Venus in Blue Jeans
By Meg Benjamin
Publisher: Entangled
Release Date: August 21, 2017
(Originally published by Samhain,
January 27, 2009)
Reviewed by Janga




Back in late 2009, I received a book from my friend and fellow Romance Vagabond Lindsay Faber, then an editor with Samhain, with a note saying she hoped I would enjoy the novel because she imagined how much I would like it when she acquired it. That book was Venus in Blue Jeans, the first book in Meg Benjamin’s Konigsburg series. I fell in love with the characters, the setting, and the author’s voice. A desire to read the next book in the series as soon as it was released rather than wait several months for a print edition pushed me to buy my first ereader. The Konigsburg books remain high on my list of all-time favorite contemporary romance series.
This is what I wrote in my Goodreads
review after that first reading:
Dialogue
so real and funny you'll wish you had overheard it at a local bar; Texas-size
H/H in Docia Kent and Cal Toleffson (although he's a transplant from the
Midwest), who have jobs they love that don't involve spies, corporations, or
law enforcement; a suspense plot that gives a new wag to an old dog without
detracting one iota from the romance; sexy love scenes that are hot and tender
and sometimes even humorous; and a small town filled with individuals, some of
them flawed and foolish--these are just some of the reasons I loved this book.
Venus in Blue Jeans is the first of Meg Benjamin's Konigsburg books. I'm thrilled that she has written/will be writing the other Toleffson brothers stories. Count me among those who will definitely be returning to Konigsburg.
Venus in Blue Jeans is the first of Meg Benjamin's Konigsburg books. I'm thrilled that she has written/will be writing the other Toleffson brothers stories. Count me among those who will definitely be returning to Konigsburg.
Although I love every book in the series,
after several rereads, the first book is still my favorite. Cal, a veterinarian,
and Docia, a bookstore owner, are likable and believable and anything but
cookie-cutter characters. Their attraction to one another is powerful and
immediate, but lust does not consume their every thought. They are adults who
are engaged with their work, find time for their friends, and deal competently
with life despite their insecurities and family issues. I’ll confess to a
shallower reason for loving Cal: Benjamin has Docia describe him as “Kris Kristofferson,
circa 1976.” The book also has a vividly drawn cast of secondary characters
including Nico, Docia’s cat with an attitude.

Between 2009 and 2014, Benjamin wrote
another seven Konigsberg novels. The three that immediately follow Venus in Blue Jeans feature the other
Toleffson brothers. In Wedding Bell Blues,
Pete Toleffson, a county attorney in Des Moines, is in Konigsburg to serve as
best man when he tangles with (in both senses of that idiom) Docia’s
maid-of-honor Janie Dupree. In Be My Baby,
“ninja accountant” Lars Toleffson, a recently divorced single father, moves to
Konigsburg and hires Jessamyn Carroll, a widow with an infant son, to take care
of Daisy, his precocious two-year-old. The combination proves a perfect
balance. Long Time Gone, the darkest
of the Toleffson stories, pairs oldest brother Erik, Konigsburg’s new police
chief, with Morgan Barrett, who is struggling to learn all she needs to know about
how to run her father’s winery. The suspense thread in this one is the most
effective in the quartet, and Erik and Morgan’s romance develops gradually and
convincingly.

When Samhain closed its doors at the end
of February 2016, this series became unavailable, but Entangled reissued the
full series last summer. If you like contemporary romance with characters who
feel like friends, a community with flaws and quirks and strengths, and prose
that is lucid, smart, and funny, I highly recommend these books. I’m betting
that if you begin with Venus in Blue
Jeans, you won’t be able to resist the rest of the series. Just writing
about them has me primed for another reread.
I will definitely be checking out this author. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI have read some of these books and fell in love with the stories. Definitely wonderful reads. Will have to search out the ones I have not read.
ReplyDeletesounds like a wonderful series!
ReplyDeletedenise
Y'all just keep doing it to me, don't ya? This sounds like a series I would like. Since I have lived in several small towns in Texas, I know that even the quirkiest characters would probably be based on facts. Thanks for another series, I need.
ReplyDeleteI will need to check this series out.
ReplyDeleteThese all sound vg. Thanks for input.
ReplyDelete