Natural Born Charmer

During an era when romantic comedies and sports heroes were considered antithetical, Susan Elizabeth Phillips became a star combining the two. This book is the latest jewel in her crown. Superstar quarterback Dean Robillard takes a road trip to figure out why his glamorous life is no longer making him happy. Along the way, he encounters artist Blue Bailey, wearing a beaver costume and trudging down the highway. She's bent on finding and murdering her ex-fiancé, and that's just the beginning. Anna Fields keeps things simple, letting Phillips's peerless comic dialogue and array of quirky characters, including Dean's aging rock-star father, alcoholic ex-groupie mother, and teenaged half-sister, do the heavy lifting. It works like a charm. C.E.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

November 6, 2006
In this latest installment in Phillips's romance series starring the Chicago Stars football players (This Heart of Mine
; Nobody's Baby but Mine
), the bestselling novelist delivers a love story wrought with delicious sexual tension and charged banter. When debonair starting quarterback Dean Robillard, on a soul-searching road trip after a serious shoulder injury, happens across Blue Bailey, walking alongside the road wearing a beaver costume, he stops to help her. Blue is far from a Barbie-esque football groupie, but broke and stranded, she needs both a ride and a job, and the football all-star (driving a sexy Aston Martin) poses an interesting opportunity. As the two travel from Colorado to Dean's new farmhouse in east Tennessee, Blue resists his advances, and both athlete and vagabond struggle with deeply rooted trust and familial issues that are soon exacerbated by the unexpected presence of Dean's mother at the farm. While the verbal sparring in this textbook case of opposites attracting feels stagy at first, the rough edges come together in an alluring way.

April 30, 2007
Veteran narrator Anna Fields (whose real name was Kate Fleming) died recently, and this audiobook—one of her final performances—shows just what a loss her passing is to the industry. This quirky romance full of eccentric, colorful characters is a perfect showcase for her talent. She creates distinctive, believable voices that bring the characters to life: the slow, deep drawl of football star Dean Robillard and the feisty, sarcastic tone of Blue Bailey, the down-on-her-luck wanderer he picks up on the road. There’s also the timid, innocent, anxious-to-please quaver of 11-year-old Riley, whose irresponsible rock star dad also fathered Dean, and the crotchety, elderly, Brooklyn-tinged voice of Nina, the mean-spirited old woman who owns the small town they all end up in. Field’s wonderful performance elevates the material and makes this romance even more entertaining on audio than it is in print. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 6).

Starred review from April 15, 2007
If this is truly the last of the Chicago Stars' stories, Phillips has gone out with a bang. Quarterback Dean Robillard is every bit a man, albeit one continually kept off balance by Blue Bailey, artist and fashion disaster. Blue doesn't want to be in love with Dean; he's a designer original and she's a discount special, but the verbal sparks they strike off one another light up the city. Anna Fields ignites the snappy dialog and animates the quirky characters. She adds a vulnerable 11-year-old, an aging rock musician, and a crotchety old woman who hates everyone until Blue appears. With the mere deepening of Fields's voice, Dean becomes Mr. Macho. This book was meant to be heard to appreciate fully both the humor and the redemption. Very highly recommended.Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Salt Lake City

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2006
After her ex-boyfriend Monty insists that she is the only person he ever loved, Blue Bailey packs up everything she has (which isn't much) and moves from Seattle to Colorado to be with him. But once Blue arrives, she discovers Monty has found love again with a younger, blonder new girlfriend. With few job options and practically no money, Blue thought she might be stuck in Colorado for a long time, until Dean Robillard drives through on his way to Tennessee. The last person Blue wants to ask for a favor is a way-too-gorgeous-for-his-own-good stranger who annoys her to no end. And who turns out to be the quarterback for the Chicago Stars. But Dean is Blue's only ticket out, even if it means she is stuck with him all the way to Tennessee. RITA Award-winner Phillips creates yet another classic romance in her loosely connected Chicago Stars series with this splendidly satisfying tale of love, family, and redemption. Generously seasoned with plenty of tart humor and snappy dialogue, and graced with a delightfully amusing pair of protagonists trying desperately not to fall in love, " Natural" " Born" " Charmer" is simply irresistible.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)