A Date on Cloud Nine

Lily Marquette goes back to earth, after having been killed in a castrophy in an "adult only" store. The reader watches as her realtionship with Jake, her deceased husband's best friend unfolds. Her mission is to get pregnant and give away 18 million dollars. A cute book, though I did notice it was taking her a long time to give the money away and learn to curb her more "instinctual" approaches to things such as manicures. I really had trouble deciding if I liked this well enough for a 4 star rating and the reason is that the ending of this fast paced novel was terrible. Now, trying to back up my opinion without spoiling it for the reader is difficult to do. There were several directions this novel could have taken and I was glad it didn't go down the road it seemed to be leading up to 2/3's into it. However, I don't mind the occasional twist, in fact I loved Joy Fielding's Whispers and Lies. On the other hand, I don't want to feel like I just wasted time in my life reading rubbish that completely tricked me in a bad way. Think of the movie Groundhog's Day, where the same scene is repeated over and over and how people felt about it, some of the same premise in this novel.

This is the first book I have read by this author, but I intend on buying some more. If you need a book that makes you smile when you read it, this is the book for you.

I lost a lot of sleep because of this book. I got so caught up in the story, wanting to know if Lilly would meet her deadline, what would happen with her in-laws, if she would end up dying after all that... I stayed up hours after I crawled into bed each night. It is true that the ending makes you question why you read the book, but not because you find it a waste of time... You'll just have to see. My advice is to RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO PEEK AT THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS! After several days of making progress, I was only five chapters from the end, but hours after bedtime, and I peeked forward a couple chapters. It was intriguing, but I advise against peeking. I'm not the romance novel type, so this was a new experience for me, and it appealed to me much more than any of the others I've flipped through in my friends' collections. It's charming and funny, sexy and, sometimes, even inspirational.

From the reviewers: "fantastic premise", "wonderful protagonists", "sizzling", "sexy banter", and "You won't be able to put the book down"!!! Not familiar with Jenna McKnight's award-winning novels? Read the reviews: www.jennamcknight.com/books/reviews.html. Read an excerpt: www.jennamcknight.com/CNexcerpt.html.

Multimillionaire widow Lilly Marquette reluctantly shops inside the Cloud Nine Adult Shop to purchase a birthday present for her best friend Betsy when the furnace explodes. Lilly ends up in a transition port where two angels inform her that she once again failed to get it right in her latest lifetime. They agree to send her back but to remain she must give away her eighteen million dollars and have a baby by her next birthday. Lilly accepts the terms because she always wanted a child. Jake Murdoch is filling in for his neighbor when the furnace exploded at Cloud Nine. He rescues Lilly. He knows her as he was best man at her wedding to the now deceased Brady and blames her for the destruction of their company. He also fell in love with her at Brady's wedding, but wants nothing to do with her as he believes she betrayed him and the honor of her late spouse. Lilly thinks he is to be her earthly mentor to guide her so will not allow him to walk away from her. As she fosters herself on him, Jake and Lilly fall in love, but the cherished Brady casts a shadow over their relationship. This is entertaining paranormal romance starring two wonderful protagonists and several fabulous secondary players including the two angels. The story line moves forward at a brisk pace, but it is the reaction of people who know Lilly to her seemingly changed personality after the near death experience that makes for a fine time. Fans will appreciate this tale and clamor for a sequel starring Betsy and a cute emergency technician (with or without the angels). Harriet Klausner