Books for Prep | |
 - A star is born.I love to read. Moreover, I love to read romantic comedies. So I am at a loss as to why it took me so long to discover an author who, for good reason, has had legions of loyal fans for years! I was first introduced to Susan Elizabeth Phillips (or SEP which those of us "in the know" [wink, wink] like to call her) a couple of years ago when `AINT SHE SWEET' was first published. I bought it, I loved it. I then could not wait for her next book `MATCH ME IF YOU CAN' which immediately became one of my all time favorite books. So it was obvious that when `NATURAL BORN CHARMER' came out I ordered it on the spot. Regretfully it took me almost a year to the day of purchasing it to actually read it, but let me tell you it was well worth the wait! SEP has a way of creating characters that her readers genuinely care about, a story that engulfs you and can weave a tale of romance that will leave even the ficklest of readers wanting more, and more, and more. In `NATURAL BORN CHARMER' she reintroduces us to Dean Rolbillard star player for the Chicago Stars football team who, in search of a much needed respite from the chaos of his everyday life, heads down to his Tennessee vacation home. He soon meets Blue Bailey who is also in need. She needs a roof over her head, a job and time to sort out the mess her life has become. These two soon find out that they have more in common than an instant attraction. They both come from similar childhoods and they both are stubborn, headstrong and not willing to give an inch. All of which makes this novel a ton of fun. At the heart of this story, yes, it is a romance but there is so much more to it than that. It is about family, reconciliation, willingness to forgive and being able to look past some serious rough edges in order to see the good in people. All of which may sound a bit cheesy but believe me SEP makes it work. I have a list of "go to authors" as I like to call them. They are the authors that I can always count on to produce quality work, who I know will never let me down. Now Susan Elizabeth Phillips, you my friend, are definitely on that list, I thank you. Rating:  - Hilarious and FunHave never read this author before. A friend gave me this book. I have to say, I laughed out loud many times reading this book. Especially the beginning chapters. The author writes with humor and is very descriptive. I had a visual of everything going on. I loved the book. I also liked the fact that the woman character wasn't some terrific beauty and how the relationship between her and "Boo" developed. Rating: - Good, yes, but not as goodSusan Elizabeth Phillips has set the bar very high, particularly in her Chicago Stars series, and this book, while enjoyable, does not meet the quality of some of the others. The lead characters just don't involve the heart and mind of the reader to the degree that one comes to expect from Ms. Phillips, although in comparison to most other writers' characters they stand out. The hero and heroine are not as engaging as the secondary characters, and both the beginning and the end feel lackluster and contrived. That said, the relationships between all of the characters is believably complicated and human, and as a group they are people the reader comes, however reluctantly, to care about. Definitely worth a read, but you probably won't re-read it with the appreciation of some of her best books. Rating: - I fell under the spell of this CHARMER!I can promise you that Susan Elizabeth Phillip's NATURAL BORN CHARMER will top a lot of "Best of..." lists for 2007 with this wonderful book. Writers are a notoriously jaded and nit-picky lot so it's rare that we'll admit that we adore every word that comes out of an author's mouth. But for me, Susan Elizabeth Phillips (or SEP as she's known to her legion of equally adoring readers) has always been that author. I first fell in love with her work when I read FANCY PANTS, a book where she performed the impossible feat of making golf (and golfer Dallie Beaudine) incredibly sexy. Her fabulous earlier books like HOT SHOT and HONEY MOON had equal elements of romance and women's fiction. In 1994 she launched her wildly popular "Chicago Stars" series with the perennial romance classic IT HAD TO BE YOU. Since then those Chicago Stars coaches, players, and agents (Heath Champion anyone?) have been scoring regularly, both with Susan's heroines and her readers. It's only fitting that Super Bowl weekend would bring us the latest installment in the series--NATURAL BORN CHARMER. I don't want to ruin a single delightful surprise from this book but it does boast one of the cutest "meets" I've ever seen in a romance when Dean Robillard slams on the brakes of his Aston-Martin after he spots Blue Bailey stomping down the road in a giant beaver costume. I never could resist a smart man with a smart mouth and their resulting banter reminded me of a Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant flick. The tone of their relationship is set when she tells him, "You look like an ad for gay porn" and he tells her, "You look like a national disaster." Some of you may remember Dean as Annabelle's "buddy" from MATCH ME IF YOU CAN. As a hero, he's a delicious study in contradictions: a drop-dead gorgeous man who never looks at himself in the mirror; a smart man known more for his brawn than his brains; a generous man afraid to give away even a tiny portion of his heart. He's flawed and funny and oh...did I mention drop-dead gorgeous? It's rare that you fall equally in love with the heroine of a romance but Blue Bailey is about as likeable and irresistible as they come. Her untidy ponytail, snappy comebacks, and scuffed-up biker boots hide a keen wit and a tender heart. When Dean asks her, "Who says you're not pretty?" she replies with, "Oh, it doesn't bother me. I have so much character that adding beauty to the mix would be greedy." And when his mother points out, "You're not his usual type of girlfriend," Blue zings right back with, "Once again, my three-digit IQ separates me from the pack." A common theme of every Susan Elizabeth Phillips book (and perhaps one of the most primal themes of the romance genre itself) is the creation of a family where there was none before. Susan explores this theme beautifully in CHARMER as both Dean and Blue are forced to confront and lay to rest the ghosts of their childhoods. These subplots and secondary characters enhance the romance that's at the heart of the book instead of detracting from it. Perhaps her greatest strength as a writer is her ability to create empathy for EVERY character in the novel. She can write an insecure, overweight 11-year-old girl as well as she writes an embittered old woman hiding a heart of gold or a hunky football player. She unearths a universal truth in this scene: "As Dean gazed around the table, he saw a travesty of the American family. It was like Norman Rockwell on crack." Well, when it comes right down to it, aren't ALL of our families like Norman Rockwell on crack? It's the fact that we love them in spite of it that makes us noble creatures worthy of a happy ending. As a writer, I'm in awe of descriptions like, "With her big blond wig, diamond chandelier earrings, and free floating pastel caftan, she looked like a parade float sponsored by a senior citizens' bordello." Susan writes smart books for smart readers and I laughed out loud several times during the book, even catching a few obscure cultural references like Blue calling Dean "Deanna" when he comes up to her and says, "You look pissed." (That would be empath Deanna Troi for all of you non-Trekkers out there.) You'll have to forgive me if this blog sounds more like a valentine than a review but once again, SEP has created a cast of unforgettable characters who will live on in my heart forever. To me, that's the happiest ending of all. (Originally published on the website of author Teresa Medeiros at www.teresamedeiros.com) Rating: - Just Naturally CharmingTerrific light reading with the style of writing that only SEP dishes out. Football jock, Dean Robillard (another of SEP's famous Chicago Star's quarterbacks) is driving to his summer home in Tennessee when he falls upon a young, sassy (and very plain) girl, Blue Bailey, dressed in a beaver costume, who desperately needs a ride and a job to "somewhere." In typical SEP fashion, Dean and Blue are extreme opposites. Similar to several of SEP's novels, the super sports hero and the feisty little tomboy-type girl begin battling it out from the start, only to discover a weird kind of chemistry between them. A truly enjoyable and entertaining story unravels as Dean discovers his aging rock star father and a surprise in the way of a teenage half sister who has multiple insecurities of her own. I would recommend this story to anyone who just wants a "fun" book to read on a lazy summer day. In association with Amazon.com | |