This is the story of a girl who goes home. Well she goes to the home she grew up in. Her parents are no longer there and the house is falling down and it is also in default. But apart from that everything is hunky dory. Oh well not quite, she is also still reeling a little from a divorce in which she lost not only a philandering husband but also her beloved dog. So our heroine, Kate, needs a job, needs to fix up her home and sort herself out emotionally. I suppose her old home town is the place to do that. We start the book with her looking for a job which can at least support her home rehabilitation habit. She is determined and resourceful and catches the eye of her prospective employer. He is a local lad who has done well in the hospitality industry by incorporating his love of craft beer and the local summer crowd that shows up each year.

She is hired but not only to do fill in jobs wherever she is needed around the brewery but also to do some snooping. Matt, the proprietor has been having some issues with accidents and incidents that seem a little more than random. They don’t seem full on sabotage at this point but he is beginning to get worried as the financial drain is beginning to show. Matt offers Kate a financial bonus if she can catch the person who is doing these things and this money will help her get her home out of the hole and hopefully get it ready to turn it into a bed and breakfast by the summer.

As you have probably ascertained by the title, these two like each other. Well it is more like pure lust at the beginning but neither of them can afford to be in a relationship at this time so they try to cool it. Because this is a small town, they run into each other at different places including charity functions and end up just going with it and letting people talk – which they are going to do anyway! Kate meets Matt’s family and is immediately comfortable with them too. This may just be harder to play along than they originally thought.

The story progresses with the incidences increasing and also an attempted murder which ups the ante considerably. This is a fun and completely predictable story which would be labeled a beach read if this were the summer. I like reading Evanovich and this was a pleasant change of pace from her Stephanie Plum stories. Enjoy with a glass of wine and your feet up.

So can Ms. Plum get any sillier? The beginning of this book starts with somewhat of a mystery. Apparently Stephanie has been to Hawaii and Ranger was there. Hmmm. But then we find out she ran away, and went home to New Jersey and won’t tell anyone any details. So we are left in the dark. Well we find out eventually but she definitely keeps quiet for a long time, much to the chagrin of Lula who tries to get any information out in any way possible. This book has the usual FTAs which our bounty hunter extraordinaire has to find and they are just as incredulous as ever. She actually has one who is morbidly obese but he still manages to not only get away from Stephanie and Lula but also to steal her car. Then we get to her love life and she is not speaking to either of her beaus. We don’t find that out for a while either but it is pretty interesting as Evanovich writes exactly what Stephanie is thinking most of the time and it is pretty messed up.

There is a reason this series is consistently in the top 10 of the best seller list. They are fun, quick reads which have a light story line that is easy to follow. Meanwhile back at the ranch or the home she grew up in, her mother is still trying to keep the peace along with great meals daily. Her father still grunts every time any of the women say anything and her grandmother has a new friend who is into potions including love potion. Grandmother thinks it is time for Stephanie to pick a man and settle down and she has just the potion for making that decision.

As you can imagine what ensues is hilarious and ridiculous all at once. Stephanie is once again taken to viewings at the local undertakers with her grandmother as well. It is the best entertainment in town apparently but this one is of interest to Stephanie too. They are trying to gather information about someone and actually attend a service. Grandma Mazur is used to crashing funerals so this is no big deal, in fact she relishes it. What a bunch of nutters!

As I write this the film based on the first book about Ms. Plum is due to be released soon and I am looking forward to seeing how well they do with that. Stephanie’s shoes aren’t that hard to fill but I think we all have an idea of how she looks and behaves and hopefully we won’t be disappointed with the way she is portrayed. Regardless report will follow the movie and we can dish about that.