MS.Taken Identity

By Dan Begley

PhD candidate Mitch Samuel's life isn't going exactly according to plan: his girlfriend just dumped him (to be fair, he did forget to pick her up at the airport), his estranged father has landed in the hospital, and his literary masterpiece-one part Shakespeare, one part Steinbeck, and all parts lyrical epic-has been rejected for the umpteenth time. However, after a chance encounter at Starbucks with the queen of women's fiction- Katharine Longwell-who seems to take a liking to him, he senses an opportunity for literary riches, if not reputation. After telling her that his (imaginary) female cousin is an aspiring chick-lit author, he secures a promise from her that she'll help his "cousin" get published. The only problem is, Mitch needs a manuscript, and fast. Unfortunately, try as he might to get inside a woman's head by reading Vogue and Cosmo , watching Oxygen and Oprah, nothing seems to work. That's when his roommate Bradley suggests that he try a dance class at the studio where Bradley's sister Marie takes lessons. Self-conscious about his own skills, and unwilling to reveal his true intentions, Mitch attends the first class under an alias: Jason Gallagher, pharmaceutical rep. What could go wrong? Nothing, except that Mitch/Jason quickly finds himself hooked on dancing, and on the charming Marie. Who has no idea who he really is. Or that he knows her brother. Or why he's there. Suddenly, his novel-writing project is becoming a lot more than he bargained for...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446506184
• ISBN13: 9780446506182
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: 5 Spot Pub
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

a refreshing male voice in a women's world

Forget the pink slippers that adorn the cover and the cute title that screams out 'Chick Lit'...Begley has taken this genre to another level by giving us the man's perspective in a genre normally dominated by whimsical 20 something females. It makes sense, since Begley is a man and he has given us a refreshing, unique voice in Mitch, the books protagonist, who finds chick lit somewhat beneath him but when his own book is...

Fresh twist on chick lit

Fully prepared to stick with the tried-and-true NYT bestseller when searching for my vaca read, I decided to go off the reservation and give someone new a shot. I chose Ms. Taken Identity for two reasons- 1) the title and cover were great (yes, I am a somewhat shallow (but don't mistake that for stupid)chick who loves my cute covers) and 2) Dan Begley. Wait...what tha? A guy? Writing chick lit? BLASPHEMY! Yet I'm oddly...

MUST READ!!!! GREAT BOOK!!!!

Ms. Taken Identity Well written, funny, well developed characters.....thoroughly enjoyable read! Wasn't sure if Ms. Taken was my type of book. Started off a little shakey, but once the characters started to develop the story just took off! I was pleasantly surprised! It became one of those books I didn't want to put down. (This feeling is usually reserved for murder mysteries or popular vampire stories) I laughed out loud...

Great new author: A guy writing Chic-Lit, but it works!

Excellent book from a great new author. I have read many chic-lit books and this is much smarter than most. The premise of a guy writing a chic lit novel is a great idea and works perfectly. At first you are wondering how you are going to like this guy, but all will be rooting for Mitch by the end of the novel. Fast-paced writing, great supporting characters, and a great new setting in the city of St. Louis make this a...

Fun read with a great perspective

I must admit, I'm very picky when it comes to chick lit; for every excellent story, there seems to be 100 "Babysitting for the Very Vuitton." What attracted me to Ms. Taken Identity wasn't the cute cover or even the plot, it was that it was written by a guy. And that, admittedly, is 100% why I chose to read it. Ms. Taken Identity is about Mitch, a college professor and PhD student working on his epic novel. After being rejected...