Savannah Blues

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable summer reading fling
Review: Somewhere between airy chick lit, Janet Evanovich and Elizabeth Lowell, Savannah Blues is an easy read, perfect for the end of summer.

The characters are deliciously drawn here; I could easily see myself befriending Weezie or Bebe or even human tornado Merijoy. The love interest Daniel is not just gorgeous, he's also funny and sweet; the dirtbag ex-husband Tal is not just a piece of scum, he's also pathetic and whiny. Andrews has obvious fun with some of the names of her characters (twins Ross and Rachel, Tripp, Flip and Phipps), but their personalities are so earnestly described that you can almost imagine Savannah filled with such people in real life.

The loving attention to details of antiques is worked so seamlessly into the narrative that you don't realize you've learned some oddball tidbit about glassware or furniture until you've finished the book. Andrews also shows how much she enjoys the local cuisine, with descriptions of food and recipes that will make your mouth water - Daniel's seafood bisque in particular. The writing is superb, the plot moves pretty quickly, the dialogue is smart and funny and the characters are interesting and compelling. The romance is sweet and believable, moving along at a good pace with a nice backstory.

I'd have liked to give this book a 4.5 - the only thing holding it back from a 5 star rating is the utter implausibility of the police investigation into the murder (or non-investigation). While I don't expect total reality in my fiction reading, it struck me as strange that the author would choose to make the police so utterly uninterested in solving any of the crimes that were uncovered. It's a minor quibble, just one thing that nagged me long after I'd finished reading.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Love is Better the Second Time Around
Review: This is a story about divorce and revenge and really super antiques. Eloise "Weezie" Foley is an antiques picker who has to deal with a large estate sale, eccentric relatives, a hot ex-boyfriend, her ex-husband and his new girlfriend, who is living in a house that Weezie herself restored. As you can see there is a whole lot going on in this book that just goes to show you that love is sometimes better the second time around. I love this book and if you've got half a heart, you will too.