She’s shattering the glass ceiling one building at a time Bridget Steele’s father taught her two things: how to build and how to fight. With those skills, she created her own company and began building for New York City’s elite. Often the only woman in the room, she’s faced sexism, corruption and harassment, but armed with her designer hard hat and steel-toed stilettos, she’s up for any … any challenge. Bridget figured out quickly she had to be ten times better just to be considered equal.
Even with a stellar reputation, this scrappy young woman from the Bronx can’t seem to gain access to the old boys’ club. She doesn’t fit in with the powerful men in commercial real estate and construction. But this single mom has learned how to play the game, and she never gives up. With her quick wit and determination, she won’t let anyone get in the way of her dream–including the irresistible man who is also her biggest competitor. She’s learned the hard way that if she wants the view from the top, she’ll have to build it herself.
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Bridget is a great role model! A self-reliant, single mother who won’t back down from what she wants in life. I enjoyed this realistic and modern story. The romance wasn’t overdone, and I found that a refreshing change.
How much is Barbara Kavovit’s life and how much belongs to the fictional character Bridget Steele? Growing up in the borough of the Bronx in New York City, our main character Bridget’s father teaches her about the construction business and how to pack a solid punch into the noses of any punks or overly aggressive business contacts she might come across. And yes, she does use this super power!
Our author, Barbara Kavovit, is currently appearing on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York. The back cover of this book reminds us, “Barbara is a construction trailblazer and woman’s tool creator who founded one of the first general contracting and construction management firms in New York, becoming one of Crain’s 100 Most Influential women in Business by the time she was thirty.” Very impressive.
This brings me to the book character Bridget Steele. I hope this book is not biographical because this supposedly tough, smart, ambitious business woman in a man’s world, teetering on stiletto heels and wanting to be taken seriously, makes ridiculous decisions whenever she’s in the presence of a great set of pecs and abs, endangering and losing business. As much as Bridget vows not to let it happen, she again does the same stupid things.
The book is repetitious to a fault. How many times do men have to point out how gorgeous and sexy her body is, how pretty her face is, how good she smells, how smart she is? It seems like it was every page and even for a woman who possesses all these assets, it’s too much. The same goes for the descriptions of the men in her life. Some have more smarts and integrity than others, but for a supposedly tough woman, she’s putty in their hands every time she checks out their muscles. Dialogue gives the impression of instant replay, over and over and over and over. You get the picture.
Bridget Steele shows us how corrupt the construction industry is in New York. She learns the game in order to prosper. “Bridget liked to play dirty. It got shit done.” No business rival is safe as she pilfers business proposals and steals talented employees from her competitors. In all fairness, these guys do the same kinds of things, so she’s not usually preying on the innocent except for one time when she betrayed a good guy who later aggravated her, in a sense getting her revenge ahead of time.
Schmoozing is a full time job in this industry. Dinners, drinks, kick backs, bribes, threats, tickets, parties, attractive and willing women, favors, sabotage, revenge—the merry-go-round of big business. So happy I don’t work there!
Here’s an example of how Bridget deals with stress. After she tosses a drink in the face of a powerful Manhattan male industry leader, who has betrayed her in business and has just made a pass at her, Bridget socks this guy in the nose. Big time! She reminds him, “Yeah, “she spat at him as he stayed bent over, his back heaving, dark red blood oozing between his fingers, “you’re right, Mark. I’m not from around here.” He looked up at her, and she saw fear in his eyes. “And I advise that you never forget that.”
Why did this happen? No muscles! That’s my guess.
I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a book signing. She’s a sweet, warm, friendly person, much prettier and more petite than she appears on TV. By the way, I didn’t see any of her Housewife of New York friends there. Maybe she was better off not having to share the spotlight with random hysterics.
This is her first novel. Maybe next time around, she’ll take time to learn the craft. Writing appears easy. It’s not.