“A funny and affecting tale…will make you think about a lot of things, but most of all, it will make you reflect on the nature of friendship.”-Eve Epstein, editor, Daily Candy

Twenty-nine-year-old shrinking violet Jesse Holtz likes her life just fine, thank you very much. She's happy being the supportive best friend to the luminous, charismatic Cecile (sometimes the only to get a tan is to bask in the glow); she can tell the difference between a Chippendale and a Louis XV chair (too bad she can't do the same with one-night-stands and true love); and although she hates her job-manag-ing snooty Los Angeles furniture store for a diva boss won't be launching her inte- rior design career and time soon-she's staying put, for now.

But when Cecile dies in a car accident, Jesse's life is thrown hopelessly out of whack. Sideswiped by grief, she turns to the one person who undersands: Cecile's widower Zach. He could use the com-pany, which is good, but then Jesse starts to really enjoy their time together, which is….bad? Is it ever okay to step into the spotlight recently departed by the dearly departed? Meanwhile her remaining best friend, the disapproving Bryn, goes AWOL and her boss goes into sabotage mode because Jesse is finally taking credit for her own work. Worst of all, she just might be falling in love…

Tender, funny, and totally addictive, FINISHING TOUCHES is about a forbid-den romance, heartbreaking loss, and the complex bonds that connect-and tear apart-close friends. It's the story of a wall-flower who, thanks to a cruel twist of fate, just might learn that life, like any good inte-rior, can always use a little rearranging.

 

DEANNA KIZIS is the author of the criti-cally acclaimed How to Meet Cute Boys. She's been the West Coast editor for Elle and a contributor to Harper's Bazaar, and her work has appeared in Allure. Domino, Entertainment Weekly, People, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Details, Premiere. And variety She lives in Los Angeles , California .