Book Review: The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The Deal: Just moments before she was supposed to get married, Lucy Jorik came to the realization that she couldn't go through with it. So she bolted on The Perfect Guy and ran off, leaving her family and friends in shock.

At thirty-one, Lucy has spent half her life people-pleasing her way through life, ever since she and her baby sister were adopted by a world-renowned journalist and a former president of the U.S. she has felt like she has to be perfect and never cause trouble to be deserving of the love her her adoptive parents. 

So, running out of the church and hitching a ride with a biker guy who claims his name is Panda - and who might or might not be friends with her would-be groom - was completely out of character for Lucy. Or was it?

The Biker Known as Panda isn't sure. He had figured he would give the runaway bride a ride for a while, and then scare her into going back to her perfect life. But the farther away they are from Wynette, Texas (where the wedding was supposed to happen), the harder it's for him to shake her off. 

My Thoughts: I'm just describing about the first half of the book because there are plenty of spoilers if I descrive the second half. 

Last year I read - and hated - Call Me Irresistible, so when The Great Escape came out, I had my doubts about reading it but I was intrigued enough to do it. 

The story itself is very meh, Lucy and Panda (and by god I think that's the worse name EVER) were okay, but I didn't see any chemistry between them, they both kept too much of themselves hidden for so long - from each other and from the world in general - that I couldn't see them falling in love. 

Aside from that, the book is so cluttered with other plot lines. There is one about this fitness guru that is a client of/friends with Panda, and one about Panda's past that has to do with one of his neighbors. And then the neighbor has her own story about her past and a kid she inherited. And so on and so forth. 

So, I read the whole book and then the only thought that came to mind was Meh. I don't even remember the names of the other characters - like the aforementioned neighbor whose story I found the most interesting.

I don't think this is Susan Elizabeth Phillips at her best, but it was better than Call Me Irresistible, and that ought to count for something, right?

1/3

Book Review: Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

I swear that hand looks like a foot. CREEPY

At First Sight: Meg Koranda was expected to arrive at her best friend Lucy's rehearsal diner and think that the groom was perfect and basically walked on water in his spare time, just like everyone else thinks. And he was perfect...perfectly wrong for Lucy who is so used to people pleasing that she hadn't stopped to think that he wasn't what she wanted. 

So, with spectacular bad timing, Lucy calls the wedding off and bolts, and Meg is left stuck in the groom's hometown (where everyone regards him as god), broke and homeless while Mr. Irresistible Ted Beudine goes out of his way to make her life hell. 

Ted is mad as hell and he's taking it all out on Meg, even if she's the only one who's telling things as they are, telling him he's not perfect, even if she's the one person who makes him feel almost normal again. 

Second Glance: There is one reason why I finished this book: because it was written by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and I figured that if someone could pull this off it was her. But I was sadly mistaken. The only likable characters in this story are Meg and Lucy. Everyone else is slightly cartoonish and Grade-A Assholes. 

Everyone blames Meg's for Lucy's choice because honestly no one can fathom why anyone would dump the self-righteous prig that Ted Beaudine is. I never got what was so irresistible about Ted, he's smart but lots of people are smart(er), and he was handsome but then apparently ever male in town was, he was the son of celebrities, so were Lucy and Meg. 

At one point Meg says she's tired of feeling unworthy, but she's the most normal, likable person around. Like I said before, everyone else is mounted on their high horses - and I do mean everyone else in town, these supposedly awesome characters coming back from other books - and acting downright mean and underhanded. They sucked 98% of the book, going as far as to pimp Meg to this rich old guy whom they all want to invest in the town and telling her she has to put up with it because she owes them and Ted.

There is this Star Wars quote that says something like "You're quick to believe the worst of the people you love, that's a problem." and it fits this book to a tee. Everyone who supposedly loves Meg turns against her, completely overlooking that to her Ted is a stranger she just met and that her loyalty lies with Lucy and that Lucy is a capable woman of 31, even Lucy's family fails to see this. And the one time Ted fails them, all the people who made him patron saint of his hometown are even more unforgiving on him -I almost felt sorry for him, but not quite because he's a jerk.

