Synopsis:
DEAR MAUDIE, What should I do about my philandering husband? My
daughter’s flirty boyfriend? My boring love life? Emmy Bakersfield,
aka “Maudie”, dealt with such questions every day. Her most
intriguing correspondent wanted to know how to woo the woman he'd
loved since college, even thought she thought of him only as a
friend.
Emmy
tried to help. “Send roses,” she said – but she had her own
problems. The publicity for her first book was being handled by her
old college buddy Whit Hayes, but she felt differently about Whit
now. If only he'd stop deluging her with roses!
Stats
for my copy: Mass
market paperback, published by Silhouette Books, 1985; 186 pages;
given to me by a BookCrossing member.
My
thoughts: Maude
Edith Bakersfield, known as “Maudie” to the readers of her
popular advice column, and Emmy to her friends, is about to embark on
a publicity tour for her new book. The company that syndicates her
column has hired a PR firm to represent her, and to Emmy's dismay one
of the firm's partners is Whit Hayes. Whit was friends with Emmy's
husband, Jerry, in college, and while Emmy and Whit worked together
on the yearbook, after college she only saw him on occasion, such as
when he and Jerry would golf together. Jerry nearly managed Emmy's
career into the ground, and even now that they are divorced he is
still a huge thorn in her side, trying to prevent her from selling
her home unless he gets a cut of the profits. Emmy doesn’t dislike
Whit, but she doesn't want Jerry learning about her business through
his friend. She knows how men gossip!
Whit
on the other hand is eager to get close to Emmy, having been enamored
of her since college. He is determined to show Emmy that she can
trust him, and to win her heart, even though he hasn't the first clue
how to go about doing so.
Meanwhile,
Emmy's newest letter writer, “Torch Carrier”, has asked her for
advice on how to woo a woman he had a crush on in college. Emmy is so
intrigued with T.C., as she and her assistant refer to him, that she
quickly answers each letter and marks it “urgent' so it will be
published asap. But each response from her elicits a new letter from
T.C., as her advice keeps failing or backfiring (especially the
advice involving roses!)
This
was a fun and enjoyable read. Each chapter opens with a new letter
from Torch Carrier, and I was eager to find out what advice Emmy
would unknowingly give Whit through her column. And I don't think
that's a spoiler, because I knew right off the bat that Whit was
T.C., even though it took Emmy much longer to figure it out. I'd not
read this author before, but I like her writing – flowing,
descriptive, crisp and amusing dialogue, distinctive characters. And
a hero who loves his cat and worries and fusses over her when she
becomes a mama!
Favorite
passage:
She opened her eyes wide. “And the way he looked at you!”
“What look?”
“Right before he left,” she explained breathlessly. “He gave you a look you could have poured over a waffle.” (pg. 43)
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