NATURAL
BORN CHARMER - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-073458-9
May 2008
Contemporary Romance
On the Road and East Tennessee, the Present
You may have met him in MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, the
Chicago Stars' gorgeous star quarterback, End Zone's hunky underwear
model, and all-around lovable guy Dean Robillard and thought his
life perfect. But as NATURAL BORN CHARMER begins with one of Susan
Elizabeth Phillips's memorable opening lines, we find Dean --
sans diamond stud earrings -- driving his brand-new Aston Martin
Vanquish along a Colorado highway. He's pretty much recovered
from his first real injury, except it has started him wondering
about his life. An unexpected burst of chivalry on top of a seriously
piqued curiosity causes Dean to stop the car for a lady in obvious
distress.
Talk about imperfect lives, portrait painter -- specializing
in children and pets -- Blue Bailey's life has tanked. Oh, she
doesn't much mind the end of her latest relationship; she hasn't
let anyone close enough to hurt her in years, but Blue's car just
died and her bank accounts were just emptied by her activist mother
for another of her causes. Blue is broke, car-less, and homeless.
Right from the start, when Blue finagles Dean into
letting her ride along to wherever he is going, the two of them
begin scoring off one another while they try to ignore the mutual
attraction. Blue is the first woman who hasn't made a play for
Dean since he was a teen. Why he should care is a puzzle; she's
definitely not his type. There doesn't seem to be a figure under
her scruffy, baggy clothes, and he thinks she looks like someone
out of a nursery rhyme with her sharp little face and her "grape
lollipop eyes." It must be the challenge that makes him keep
her with him. The two end up at his Tennessee farm where the first
in a series of unpleasant surprises lies in wait for Dean. The
efficient housekeeper overseeing the renovation of the house turns
out to be Dean's estranged mother.
Neither Dean nor Blue grew up with love they could
depend upon; Dean's family took dysfunction to a new level, and
the kindest description of Blue's is benign neglect. He hides
the hurt little boy behind his good looks and winning ways; she's
developed a tough outer shell and fierce independence. With all
of this, their bantering is laugh-out-loud funny. You'll surely
fall in love with them both. The colorful assortment of minor
characters are engaging as well.
Lying beneath the comedy in NATURAL BORN CHARMER
is a moving story of forgiveness, of healing, and of love. There
is never a chance of sugar overload, however; Blue's peppery wit
sees to that.
To fully describe NATURAL BORN CHARMER, I'd have
to say it's smart and sharp, amusing and emotional, and beautifully
written, but all-around wonderful says it in one word (well, three,
actually). NATURAL BORN CHARMER epitomizes all the reasons Susan
Elizabeth Phillips is so well loved by readers.
Jane Bowers |