Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

You never know what lurks in the shadows of an e-reader. Apparently a little while ago, I downloaded Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins, one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. I guess real life got in the way at the time and I didn’t get to it. Let me assure you, folks, had I known what I was missing, I would have cracked it open the minute it landed on my Kindle.

Cordelia Osterhagen, known to all as Posey, runs a salvage company, lives in an old church, owns three cats, a Great Dane and has been in love with one person since freshman year in high school. While her looks may have set her apart from her unusual but loving adoptive parents, her childhood was relatively normal and happy. That is until high school. Scrawny awkwardness doesn’t win teen popularity contests and Posey, given a choice between being the cool kids’ running joke or becoming invisible, chooses the latter and hopes no one notices.  Her plan to stay firmly on the fringe stays on course, even when the new, cool, straight out of juvenile detention kid in school takes a part time job in her parent’s kitschy German themed restaurant. Liam Declan Murphy is distant but cordial to Posey and this small amount of neutral attention thrown her way develops into a powerful one-sided teenaged crush. Posey painstakingly nurses her devotion to Liam – in fact, her entire existence revolves around him, even after he falls hard for another girl. But when Liam acts the bad boy toward Posey, proving he’s no different than any of the others at school, she is devastated. But she picks herself up and moves on, a little older in spirit and perhaps now a little wiser …

The decision to return to Bellsford, New Hampshire from San Diego isn’t an easy one for Liam, but as a widower, it seems the right decision to make for his teenaged daughter. The move will give her the chance to be closer to his late wife’s family. And being back will hopefully help him move past the painful, sometimes debilitating memories of his high school sweetheart’s death.  Liam is not surprised to find things haven’t changed very much. Guten Tag, the Osterhagen’s restaurant where he worked as a kid, is pretty much the same as is Cordelia (as he always called her). She’s still skinny, and still quirky. But as the weeks go by, he finds himself spending more and more time in her company – and surprisingly, enjoying it just a little too much… 

I’m a huge fan of all of Ms. Higgins’ work, but it’s the characters in this story that make it my favorite of hers. Both Posey and Liam are very unusual, Posey more for her looks than anything else. She is by far not a beauty, as the physical comparisons between her and her robust adoptive mother and cousin make obvious. But Posey’s personality is what makes her beautiful. At first Ms. Higgins administers only small doses of her character’s potential. But the fun is in watching Posey grow into herself, to finally fit into her huge personality – to be comfortable in her own skin.  Liam captured me in an entirely different way.  Appalled by his actions as a teen-aged boy, I was completely captivated by his behavior as a man. The author gives Liam touching humanity as the single father of a fifteen-year old daughter. The irony of this responsibility should not be lost on the reader as it is definitely not lost on Liam. And his struggles with OCD, panic attacks and general anxiety regarding his daughter's well being make this former bad boy motorcycle mechanic one of my favorite male protagonists.

As usual, Ms. Higgins scores huge. Until There Was You is most assuredly different and definitely divine. It's also very highly recommended. 

Blank Slate Kate by Heather Wardell

I finished reading Blank Slate Kate by Heather Wardell almost a week ago. Usually, when I offer my opinion of a book to our loyal following, I do it within minutes of turning the last page. This one, however, needed to marinate in my head; a long soak amid the gray matter before I felt I could articulate with any clarity how much I loved Ms. Wardell’s latest. I still don’t know if I can do that task justice, but I think I’m ready to try.

Imagine waking up naked in a stranger’s bed with no recollection of how you got there. And add to that the undeniable fact that you are in a thirty-two year old body with the thoughts of a seventeen year old and no memory of who you are, where you live and what you’ve been doing for the past fifteen years. This is exactly what happens to Kate Anderson as she abruptly discovers that the years between 1996 and 2011 are nothing more than a blank slate.  Terror, depression and acute frustration vie for top emotional billing as Kate (with help of Jake - the bighearted, gorgeous stranger) tries to find out who she really is.

