Book Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Alice lives an apartment building alone. Well the neighbors check on her. Alice's mother is the world famous Belinda Amorous and what everyone doesn't know is that Belinda is currently in a psychiatric center being treated for bipolar disorder. Alice has been forging her mother's signature to pay bills, sign books and now she needs to find a way to fill the publishers demand for a new book. Then she meets Errol, a clearly crazy guy who believes he's cupid that wants her to write the true story of Cupid and Psyche. Thrown in for good mix is Alice's impending possible dateness w/ Skateboard Guy and even more going on for good measure.

This book is jam packed with characters, story lines and side plots. And that's not a bad thing. There is always something going on. I ended up staying up and reading it straight through b/c I wanted to know what happened next. It's a romance where the main characters romance takes a back seat. I thought they did a good job showing Belinda's symptoms and how family members especially children worry that they will develop them as well. 

I did think that the Reverend and company didn't pay quite enough attention to Alice. I found it strange that no one thought about the bills being paid, etc. I also was not a big fan of the crazy infatuation scenes. I also thought that they could have delved a little more into Errol thinking Alice looked like Psyche a little sooner, but overall I did enjoy it. Mad Love is a nice mix of lighthearted humor and serious issue book. 

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper follows two girsl, Willa and Paxton living in a small town of Walls of Water, North Carolina. Both girls grew up in town, Willa was the class joker (although she hid it until the very end) and Paxton was miss popularity. Willa's family was once part of the town's elite, however in her grandmother's day they moved out and she was working as a maid in her friends homes. Paxton is living in her parents house doing the social butterfly stuff her mom always wanted and restoring the Blue Ridge Madam, the Jackson family home. Willa owns a small store in town and is trying to fit her life into the box that she thinks her family would find appropriate. Neither woman is happy, then a body is unearthed at the Blue Ridge Madam and both girls find a way to break out of the shell's they are in and about their families pasts.

Just like other books by Sarah Addison Allen you get two watch two wonderful characters fall in love an come into their own. Actually three this time because Paxton's brother Colin also figures himself out.

I really liked getting to see Paxton and Waverly develop a friendship. I also liked hearing Paxton's grandmother tell them the story of her and Georgie's past. She did a good job with it. Sometimes when people tell and don't show in books it can get boring but I found the story just as captivating. (Although I did appreciate getting to be shown it too.)

There was less magic in this book then in previous books. There was also just something about the ambiance of this book that was a little different. The magic floating around was less helpful and a little bit more malicious.

I am something of a geek and I was super excited to see Claire Waverly from Garden Spells make an appearance. Just like every other book by Sarah Addison Allen, I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself charmed by the characters and locale.