FROM MY KEEPER SHELF

This one’s been on my keeper shelf for a while, but honestly, I don’t know how long it will stay there. I went through a pretty big SEP phase in 2004, glomming all the Chicago Stars series I could find. But I was unimpressed by “Natural Born Charmer” and hated “Nobody’s Baby But Mine” upon recent re-reading. My biggest problem with SEP is money related. Most of her characters have it, a lot of it – more than I’ll ever see in my lifetime, and I find it hard to relate. For example, I hate designer name dropping, I’ve opened and immediately closed books when the first page mentions the heroine’s Manolo Blahniks. However, MMIYC’s heroine Annabelle Granger is a mess, she drives her grandmother’s old boat of a car, her clothes are usually rumpled, can’t tame her hair, and she’s late for her first meeting with the hero, Heath Champion. He’s pretty slick and full of himself, but Annabelle “makes him human.” She’s pretty insecure because of a high-pressure family and an ex with gender identity issues. But they’re both likeable, if stubborn. They spend the whole book ignoring what’s staring them in the face – they belong together. Many of the characters from other Chicago Stars books make appearances, and the cutest one is Molly’s daughter who steals Heath’s precious phones. In fact when I first read this novel, I had no idea what a Blackberry was, but quickly learned, as phones (or lack of them) play a key role in the final pages of this novel. So do balloons, a bodyguard and a frightening blue-faced woman with a mission. SEP typically does well with secondary romances – so well they nearly overshadow the H/H. Portia and Bodie are probably more memorable than Annabelle and Heath - and equally deserving of happiness in love. If you’re already an SEP fan, I have no doubts you’ll like this book. If you have doubts about her, I’d still recommend this one.