Lovesick

May 25, 2009
In his first novel, writer and television producer Wellen (author of the memoir Barman
) presents an uncommon love story; having already won the heart of his dream girl, college dropout Andy Altman now faces the hard part, winning the blessing of her crotchety father, Gregory Day, who also happens to be Andy's boss. After moving back to his hometown, Andy takes a job at the pharmacy and finds a great mentor in Gregory, the old pharmacist, until Gregory finds out that Andy's dating his daughter, Paige. Wellen balances a wacky plot about an illicit senior citizen drug ring with heartfelt coming-of-age storytelling and complicated family drama. Andy is endearingly dorky (charts and drawings of his amateur inventions are scattered throughout), and his close-to-cloying romance with Paige is saved by realistic roadblocks. A mid-book twist takes the story down an unexpectedly melancholy path, but Wellen pulls off a satisfying romantic conclusion. Part mystery, part romance and part screwball comedy, this novel keeps its varied elements from spinning out of control with a fresh, confident voice.

June 1, 2009
A pharmacy assistant juggles wedding plans, demanding customers and potential insurance fraud.

Smart, well-meaning Andy has a reputation as a bit of a bumbler. The prototypes for his inventions (like detachable heels for women's shoes) tend not to work very well, and he never finished his pharmacy training, which leaves him working as a mere assistant at an independent pharmacy in Crockett, his childhood hometown 20 miles northeast of San Francisco. Moreover, his boss is the father of his fiance, and Gregory appears to think little of Andy as husband fodder. When Gregory dies, his blessing for the nuptials not explicitly denied but not exactly given either, Andy has to deal with his own neurotic feelings about the nuptials as well as the pharmacy's financial disarray. Gregory died with plenty of debt; he let many customers run up sizable tabs; and his habit of mixing legit pills with doctor's samples risks the ire of Blue Cross. Memoirist Wellen (Barman, 2003) constructs his debut novel with a handful of stock rom-com characters: Paige, the sweet fiance; her greedy sister Lara, who distrusts Andy; Sid, an old friend of Gregory who dispenses sage wisdom at the appropriate plot points; and Brianna, the heavy from the big corporation who threatens to upend Andy and Paige's potentially idyllic future in Crockett. Wellen adds a few new twists to a familiar tale; he knows his way around the technical details of pharmaceutical compounding and patent law, adding both elements to the narrative with a light touch. But he's less surefooted when it comes to giving color to Andy's character, and the frothy tone and slapstick set pieces all but erase the tension that should arise from the possible derailment of Andy and Paige's forthcoming nuptials. Though a split is part of the plot, the story is so easygoing it's hard to worry much about the eventual outcome.

Fluff with some smarts but not much drama.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 1, 2009
Pharmacists assistant Andy Altman has a testy relationship with Gregory, his boss at Days Pharmacy. Unfortunately Gregory is also his girlfriend Paiges father, and Andy needs his blessing to propose. After consulting with his octogenarian best friend, Sid, Andy devises a plan to win over both Gregory and his daughter. But before he can make it work, Gregory drops dead. Left to sort out the shops business records, Andy discovers Gregory was illegally distributing pills to save elderly customers money. Saddled with debt, needy customers, and the looming wedding, Andy must call on Sid and the other elderly scofflaws to help him safely end the scheme and pull off his wedding. This debut novel is almost too quirky, but Wellen makes it work with a healthy dose of humor and a little romance. Readers will enjoy its neurotic but likable protagonist and inevitable yet satisfying happy ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)