Bottom Line: Call Me Irresistible is not a book I can recommend much, other than if you already are a SEP fan and know she can do better. It's few redeeming points: Meg makes her own way, and she makes damn sure Ted grovels before the end - though it was too little groveling considering all the stuff he and the town put Meg through - and the fact that I'm interested enough to check out Lucy's upcoming story.

(because I can't give less, and because I did finish the book, much as I thought I wouldn't)

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

There are a few things that will compel you to pull over while driving on a highway and, as Dean Robillard- star quarterback for the Chicago Stars - finds out, a woman in a headless beaver costume is one of them. The woman turns out to be Blue Bailey who has just spotted her ex, the ex that convinced her to move from Seattle to Colorado before he dumped her, and wants revenge.

Before long, Dean finds himself driving from Colorado to his farmhouse in Tennessee with Blue tagging along because she doesn't really have anywhere else to go. Both Dean and Blue have their share of issues: Dean is recovering from a shoulder injury and he doesn't know if he will be as good as he was when he starts to play again, and he doesn't have the best relationship with either of his parents - his mother was a groupie/muse to various rocks stars, and his father is a rather famous rock star whom he barely knows. As for Blue, she has had to put up with her mother's restless campaign to protect everyone but her own daughter, and had to grow up going from one family to another over and over without much stability.

Blue and Dean are both very private for different reasons but, bottom line, neither of them wants to get hurt though they can't seem to stop arguing -and enjoying it, too - while they drive to Dean's farm, once there, who knows?

Well, I do... but if you want to find out you're going to have to read to find out but I can say that Natural Born Charmer is, in deed, a charmer of a book, full of quirky characters and family secrets.

Grade:

Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Anabelle Granger is the the underdog in her family, they love her but they also think she's a bit of a joke and a failure, mostly because, at the age of 31 she's running her Grandma Myrna's matchmaking business, while her successful older brothers are making it big one as an accountant and the other as a cardiologist. But, over all, Anabelle loves her life, she would like a little bit more stability, though, so she decides to take Myrna's business and make it big, and for that she needs a high profile bachelor to help her establish her reputation as a matchmaker.

Heath Champion is one of the best sports managers of the country, among his most important clients is Kevin Tucker (from This Heart of Mine), Heath is the ultimate overachiever, after climbing his way out of a trailer-park childhood and into professional success and lots of money; but he has decided he wants to get married soon (before he turns 35) so he decides to hire a matchmaking service to speed along the search, first he hires Portia Powers, of Power Matches, famous for her high profile clients but then Kevin's wife Molly asked him to interview Anabelle (who happens to be one of her best friends) and Heath ended up with two match makers competing to match him with the perfect woman for him.

Of course, nothing goes as planed and before long Heath finds himself enjoying Anabelle's company far more than what he enjoys his set up dates. And, in a secondary love story, Portia Powers finds herself attracted to Bodie - Heath's best friend and driver - while her Power Matches begins to crumble about her.

I had more than a few good laughs out of this book and I loved checking on some of the old characters from the Chicago Stars series like Molly and Kevin, Dan and Phoebe and a few of the others.

Loved the book

Grade:

1/2

This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Molly Somerville - a mildly successful children book author, creator of Daphne the Bunny and her friends, particularly Benny the Badger) had a long time and fruitless crush on Kevin Tucker, the star quarterback of her sister Phoebe's football team the Chicago Stars, but on a day when she was feeling restless, had just died her hair fire-engine red and Kevin nearly ran her over with his shinny red Ferrari, Molly swore out of her silly crush; only to have her restlessness carry her out to her sister's vacation home where Kevin happens to be, cooling off after Dan Calebow (Phoebe's husband and the team's president) slapped him with a ten-thousand dollar fine for reckless behavior.

After an ill-fated one night stand, Molly finds herself pregnant with Kevin's baby and so happy, feeling she finally has what she always wished for: a family of her own. Only that Kevin doesn't fit in anyway in the little family Molly's imagining, she even deliberately tells him she's not pregnant. But then, Dan and Phoebe - who in many ways are the only parents Molly has ever known - find not only that Molly's pregnant but also that Kevin is the father and they are none too happy about it.

Kevin sees Molly as an spoiled, slightly reckless football heiress - she's not -and has many commitment issues but he's also a PK (preacher's kid) and has a deep rooted set of conservative values that make him marry Molly even though that's the last thing he wants to do.

