Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fluffy Book Review

A couple of months ago, I wrote about my current love for Fluffy Books. For now, I'm through with deep thinking and literary analysis and all that jazz.

This summer has only reinforced my love affair with fluff.

After long days of doing everything in my power to keep my sanity following a toddler around the playground, encouraging a 3 1/2 year old to just stick her face in the water already, washing the same dishes in the sink over and over, and counting down the minutes until their bedtime, I just wanted to fall into a stupor at the end of the day and float away.

Mary Kay Andrews' The Fixer Upper provided some much needed, light-hearted escapism to end a few of those days on a fun note. I totally judge a book by its cover, and I liked the heroine's shoes in the photo. The pink siding on the house didn't hurt. I like pink. She had me at "Manolo."

When I would normally just plop into a chair and veg out while catching up with TiVo, I found myself eagerly reaching for my copy of The Fixer Upper each night after the girls were in bed. I'll even admit to letting them trash the family room one afternoon while I finished a chapter. Andrews combines a likeable (though naive) heroine with an amusing plot and an absolutely hilarious group of supporting characters.

Without giving anything important away, the story follows Dempsey, whose life in Washington DC is in shambles after a major scandal with her job erupts. Dempsey flees to Guthrie, Georgia, where she undertakes remodeling an old, dilapidated home that her family inherited. Hilarity ensues.

As always, Andrews sneaks a little mystery into the story, but I appreciated that it didn't overtake the plot. The romance tends to be a bit predictable, but the characters in Dempsey's new Georgia life are so colorful that I could forgive that shortcoming. As always I love the way Andrews weaves her love of thrifting and interior design into the story. Her detailed description of the restoration process of Dempsey's new home was as easy to picture as reading a Better Homes and Gardens article.

I give this one 4 out of 5 Fluffy stars.

Mary Kay Andrews proves that you can combine a great plot, intriguing characters, and some real FUN to create a book that keeps the reader interested. Good chick lit at its finest! I can cross this one off of my summer to-do list.

Next up?

Celia Rivenbark's Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank

The cover is not as pretty as The Fixer Upper, but the title is catchy enough to make my list.

{What are you reading?}

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16 comments:

  1. I am reading a diet book, sigh........I'd love to read this; you make it sound so fun, and I do love MKA.....

    Suzanne

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  2. I'll admit I love fluffy books, too. Have you read Holly's Inbox yet? I finished it a few weeks ago and really loved it. You learn about Holly by reading the e-mails she gets and sends out. It was really cute.

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  3. Okay...you should totally do book reviews for a living!

    Loved the way this was written!

    I'm doing "Read with Girlfriends" a bloggy book club. You can click the button on my sidebar if you're interested...I have to swing over there and see what the book for September is...I skipped August's pick.

    Have an awesome day!

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  4. I do like some fluff from time to time! This one sounds good, and I actually looked up the skanky six yr old...I wasn't sure if it was fiction or a scathing commentary on the modern mom.

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  5. "She had me at Manolo." too funny!
    Sounds fun! I would be interested to read the next book too.

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  6. Thank you, thank you, thank you...for admitting you love fluff. Now, I can admit that I LOVE it too. LOL.

    It is nice to escape in some 'mindless' reading once in awhile. The only problem I have is that when I do, I end up staying up all night to finish it. That isn't a good idea with 4 kids!

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  7. Can't wait to read this one! I read her book "Hissy Fit", it was great, and being from Georgia as I am.......well I could relate!
    I call them my 'beach reads'!
    Love your blog, gonna have to bookmark it!
    Sally

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  8. No spam here, just a heartfelt thanks for reading THE FIXER UPPER and spreading the bloglove! I really appreciate it when busy young moms take the time for themselves to read and enjoy. All my best, MKA

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  9. Amanda, surely that really IS MKA!!! aren't you sumpthin!!????? Wahoo! way to go....and this really WAS a well written review! ;-)

    Suzanne

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  10. A visit from MKA?! How cool is that! This really does look great, I'll have to pick it up.
    Speaking of fluff- anybody else have a rediculous and completely inappropriate crush on a certain fictitious teenaged vampire?

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  11. Just read this on fantabulously frugal's blog, so it seems to really be her....
    ******
    FYI - did you know that most companies set up Google Alerts for themselves? If you write a blog post about, say, Michael Kors, there's a good chance someone in the Michael Kors empire will see/read what it is you wrote. Hence this new Twitter follower on the same day I wrote about the VW sale at Kohl's.
    It's kind of crazy how small the world seems sometimes.

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  12. Sounds like a good read. I absolutely LOVED Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank, so I hope you enjoy it, too!

    And VERY cool if that was actually MKA! How fun!

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  13. you're going to LOVE SDY6YOLAS. it's hysterical. and soooo true.

    i love that your author commented. way cool. first southern living and now a real, live published author? can i get your autograph next time i see you? (i don't actually think i'm kidding, either.)

    and to answer the aforementioned crush on a fictitious teen vamp? nope- my crush is (illegally) on a wolf. ;0)

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  14. I read the The Fixer Upper while at the beach for a week this summer and I also loved it. A great no-think book! Can't wait to read your review on The Skank (sounds hilarious!)

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  15. I'll have to check this one out....I've read a couple of her books and really liked them. At this stage in my life with two small children, these are the perfect kinds of books — fun reads, good characters, and an escape from real life.

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  16. Rivenbark's books is hilarious. The title caught me too. I didn't care that much for Fixer Upper, although I adore all of her other stuff..this one just didn't do it for me. I read a lot of scifi...

    Suzann Ledbetter is great, Dorothy Gilman, Janet Evanovich...

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