Review: Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber

I've spent years compiling a reading list composed of all kinds of things: classics that I feel I should read because they're classics; more intellectual, literary reads; all kinds of books recommended by magazines, other bloggers, websites, etc. But when it comes down to it, those more serious or intellectual or literary reads don't really do it for me. I like the junk food, the quick, light reads that don't take too much brain power: cozy mysteries, romances, lighter YA. Sure, sometimes I like my mysteries on the more challenging side (like the Mary Russell series by Laurie King), and I do like reading classics, too, and, yes, sometimes I'm even in the mood for a more serious work of modern LITERATURE. But for pure escapist, enjoyable reading? Give me a potboiler every time.

And that's why I love Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series. It's not what you would call intellectually challenging, but it is a hell of a lot of fun. I'm on my second book in the series, and it was much like the first: a little bit of romance, a little bit of cozy mystery, a little bit of the supernatural, and a really fast read for me. I read this second book in a day, much like the first one. That NEVER happens for me.

In this book, Lucy Valentine, a woman with a gift for finding lost objects which she has parlayed into a job reuniting lost loves for her family's matchmaking business, is settling into her slot in the family business. Her relationship with Sean Donahue is progressing slowly, but that's Lucy's fault. She's worried that the family love curse will destroy any relationship with Sean that she is able to build. But she wants to move faster. Meanwhile, she and best friend Marisol are trying to figure out if their other best friend, Em, has a cheating fiance', Lucy is tracking the whereabouts of a long lost love for a work assignment, and tracking a missing mother of two in order to help out the police.

It's another fast-moving episode in the life of Lucy Valentine and I couldn't read it fast enough. Five out of five Whatevers for what it is: an easy read that is hard to put down. Recommended for folks who enjoyed the first novel, fans of cozy mysteries, and romance with a tinge of the supernatural. This isn't a novel that will win any literary awards, but it took my mind off of life and made me happy for a day, and that's really all I ask out of my reading choices.

2012-12