Only that, after their marriage, Molly miscarriages and slowly slides into depression - she lost her baby, her family, and her work is being questioned by an extremist anti-gay group - which eventually forces Kevin to do something about it -they are still married, after all.

Their journey, physically to a campground and B&B in northern Michigan - which Kevin inherited recently and where he spend many a summer as a kid - and emotionally - for Molly to come to terms with what she lost, her work and the family she does have; and for Kevin to take a look at his past as a PK and confront his only living blood-relative with whom he isn't close at all and his commitment issues - makes for my favorite Chicago Stars book so far.

I even give it Personal Favorite statues because of the best Epilogue I've read in years.

Grade

1/2

Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

After losing his wife and son two years ago, Gabriel Bonner isn't quite ready to re-join the living, but he keeps trying to pretend he is mostly to sooth his parents and brothers; so he takes up the project of re-opening The Pride of Carolina, a drive-in cinema in his hometown of Salvation, North Carolina, even though he really is a vet and he doesn't even care that much about the drive in.

Rachel Stone is tied to a painful scandal in Salvation's recent history, namely that of the T.V. evangelist G. Dwayne Snopes who died trying to escape the police after he had stolen several million dollars from the people who believed in him. Rachel was his wife, and the person G. Dwayne Snopes tried to blame for all the wrong he did (before he died he made several declarations saying his greedy wife had lead him to steal and stuff like that). So, naturally, everyone in Salvation hates Rachel, yet she's forced to return there after her life hits a dead end - as in she has no job, no place to live and she has a son she adores and whom she has to take care of -and she thinks there might be some answers for her in Salvation.

Luckily - or perhaps not so - the first person she runs into upon arriving to town is Gabriel, who doesn't even recognize her but who also doesn't want anything to do with her or her kid (like I said before, he's still pretty deep into his grief). But, eventually, he does offer her a job and finds her a place to stay because, even if he's bitter and has a dead wish a mile long, he's a good man deep down.

There were many things I liked about this book, I liked how it went slow, exploring both Rachel and Gabriel and why they came to be the way they are. I liked how Gabriel's return from the dead was slow and gradual, how he didn't magically fall in love with Rachel's son, Edward, in fact, for a good part of the book, Gabriel doesn't even like him - and he doesn't try to replace his son with Edward - and the feeling was pretty mutual. But, for me, the character I liked the most was Rachel, life was tough on her but she didn't became a bitter person, and there is no false pride about her; she does what she must to survive and keep her son with her the best she can.

There is also a nice secondary romance involving Gabriel's youngest brother Ethan and another character (whom I really liked too) as well as a visit from Grabriel's older brother Cal and his wife Jane (from Nobody's Baby But Mine).

Grade

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Super smart Dr Jane Darlington is a prominent physicist who just turned 34 and wants a baby desperately, however, having grown up a 'freak' because she was a child prodigy and her father didn't know what do do with her, Jane wants to have an average kid (and she means it in the best way) and she figures the best way is to find someone 'dumb' to father her baby (to even out her super smart genes). She doesn't want a relationship, she just wants a baby.

By accident, while talking to her neighbors' 20-something daughter Jodie, she sees in the TV an interview with Cal Bonner the Chicago Stars' legendary quarterback who's mocking his interviewer by acting dumb. In a fit of inspiration, Jane decides that's the guy she wants to father her baby and it so happens that Jodie knows Cal and a bunch of other players who, coincidentally, want to get Cal a 'real classy hooker' for his 36th birthday and Jodie convinces Jane that posing as said hooker is her best chance to get to Cal.

Now, Cal isn't having the best year of his life, his sister-in-law and nephew died recently and his brother Gabriel is in despair; Cal knows his football career can't last much longer and he has no idea of what he's going to do once his career is over and he also has Kevin Tucker - the team's other quarterback - breathing down his neck.

Jane -posing (badly) as a hooker - and Cal do met twice and Jane does end up pregnant and Cal ends up finding out and marries Jane - with the intention of divorcing after the baby is born - and takes her to Salvation, North Carolina (his hometown) so their marriage seems real to the press.

With this book I found things that I did like and others that I didn't like but it was pretty good over all, I liked the sub plot surrounding Cal's parents and I liked Jane's brilliance about somethings and complete ignorance about others. Cal was, at times, harder to like but he ended up in the plus side of things by the end. All in all, it was a rather sweet book.