This is not a flighty contemporary romance. Some heavy topics are tackled, including severe depression, teenage pregnancy, adultery and date rape. The sum of these rather grim parts could have easily swept me into a deep, black hole, but much to Ms. Wardell’s credit, they did not. Just the opposite, I think, as I found myself carefully examining my own life experiences during that same period of time and while I would clearly like to forget a few of them, unlike Kate, I have little to regret.  

For me, the greatest strength of the story is the inherent unpredictability of the plot. For two-thirds of the book, I leaned heavily in one direction and then the fragility of Kate’s new discoveries pulled me down an entirely different path. I loved that I needed to be coaxed and persuaded, just like Kate, to discover, embrace and savor what seemed familiar, yet was still completely unknown. And, as is usual for Ms. Wardell, the secondary characters are well written, playing their supporting roles perfectly. One character in particular (and I can't mention the name without spoiling Kate's journey for you) is ripe for a book of his own. I'm still a little in love with him, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  

Much in the same vein as Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros, Blank Slate Kate is an unexpectedly uplifting, surprisingly unconventional and deeply touching story.  It’s definitely worth the emotional investment. A must read. 

Me and Mr. Darcy, by Alexandra Potter

And now for something modern...........

Since I am an Austen fanfic writer at heart, I had to review this adorable book that Jill gave me for Christmas this year. As you read this book, you will find that you see yourself in some of these characters, not to mention your friends.

Emily is bookshop manager, 29 and single, she has had a series of dates that have gone wrong. She can't help but wonder if her views on what a man should be are prejudiced by her belief that all men should be like Mr. Darcy. None measure up, of course. An invitation from Stella, friend and co-worker to spend the holidays in Mexico drinking and flirting prompts Emily to quickly come up with an excuse not to go, and an Austen tour of England that suddenly appears on the desk in front of her is the perfect escape. Emily books her package, hoping for a week of literature and history, and no men of the ilk she had been exposed to on her string of bad dates. It might be a tour full of little old ladies with gray hair and eyeglasses hanging from chains, and but anything has got to be better than spending the week alone, or worse, in Mexico.

To her surprise, she steps into a bus full of very active older ladies, all interested in Mr. Darcy as a love interest, and no eyeglasses hanging from chains! The entire group is introduced to Spike, a journalist from a well known London paper with a bad attitude who has been forced to join their tour to find out what it is about Mr. Darcy that so many women are attracted to. Emily and Spike get off on the wrong foot immediately, she thinks he is a pompous ass, and he thinks her plain, boring, and "American".

The Austen tour starts off with Jane Austen's home, where Emily, suffering from extreme jet-lag, decides to take a rest at Ms. Austen's famous writing desk! She awakes to see a Regency dressed gentleman standing before her, claiming to be Mr. Darcy. Thinking he is an actor employed by the house, she brushes him aside, despite his strange reaction to her. When Spike is sent, much to his chagrin to search for her, Emily tells him of speaking with Mr. Darcy, but the man is gone when Spike goes to investigate further.

Mr. Darcy is not gone, however, he shows up at most all the historical places they visit, spending time with Emily when she is separated from the group. Emily knows in her mind it can't be real, but a white silk scarf left behind one day makes her rethink this assumption. Spike argues with her as much as ever, and this confirms Emily's notion that Mr. Darcy is the perfect man.

Everything begins to unravel (including our beloved Pride and Prejudice!) as Emily continues on the tour, and Mr. Darcy pops up everywhere. Her relationship with Spike takes an interesting turn, along with other aspects of her life, and of those around her. Watching Emily trying to pick her way through the British culture, history and the drama in her own life lend for an amusing story.

I would recommend this book to any Jane Austen fan! It is not your typical fanfiction by any means, and it has several mysterious twists and turns which made for an enjoyable afternoon of reading! It is a story about love, and why the perfect man might be the not so perfect man. Read it!!