Thursday, November 20, 2008

Smart Girls Think Twice-Cathie Linz

Smart Girls Think Twice
Cathie Linz
Berkley, Jan 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425226483

Boston sociologist Emma Riley returns to her hometown of Rock Creek, Pennsylvania to attend the weddings of her two sisters and to conduct some local research. However, coming home also places a strain on Emma as she is a victim of déjà vu when she is caught in the middle of her family battles, a role she is quite good at but prefers not to do anymore.

When dependable Emma meets rebel without a cause Jake, she is shocked how attracted she is to him. Jake feels likewise although he cannot understand why he wants the seemingly always mellowing too smart Emma; thus he refuses to act on his desire until he realizes she rejects him as being too rebellious, too much a hunk, and worse too stupid for her. Trying to prove he is her intellectual equal although he hides his secret agenda as to why he is in town from her, they fall in love. Yet each wonders how much they will need to compromise of their essence as they both understand how polar opposites they are in outlook.

Fascinatingly although the premise of lifestyle opposites falling in love has been done a zillion times, Cathie Linz keeps her delightful counterparty romance amusing mostly because of Emma’s dilemmas that make Jake feel somewhat like a snake as he rejects family roles. Whereas Emma does not like to make waves so she effortlessly returns to her expected family function of referee and arbitrator in time for dealing with wedding nonsense; Jake relishes making tsunamis to keep his family away. Smart sub-genre fans will not have to think twice about reading this humorous opposites attract romance.

Harriet Klausner

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