Grade:

2/3

Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Gracie Snow thinks working for Windmill productions it's her ticket out of her boring life but her world gets turned upside down when her first assignment as a production assistant is to fetch former NFL star Bobby Tom Denton from his house in Chicago where he has holed up and is not answering calls from Gracie's new boss.

Bobby Tom is a football star - he played for the Chicago Stars in It Had To Be You - forced to retire too soon after a bad knee injury and now is at lost at what do to with his life, he has money and women and for a while he thought making a movie would be exciting but now he's stalling about that particular thing. He did plan on showing up at Telarosa, Texas - his home town previously known as Heaven - for filming he just isn't sure when and he certainly isn't going to be 'escorted' by Gracie Snow.

But then, he can't shake Gracie and they end up going together to Telarosa where Gracie ends up working as Bobby Tom's personal assistant and his sham fiancée along the way.

Again, good characters, decent plot but it didn't finish charming me. I did like it better than It Had To Be You but only a little bit. At times I grew annoyed with Bobby Tom and at times with Gracie but over all it was good.

Grade

1/2

It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Phoebe Somerville - a beautiful New York girl, notorious for some paintings a famous Spanish painter did of her many years ago - is not quite ready to return to Chicago for her father's funeral. A father who neglected and humiliated and basically disown her years ago but who left her two things: custody of her little half sister Molly and the Chicago Stars football team.

Phoebe doesn't want anything to do with the team, she kind of hates it just as she hated her father and cousin - both of them Deserve to be hated Big Time - but she agrees to return to Chicago and be in charge for a while after the Stars' coach Dan Calebow convinces her to do so, letting her know that if the Stars flunk a lot of people will lose their job.

Phoebe and Dan don't like each other, they think they each represent what they hate most about the opposite gender. But they turn out to have more in common than what they first suspected.

For me this book was alright, I kind of liked Phoebe and I kind of liked Dan and the book was kind of interesting but it never finished clicking with me. And I really disliked Dan's relationship with his ex-wife. But I liked Molly and the other characters in the surroundings.

Grade:

Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Sugar Beth Carey, the prodigal daughter of Parrish, Mississippi has returned even though she swore she never would. Fifteen years ago she had dumped her boyfriend Ryan, her best friends, she had tormented Winnie Davies - who happened to be her half sister, the one her father actually loved - and had driven Colin Byrne out of town with a spiteful lie.

Back then Sugar Beth had been the most beautiful, the most dazzling and powerful girl in town, arguably, she was also the cruelest; but after three marriages (two of which were total failures, and a last one that had been actually good until her husband had died on her), losing all of her money and at times herself, she has come back to her hometown with one purpose in mind: To find a mythical painting a famous artist once gave her aunt - and which her aunt had willed to her without actually saying where it was or if it really existed.

The thing is, no one wants her around, still, she needs that painting and the money it would bring, so she sticks it out, which brings her into collision course with Colin Byrne a Brit who had come to Parrish once as a 22 year old high school teacher and whom she had driven out of town shortly after in a web of lies and deceit she had concocted to cover herself and her mistakes. Now, Colin is 37, rich and successful having fulfilled his dream of becoming a writer, he even owns Sugar Beth's former castle, a house simply known as Frenchaman's Bride, and he's wants revenge.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has does remarkably with this book, Sugar Beth is not a perfect heroine, she's sarcastic and once upon a time she had been right down mean, but by the time the story starts she has changed after learning her lessons the hard way; making that transformation believable while keeping Sugar Beth true to character is something at which I am in awe. I liked Sugar Beth right from the start, and I rooted for her always, even as I learn that spiteful things she had done.

Colin is not an easy hero to write, he's haughty and uses funny words and has a great potential to be a pompus ass, yet, he winds up being more sexy than anything else. Smart and kind, a true prince charming int he most romantic of ways.

The supportive cast of character is just as good, Winnie and Ryan, their daughter Gigi, the town's people; they all nicely frame this story of redemptions - I'm saying it plural 'cause it's not only Sugar Beth who has made or makes mistakes, but I'm leaving it at that.

Like I said, it is a wonderful book.

Grade: