Lauren Holbrook has decided to add a side career to her regular job as a photographer: matchmaking for the romantically challenged. After successfully hitching her sister and her new husband, Lauren decides to sets out to strike sparks between her carefree singles' pastor, Nick, and her neurotic, obsessive compulsive coworker, Ruby. However, Lauren finds that certain combinations of people results in explosions, rather than sparks, and her foolproof plan begins to unravel. As Lauren is faced with disaster after romantic disaster, will she rethink her matchmaking role as well as her vow to her father to remain single forever?
My Review:
I read this book while sitting on the beach in Florida! Hard to believe I was even in Florida as I look outside now at our snowy Wisconsin landscape.
Anyway, this was a wonderful book. I love Lauren (or Laurie as she goes by)! She is quirky and clumsy and honest. The author has a great voice for her and a is really good at dialog. I loved the banters between Laurie and her friends and family. Laurie is all about helping her friends find someone and she uses unconventional means to bring them together. This results in some crazy adventures and puts her in some funny predicaments. But Laurie has a way of handling the craziness with sunshine and determination. How can you not love her? She reminds me of my wonderful sister-in-law who always expects life to just go her way and most of the time it does!
Mangum has a wonderful way of sprinkling all kinds of tidbits about Laurie throughout the story with phrases like, "Here's what I love" followed by some funny thing that Laurie loves. Laurie is a shameless coffee and chocolate lover and her friends feed into this by supplying her with endless supplies of both. The funny thing is, I want to take her out for coffee and something chocolate just to watch her enjoy it with that sunny appreciation too! She's a crazy meddler, but you can't help but love her in spite of it! How can you resist her?
This wonderful book is part of my Valentine's giveaway that ends tomorrow!
I give this book my sunny day rating and say bring on the shades because reading about Laurie puts sunshine in your heart too!