Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage

March 21, 2011
Kramer's crisp, witty writing is unfortunately undermined by a straw-man villain in the third Impossible Bachelors Regency romance (after Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right). Runaway wife Jilly Jones set up Hodgepodge, a bookstore, on London's Dreare Street with a trusted but eccentric family friend. Dreare lives up to its name: its inhabitants suffer bad luck, and her handsome neighbor, Capt. Stephen Arrow, is a rowdy rascal. Stephen is attempting to sell his ramshackle inherited house despite an infestation of boorish relatives. When a lawyer shows up and announces that all of Dreare Street is in arrears, the colorful inhabitants come together in a hilariously terrible plan to save the day. The delightful romance and comedy-of-errors feel only falter when Jilly's husband shows up and his paper-thin subplot briefly takes center stage.

Starred review from April 1, 2011
Jilly Jones new neighbor is ruining her business. Seriously, how on earth can Jilly be expected to run a respectable bookshop if Captain Stephen Arrow keeps throwing wild parties? Jilly can understand that after returning home from his final voyage for the Royal Navy, the newly retired Stephen might wish to celebrate; but, really, enough is enough! As far as Stephen is concerned, Jilly, a definite bluestocking with absolutely no sense of humor, could do with attending a wild party or two. Of course, Stephen never actually expects Jilly to accept an invitation to one of his soirees, nor can he imagine ever falling for a lady like her. Wonderfully quirky characters, a devilishly clever plot, and writing that is both laugh-out-loud funny and sweetly romantic all add up to a completely captivating Regency historical from one of the romance genres most dazzling new authors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)