Call Me Irresistible

Call Me Irresistible
By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
$10.18 Paperback (Aug. 30) $9.99 Kindle http://www.amazon.com/
Released January 18, 2011
Fiction/Romance

This is the story of Meg Koranda. She travels to the small town of Wynette, Texas to be a maid of honor in her best friend Lucy's wedding to Ted Beaudine. On the eve of the wedding, Lucy gets cold feet and asks Meg's advice. The next day, Lucy (daughter to a former president of the USA) , gets cold feet and ditches Ted "Teddy" Beaudine (son of a famous pro golfer) at the altar. The world is there to see it, as this is one of the most anticipated social events of the year and not to be missed by  paparazzi, politicians and sports world  elite. Meg , who also happens to be the daughter of a famous Hollywood couple, finds herself being blamed for this catastrophe and at the same time, unrelated to this event, being financially cut-off from her family. Meg, a spoiled brat who has no idea what she wants in life, has to this point, traveled the world and lived carefree and rent free. She does have a talent for making jewelry but a lack of commitment to anything or anyone in her life. Her talent seems to be just a hobby. She has also become the focus of revenge for one Teddy Beaudine. He was the towns most eligible bachelor and also happens to be a near genius, and has the I.Q. to prove it. Teddy, the golden boy of Wynette, feels humiliated and pissed and wants Meg to pay for that. Meg,  broke and stranded, can't run from her problems like she has done in the past. She has no choice but to get a job (gasp) and deal with Teddy until she can save enough money to get the heck out of dodge (or in this case, Texas). Whew. Get all that?
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my favorite romance author. She usually takes a year or two to write each novel- which makes me crazy! It does, however, make for very detailed , well thought out books. I never feel like her stories are stale. She also likes to pull in characters from other books as well as locations you have visited in her other novels. Phillips, like Nicholas Sparks, has a go-to plot formula that she sticks to for her stories. Her lead character is always female but you do get the male perspective too. The romance leads are usually "opposites attract". The stars  in her books are just that, usually some kind of celebrity, be it actors or athletes or politicians.
One thing I find different about her books compared to other romance novels is that she usually makes you fall in love with some pretty crappy people. Some of her characters can be mean, and selfish but yet vulnerable and sweet deep down inside. She makes you sympathize with them by humiliating them and putting them in unimaginably low, almost impossible situations. She also creates quirky characters that you can't forget. One of her books starts with a British Socialite walking down a highway in a full-size furry beaver costume! You can't make this stuff up....or you can if you are a very creative writer! In her books, the sex is rocking, the characters are rowdy. She makes me laugh and cry and I always get excited for her next novel! One more reason I love her books....they all usually have an antagonist character who is blonde, mean and beautiful;) Not to be biased or anything..hee hee.
Do I Recommend it: Yep.
But: You should read her books in order, by publish date, from the very first title to this, the most recent. It's more fun and that way you can appreciate all the crossover characters. The books  are not really part of a series but definetly connected.