Call Me Irresistible

May 30, 2011
Phillips again delights her readers by moving on to the next generation of the characters she created in Glitter Baby, Fancy Pants, and First Lady. The handsome, personable, practically perfect Ted Baudine sees his next step is to take an equally perfect bride: the daughter of a former president of the U.S. His plans are thrown into tumult when the maid-of-honor, spoiled, flighty Meg Karanda, persuades the bride-to-be to jilt the groom. Meg earns the animosity of the town, and gradually she and Ted fall in love. Shannon Cochran gives a good performance creating the voices of the characters that Phillips describes so clearly. Slow Texas drawls and clipped British accents are equally believable, as are the variety of different personalities in strong, decisive women and big, powerful men. Cochran brings the wonderful romance to life. A Morrow hardcover.

December 1, 2010

It goes without saying that each of Phillips's books is The One that fans have been waiting for, but in this case, it's truer than ever. Uniting characters from a number of her past novels, Phillips serves up a funny, steamy, blood pressure-spiking heart-wringer. "Mr. Perfect" Ted Beaudine, genius inventor and adored mayor of tiny Wynette, TX, is paired with "Miz Screw Up" Meg Koranda, honest, proud, outspoken, and reckless. They work their way from loathing through lust to love--despite a pitiless town filled with people who will do anything to keep that from happening. From the minute Meg walks into town and her best friend, Lucy Jorik, walks out on her wedding to Ted, Meg's been a pariah. While all ends well, Meg's path to acceptance is rocky, to say the least--and in the hands of an exceptional writer like Phillips, readers feel every sharp stone. VERDICT Phillips has the ability to drill down into her characters' motivations, while conveying their stories with sensitivity and laugh-out-loud humor. Consistently remarkable, she's done it again; Irresistible is stunning. Phillips (What I Did for Love) lives in the Chicago area.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010

A spoiled California girl becomes a pariah when she sabotages her best friend's wedding.

The mayor and premier citizen of Wynette, Texas, is about to marry the daughter of the nation's first woman president. Bride-to-be Lucy's pre-wedding jitters are exacerbated when her maid of honor, Meg, daughter of Hollywood A-listers, suggests that if the groom-to-be, Ted Beaudine, seems too perfect to be true, he probably is. When Lucy jilts Ted at the altar, the entire town of Wynette turns against Meg. Since her parents, exasperated with Meg's free-spending ways, have cut her off, she's so broke she can't pay her hotel bill. Hotel owner Birdie is one of a cadre of females who have it in for Meg either because they're allies of Ted's formidable mother Francesca, or because they want Ted for themselves, or both. Birdie forces Meg to work off her bill as an underpaid chambermaid. Stuck in Wynette until she can amass enough money to leave, Meg learns that Ted is not as crushed by Lucy's departure as he appears. In fact, his smoldering glances at Meg may hint at much more than anger. Once her indentured servitude at the hotel ends, Meg crashes at a deserted church and lands a job at the local country club. She caddies for Ted and his golf-star father, who are hoping to woo multi-millionaire plumbing magnate Spence to develop a new "environmentally green" golf course that will boost Wynette's sagging economy. Spence feigns enthusiasm, but his cooperation really depends on whether Meg becomes his mistress. She dodges Spence by telling him she's in love with Ted, which is a lie, until...it's not. Ted demonstrates conclusively that in addition to being impossibly handsome and buff, he's the perfect lover. Too perfect. Phillips' witty dialogue and supple prose are outgunned by an overabundance of characters (the acid-tongued whine-ettes who ostracize Meg are particularly hard to keep straight) and an overly complex plot.

A novel that's ponderous where it should be frothy.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 15, 2010
Phillips crafts a laugh-out-loud and romantic story with panache that mostly makes up for some gaping plot holes. Onetime PGA star and smalltown mayor Ted Beaudine (met in 2005's Fancy Pants) is about to marry Lucy Jorik, the daughter of a former president, when she's persuaded to break it off by her best friend, Meg Koranda (2008's Glitter Baby), the aimless daughter of Hollywood royalty. Everyone in Wynette, Tex., loves Ted, but Meg feels Lucy deserves a passionate partner, not a god of self-control. After the disaster of calling off the wedding at the last minute, Meg's parents cut her off, stranding her in the hostile town. As Meg finds her own path and helps Ted discover his heart, the townspeople stoutly (and hilariously) defend their golden boy. However, some readers may not appreciate that Meg's good deed is punished so often and severely en route to happiness.

Starred review from December 15, 2010
As far as Meg Koranda can tell, everyone thinks Ted Beaudine is totally perfect. But Meg can tell that Ted is totally wrong for her best friend, Lucy Jorik. Sure, Ted might be the sweetest, smartest, sexiest man in the world, but the minute Meg arrives in Wynette, Texas, she realizes Lucy doesnt love Ted. Of course, there is no way Lucy is going to disappoint her family and friends by dumping the perfect man. Which means the wedding is on, until the day of the ceremony when Lucy leaves Ted standing at the altar. Now everyone in Wynette blames Meg for breaking up the perfect couple. Meg has two choices: get out of town or be run out of it by an angry mob armed with torches and pitchforks. With a surfeit of delightfully quirky characters, two protagonists whose personal chemistry practically ignites from the moment they first meet, and superior writing generously seasoned with tart humor, RITA Awardwinning Phillips serves up another irresistibly lively romantic comedy that is guaranteed to have readers begging for more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)