CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE

BY SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

Call Me Irresistible 

R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Call Me Irresistible is the book Susan Elizabeth Phillips's readers have long awaited. Ted, better known as "little Teddy," the nine-year-old heartbreak kid from Phillips's first bestseller, Fancy Pants, and as "young Teddy," the hunky new college graduate in Lady Be Good, is all grown up now—along with Lucy from First Lady and Meg from What I Did for Love. They're ready to take center stage in a saucy, funny, and highly addictive tale fans will love.

"Crown Susan Elizabeth Phillips the queen of romantic comedy," raves the McClatchy-Tribune News Service, just one of numerous accolades the beloved New York Times bestselling author has earned in her remarkable career.

For more than three decades, this wise and witty writer has charmed hearts and won the devotion of legions of readers. Now she's back with the book her fans have been demanding—a sassy, sexy, downright irresistible tale of true love Texas-style, featuring gorgeous heartbreaker Ted Beaudine, now grown up and in a heap of romantic trouble all his own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I MET MY HUSBAND on a blind date. He was in college at the time, studying engineering. I blush to confess that, as an arty ex-theater major, I wasn’t exactly sure what engineering was. To this day, he reminds me that I asked him if it had anything to do with “fixing toasters.” (Okay, I wasn’t too bright, but I had a good heart.)

I GOT PREGNANT the usual way. Bill and I had been married for two years and wanted to start a family. He was out of town on business the night I went into labor with our first son, but he made it back in time to witness the birth. He was also at my side when our second son was born. Today our boys are grown, and I couldn’t be prouder of them or their families.

I STARTED TO WRITE completely by accident. I taught high school until our oldest son was born, then quit to stay home. In 1976, my husband’s job took us from Ohio to central New Jersey. My best friend Claire lived two doors down the street. Both of us were big readers, reading everything from literary fiction to the newly popular historical romance novels. We loved talking about the books—what we liked, what we didn’t. One day, just for fun, we decided to try to write a book together. For three weeks as we rode our bikes in the evening, with my toddler in the baby seat behind me, we plotted our story. Then we sat down with a yellow pad and began to write.

FOUR HOURS LATER we’d come up with exactly three sentences. We had no idea how to write a book together, but we were getting a good idea how not to do it. Over the course of the next few months, we worked out a system. We’d get together to plot a scene, frequently role-playing dialogue. Claire would take copious notes, carry them to her typewriter, and come up with a rough draft, which she’d give to me. Sometimes I’d just change a sentence here or there. Other times, I’d throw out all of her hard work and start over again. Somehow our friendship survived.

IDIOTS’ LUCK. With only half the manuscript completed, we got the phone number of an editor at Dell Publishing. Sweating bullets, we called her. She was a very nice woman, asked us some questions about our book, and then agreed to see it, even though it wasn’t finished. Unfortunately, she also wanted to see a synopsis. Synopsis? We barely knew what was going to happen in the next chapter, let alone the end of the book. Knees trembling, we ran to the typewriter and came up with something, then spent the next few weeks typing a fresh copy of our manuscript to mail off.

THREE WEEKS LATER the telephone rang. It was the editor. “I’m calling from Dell Publishing. We’ve read your manuscript. We like it. And Dell is prepared to make you an offer.”TO READ THE REST OF SUSAN'S BIO, GO HERE TO HER WEBSITE FOR THE REST!

PRAISE FOR CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE:

“Next to Tracy and Hepburn, nobody does romantic comedy better than Susan Elizabeth Phillips.”

—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes absolutely splendid women’s fiction. Her books are infused with wit, heart, insight and intelligence. They delight and entertain on every level. A book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is always a sparkling tonic for the senses.

— Jayne Ann Krentz

 ...Susan Elizabeth Phillips at her very best. Romantic, funny, sexy, and poignant.... If you’re down or busy or distracted, I have the cure: Call Me Irresistible is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I loved this book.

— Kristin Hannah

MY REVIEW:
Susan Elizabeth Phillips once again draws on her creative talents to craft a memorable love story for her legions of fans in her latest book, CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE.  Phillips gives readers imaginative characters, setting, and dialogue, to revisit characters from some of her previous books and tell about their current lives and situations. The story begins when Lucy Korvick and Ted Beaudine, Mayor of Wynette, Texas, are going to be married. Lucy‘s best friend, Meg Koranda, is in town as a bridesmaid but Meg doesn‘t think Lucy and Ted are really in love. He is a handsome and responsible man who is very popular with all the people in town. So when Meg talks to Lucy about if she is sure Ted is THE ONE, and is this her true love, doubt sets in and Lucy leaves Ted standing literally at the alter.

Everyone is in shock! What could Lucy be thinking? Soon, the consensus is that Meg is the one that made Lucy leave Ted and she becomes persona non gratis to everyone in Wynette.  As a close-knit community, people are upset that she has done this however, secretly, there are several young ladies who now see an opportunity for themselves to be the next Mrs. Beaudine.

As Meg takes the brunt of the town’s ire, she also faces her own situation in that her parents think she should be more responsible and have cut her off. So here Meg is, in Wynette, Texas, with a broken down car and maxed out credit cards. She squares her shoulders and decides to find a job, which is easier said than done, considering the town is so upset with her. However, she finally finds work and also uses her creative talent to make some jewelry that begins to sell locally and bring in some much needed money. In the meantime, Meg also finds herself slowly understanding just what Lucy saw in Ted as he is one IRRESISTIBLE guy! He also has a good head-a handsome head-on his shoulders, which makes the attraction hard to avoid. Things between Ted and Meg begin to click on all cylinders. Now what will the people say? What of Meg who has also had someone really threatening her causing more complications? And where is Lucy in all of this?

The story is an easy and enjoyably entertaining read, for most! My one complaint is that with all the characters that Susan Elizabeth Phillips uses in CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE from her other books, and so much of the main characters’ backgrounds coming from earlier books, you really are lost unless you have read her other books. You CAN read the book but it makes it somewhat puzzling in certain areas because you don’t really have a solid background on the main characters and it isn’t literally given in this book. Not knowing that, I would have liked to have seen more things written from Ted’s point of view so a reader could have understood him and his actions better. Because of this, I have to say CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE isn’t a good “stand alone” novel. HOWEVER! It is a fabulously fun, greatly anticipated read, if you are a fan and have read all of Phillips prior work. In that way, it is easy to see why it is topping best-seller charts all over the place!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CHELSEY AND THE GREAT

FOLKS AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE

5, YES, FIVE!!!!, COPIES OF THIS BEST

SELLING BOOK TO GIVE AWAY! I KNOW

YOU WILL WANT TO WIN, SO HERE'S HOW!

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