Finished 3-2-11, rating 4/5, romance, 385 pages, pub. 2011

Lucy, daughter of the former President of the United States, is preparing to walk down the aisle to marry Mr. Perfect, Ted Beaudine ,when her best friend, Meg voices doubts about the marriage.  Lucy takes them to heart and walks out on Ted at the church.  Meg is blamed by everyone and is asked to stay in the small Texas town for a few days to see if Lucy returns.  But not only is Meg completely broke and cut off from her family, she is also stranded in the town when everyone blames her for the heartbreak of their mayor, Ted.  Needless to say, life is not easy for Meg as the women of Wynette blacklist her and do everything possible to make her life miserable.  But Meg was having problems before getting stuck in town and it forces her to confront her roaming and aimless ways.

I’ve read every Susan Elizabeth Phillips romance.  They are fast, fun, sassy, and usually feature spunky heroines and alpha male heroes.  This is as good as her best and it features wonderful secondary characters who jump off the page.  Meg was born with a silver spoon and yet has done nothing with her life.  This is her story of growing up.  Ted was also born with a silver spoon and can do no wrong.  When these two are forced together they come to recognize the best and worst in each other.

This book will feel like hanging out with old friends, especially if you’ve read any of Phillip’s past books.  Ted showed up in two previous novels (Fancy Pants & Lady Be Good), Ted’s parents were the story of Fancy Pants.  Meg was in What I Did For Love and her parents story was told in Glitter Baby.  Lucy and her parents appeared in First Lady and Lady Be Good had four of the citizens of Wynette.  With all of that the book could have seemed crowded with characters, but it wasn’t.  They each had their own personalities and because they were fully developed characters it made this story so much richer.  You do not need to have read any of the other books to fully enjoy this one.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances, but I make the exception for Phillips and am never disappointed.

This is from my personal library.