels about contemporary women and their combative but loving relationships. In her latest, Amy Sherman and Tara Messer, lifelong best friends, are now all grown up and living in New York City. There has always been some friction in their relationship because Amy feels overshadowed by the extravagantly beautiful and elegant Tara (a lifestyle guru). When Amy catches her fiance, Stuart, in a passionate embrace with Tara two weeks before the wedding, she cuts both of them out of her life. The two eventually marry each other, while Amy focuses on her demanding job as publicity director for a major publisher. Four years later, Amy and Tara are thrown together when Amy is assigned to promote Tara's new book. The two women weave a web of deception, with Tara pretending her life is perfect (even though Stuart is a serial womanizer) while Amy invents a rich, handsome boyfriend, whom she then has to produce. Heller's fans will be waiting to get their hands on this highly entertaining read. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Superb...a terrific character study." -Midwest Book Review

"Funny, clear-eyed look at female friendship." -Kirkus Reviews

"Delicious conflict. Heller goes for the laughs and gets them...fabulous fun. Heller makes a familiar story read as brand-new, thanks to a rich humanity abetted by smart dialogue, zippy pacing, and all-around craft."--Publishers Weekly

"Offbeat and funny look at love and relationships. Nobody can take situations and turn them on their ear quite like Heller-and the results are always a riot!" -Romantic Times Top Pick



Book Description
Book publicist Amy Sherman tripped over it when she caught her fiancé horizontally attached to her best friend, the impossibly tall, inexcusably blonde, and insufferably gorgeous Tara Messer, who added insult to injury by marrying the cad right out from under her.

After four years of therapy, Amy's finally back on track-until she has to publicize the hottest new book of the season by "the next Martha Stewart." Nightmares do come true. It's the dreaded Tara who's the author, and why shouldn't she write a bestseller about perfection? She's the perfect woman enjoying the perfect life with the perfect man. Who'd ever guess she's living the perfect lie?

When Amy tries to save face by roping a handsome mystery writer into posing as her fiancé, her little white lie leads to yet another romantic triangle. She just might find true love this time-if she lets herself-but first she and Tara must settle old scores and team up against the man who played them both...

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Amy Sherman is doing just fine---she has a nice apartment in Manhattan, a good job as publicity director at a publishing company, and a decent social life---until she runs into Tara Messer, the beautiful blond prom queen who was once her best friend. It's been four years since Tara stole Amy's fiancé---four years since Amy swore she'd stop playing second fiddle to spotlight-hog Tara. Amy thought she had finally made peace with herself, but when Tara asks whether she's dating anyone, Amy can't bear to admit there's no man in her life. Instead, she claims she's getting married in six months, figuring she'll never see Tara again, so the lie won't come back to haunt her.

Wrong. The next day, Amy learns that her publishing house has just acquired a lifestyle book called Simply Beautiful by none other than Tara---and that Amy's job will be to make it a bestseller. Now she'll not only have to promote her nemesis to the media, she'll also have to dig up a temporary Mr. Right. When she enlists a commitment-phobic mystery writer as the pawn in her game of payback, she stumbles on the surprising truth about Tara's "lifestyle"---and her own fears about falling in love. What follows is a laugh-out-loud story of betrayal, reconciliation, romance, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. Told from both Amy's and Tara's points of view, Best Enemies is a thoroughly entertaining tale about trying to keep up appearances, even with the person who knows you best.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Amy Sherman is pretty; Tara Messer is a beauty. Amy has a nice Manhattan apartment; Tara's suburban Tudor castle boasts an actual turret. Amy was engaged to Stuart Lasher, who took maid of honor Tara to bed and then to the altar. Now Tara has chronicled her perfect lifestyle in a book called Simply Beautiful, about to be published by Lowry and Trammell-where her editor plans to make her "the next Martha Stewart, without the baggage" and where Amy is publicity director. Can you spell delicious conflict? Heller (Lucky Stars) goes for the laughs and gets them, but there's more here than meets the funny bone. Just when the reader is ready to kill the perfidious Tara (perhaps by beating her to death with accessories and garnishes), Heller switches out of Amy's point of view and into Tara's. It turns out Tara's a real person, too. And she's in trouble. It seems she did Amy a favor by stealing Stuart, who grabs every passing ass and may bring down the family business with a fake caviar scheme. And it isn't Tara who's pregnant with Stuart's baby. Meanwhile, in another switcheroo, Amy's got a great romance budding with Tony Stiles, the gorgeous mystery author. Of course, they're only pretending to pretend to be in love-Amy to save face (she told Tara she was engaged) and Tony to research relationships-and things are going swimmingly. Though the happy ending is a sure thing, getting there is fabulous fun. Heller makes a familiar story read as brand new, thanks to a rich humanity abetted by smart dialogue, zippy pacing and all-around craft. Agent, Ellen Levine. (Apr.) Forecast: With three movie deals last year alone (for Name Dropping, The Secret Ingredient and Lucky Stars), bestseller Heller is big and looks only to get bigger. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Amy Sherman, a 30-year-old publicity director, has always played second fiddle to her best friend from high school, Tara Messer. The blond prom queen who always got what she wanted, Tara stole Amy's fianc , but that was four years ago-Amy is finally getting over it, thanks in part to her expensive therapist. It isn't until Amy runs into Tara on the street that things start to fall apart. When Tara inquires into Amy's love life, Amy lies, telling her that she is getting married in six months. Unfortunately for Amy, Tara has just written a "lifestyle" book that Amy's publishing house has acquired. Since they will be working closely together for the foreseeable future, Amy must come up with a pseudo-fianc to save face. In the end, neither Amy nor Tara is leading the life that she would have the other believe. Although the novel is told mostly from Amy's perspective, Tara gets a few chapters, too. Heller's latest (after Female Intelligence) takes an interesting look at what can happen when honesty takes a backseat to appearances and how true friendship can be born of animosity. Recommended for most public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/03.]-Karen Core, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews