Pinewood, Kentucky – Present Day

Just three hours south of Chicago and Candie Montgomery’s advertising job is her hometown of Pinewood, Kentucky, where all 876 residents are friendly and willing to pass the time of day with everybody...except Candie. Today, absolutely no one is waving a welcome home to her; in fact, they turn up their collective noses as she drives by! Confused and wondering why not even so much as a smile awaits her, Candie finally ends her journey through town when she comes to a stop in the driveway of the house where she’ll be living rent free after promising her daddy that she’ll fix the place up. And the door is even unlocked, and waiting inside is her twin sister Sarah, who's sitting on the sofa, fuming, and sending mystical darts right into Candie’s heart.

No welcome here either.

The angry Sarah is blaming Candie for the break-up of her long-time relationship with Nick Anderson, and Sarah even goes as far as to accuse Candie of being “the other woman.” The other woman??? Something’s wrong here. Candie hasn’t even been in the same room as Nick since she visited at Christmas, and unless Sarah is referring to that nano-second kiss on the cheek under the mistletoe, well, how does that make Candie the other woman? (Not to mention Candie is living all the way up in Chicago!) No matter. As far as Sarah is concerned, it’s Candie’s fault that she and Nick are splitsville. Forget it. Right now all Candie wants is a nice cold beer. Maybe it’s only early afternoon, but after a couple of longnecks, and the attentions of the hunk tending bar at the local tavern around the corner, Candie is definitely feeling better!

Candie certainly did not want to leave her job to come back to Pinewood, but here she is, all for the good of family. Her daddy’s recent heart attack left the family business, Dapper Dan's Used Car Emporium, in dire straits. So, after taking a leave of absence from her job, Candie returned to help Sarah get the business back in the black; once that's done, she’ll hightail it right back to Chicago, quicker than quick. But the gorgeous bartender, aka the new Recreational Director of the Pinewood Parks Department Tommy Tucker, comes up with the perfect solution to smooth sister Sarah’s ruffled feathers – he’ll pretend to be Candie’s boyfriend.

And so begins the latest fabulous and funny book from author Luann McLane in TRICK MY TRUCK BUT DON’T MESS WITH MY HEART. Master mechanic Nick Anderson is confused about his relationship with Sarah. Back in high school, Candie was his best friend, and now Nick's just not sure which sister he really loves. And while he spends most of his time tricking out an old truck in the back of his shop at Anderson Automotive, he and Candie renew their friendship, which doesn’t do any good for her relationship with Sarah. Sarah is miffed. She thinks Candie has it all. She's smart, she's got Tommy Tucker tied up in knots, and now she’s buddying up to Nick! Well, just for that, Sarah's going to check out the new guy in town, used car competitor, Carson Campbell! Are you still keeping up with me?

Hang onto your hat as Candie bounces between Nick and Tommy, and Sarah really loves Nick, but has her heart set on romancing Carson. All three men are friends who meet regularly to play pool. The dramatic conclusion of this roller-coaster story all comes down to Nick’s ability to “trick” out a truck. And, in case you don’t know what that means, “tricking” a vehicle is just another way to describe how Nick takes an old beat-up truck and turns it into something shiny and fabulous. Now, if only he could “trick” out a couple of hearts the same way, things could get back to normal in Pinewood, Kentucky – but that’s too simple a solution, since you really need to read this book to see what happens to Candie and Sarah as they juggle the town hunks along with their daily lives.

In addition to Nick, Tommy, and Carson, the secondary characters in the story are few, but some of them briefly include the girls’ parents and a couple of interested town citizens, like tobacco-spitting Skeeter Jones and smelly old Smiley Turner. All the characterization is top-notch, and this story definitely rocks! TRICK MY TRUCK BUT DON'T MESS WITH MY HEART is one for the top of your list this month!

Diana Risso