The Rocky Road to Romance

This novel is like a Stephanie Plum novel in boudoir-pink syrup. The lovable goofball here is Daisy Adams, a girl with so many jobs that she doesn't have time to have her handsome, rich, and otherwise perfect boss, Steve Cross, fall in love with her. The eccentric sidekick is Daisy's gun-toting octogenarian bodyguard. (Daisy keeps accidentally catching crooks who vow revenge.) The suspense is whether she'll slow down enough to let Mr. Perfect marry her. It's all PG-13, with some sex, nudity, and madcap violence but no bad language. C.J. Critt is suitably merry in portraying this gallery of kooks. The overall effect: Bridget Jones meets Laurel and Hardy and takes her clothes off. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine