I would recommend you not spending a lot of money on this bike as it will probably end up in the basement. I talked my wife into buying a hybrid about 5 years ago. She picked it out. It is comfortable, but it all comes down to the fact that she really doesn't like to ride bikes.
If I had it to do over again, I would also look into less complicated gearing. My wife's bike has 21 speeds. I wish it was a SS or had a max of 3 gears.