Tall, Dark and Difficult (Special Edition, 1414)

Rating:
Summary: NICE EASY READING STORY!
Review: The story of Major Hollis "Griff" Griffin was a nice easy reading story.
Rose Davenport brought into play a nice humor in helping Griff find the missing birds to his Devora's kind of pricey collection. Of course she thought that Griff was doing it out of love for Devora.

I loved the description of Rose's nine foot length of discarded hydrangeas that Griff felt compelled to buy. The arrangement was the last in a long line of rescued castoffs from which she made her living. And she wasn't thrilled at meeting Griff at that period in her life. Her best friend, MaryAnn McShane had other ideas for Rose. Rose needed a man.

There was humor in Griff assuming that Rose had a hot "Saturday Night Arrangement" for her refusal to go out with him and then finding out that she spent the evening with the Willow Haven group of retired frinds ended up giving him quite a lift emotionally.

Imagine Griff's surprise at finding out that Rose was right about his Aunt Devora and "Uncle Gus", they had been in love for forty some years and remained true to one another. It was wonderful and heartwarming, the many little stories that Gus told Griff about Devora.

A nice summer read -- great, humorous, tantilizing characters but I was left with the feeling that Rose didn't have a lot of time left to add to Devora's line. Ah well, another time - another story. --M

Rating:
Summary: Terrific summer reading! -- Very highly recommended
Review: Two years ago when he heard the terms of his eccentric aunt's will, Major Hollis "Griff" Griffen was riding high and was simply amused. Now Griff is wounded, internally and externally, drinking beer in the family home built by his aunt's grandfather. Due to a stipulation of his aunt's will, Griff can't sell any of the contents or property until he completes his aunt's porcelain bird collection and donates it to the state's Audubon Society. The only lead to locating glass birds that his aunt left was a name: Rose Davenport, who he quickly comes to believe is "a flaky, clutter collecting, overly friendly junk addict."

Rose has a unique talent for transforming rescued castoffs into treasures. Griff, however, challenges even her skill. Surly, demanding, and driven, Griff is too much like her ex-husband. She also thinks of him as arrogant and tactless, easily recognizing that this aviation junkie does not belong in her shop. She does eventually agree to allow him to hire her to help locate the missing birds in his collection because he presents himself as completing this task because of his aunt's dying wish. Truthfully, he's only motivated to fill the condition of the will that prevents him from selling the family home and moving on. Rose won't be pleased when she learns his true motive.

Author Patricia Coughlin creates an amusing, heart warming romance with TALL, DARK AND DIFFICULT. The hero is certainly every bit of the expected difficult, but he's also wounded beneath the bravo, which successfully endears him to the reader. Rose's quirky good humor and offbeat love of the eclectic provides a perfect counterpart, resulting in balanced, rich characterization. Combined with a fun, light plot, TALL, DARK AND DIFFICULT makes for perfect summer reading. Very highly recommended.