Perfectly Charming
By Liz Talley
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Jess Culpepper fell in love with Benton Mason in ninth grade
and married him as soon as she graduated from college. Six years later, Jess is
thinking about babies, but Benton is regretting his lack of experience and
acquiring what he missed with the help of a florist. Six months later, Jess is
eyeing her divorce papers and longing to escape Morning Glory, Mississippi,
where reminders of the last fourteen years of her life as part of Jess &
Benton lurk everywhere. A nursing job in Pensacola, Florida, is just the
opportunity she is seeking.
Ryan Reyes, a prepubescent nerd who graduated from high
school at fourteen, was in his former life known as The Brain at Morning Glory
High School where he served as the target of cruel tricks at the hands of
football star Benton Mason and nourished a crush on kind-hearted cheerleader
Jess Culpepper. Ryan went on to earn an MD and a PhD, but when he sold a
scaffolding for stem cells to a biomedical company, he left his Caltech lab and
reinvented himself as a laid-back owner of a fishing charter service and a
champion player on the beach scene in Pensacola.
Jess meets a drunken Ryan on the beach, but even after a
second meeting when he apologizes, she doesn’t recognize him. She may have
lingered in Ryan’s memory as a fantasy figure, but she never guessed that the
hapless nerd known as “Jess’s puppy” would turn into the kind of hottie of whom
women dream. Neither Jess nor Ryan is looking for a relationship, and thus they
agree to be friends who enjoy spending time together. Predictably, the
chemistry between them ensures that they are soon more than friends. Jess
returns to Morning Glory for Rosemary Reynolds’s wedding to Sal Genovese (Charmingly Yours), and Ryan reluctantly
accompanies her. The trip stirs old
memories and painful insecurities and threatens their developing relationship.
Can their second chance survive their pasts?
The second book in Liz Talley’s Morning Glory series is just
as charming as the first. I couldn’t resist the play on the charm bracelet that
links the books in the series, but the description is an accurate one. Jess and
Ryan are likeable, vulnerable, complicated characters who delight the reader.
The nerdy hero is a favorite trope, and this one, combined with a
self-makeover, is a refreshing take on the popular theme. The story blends
humor with a substantial emotional punch, and Talley’s voice is, as usual,
distinctive and appealing. The characters are young, but they are adults—and not
lightweights either. Perfectly Charming
is a winning mix of the funny and the poignant. I highly recommend it.
The book can be read as a standalone, but why deny yourself
the pleasure of reading both Charmingly Yours and Perfectly Charming? I’ve been
reading Liz Talley since her Boys of Bayou Bridge series five years ago, but I
think this is her best series yet. I eagerly await sweet Eden’s story.
~Janga
I don't know why I haven't read her books--they sound delightful! I'll be checking out both of the Morning Glory books. Great review!
ReplyDeleteTalley really is a terrific writer, Nikki. I hope you enjoy the Morning Glory books as much as I did.
DeleteI have never heard of this author before...thanks for introducing her to us will have to look for her books...
ReplyDeleteI love introducing authors whose books I love to new readers. I hope you will enjoy the books.
DeleteI love the charm bracelet on the cover. For that alone I would pick up the book to read it. Great review.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a great cover? Thanks for the kind words, Pamela.
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