Girl from Mars

This book was absolutely un-putdownable. It involves three exceptionally geeky friends who make a pact never to get involved in any romantic relationships. As luck would have it, the main character Philomena (aka Fil), meets the man of her dreams immediately after she takes the vow (partly in Klingon). She is torn: she has totally fallen for the new guy, but her old friends make it pretty clear they want her to focus on X-Files marathons with them. The characters are fairly deep in this story, and I got pretty invested in finding out how things would go. Most of them are pretty vulnerable, and Cohen has made you understand their histories, their motivations and reactions, so you really want things to turn out OK for them. Innocent, caring Fil is especially adorable, and every character grows a little by the end. I don't want to give too much away about the love story, but I found it genuinely romantic. The fact that the book was set in the world of comics was also really cool (I've never read a romance novel with a key scene at ComicCon before). I've been up and down about Little Black Dress books in the past, but this one's making me want to check out some more Julie Cohen. Hurray for new author finds!

"Girl from Mars" by Julie Cohen was my first Little Black Dress book by her (she also writes for Harlequin/MillsandBoon) and I just loved it. Philomena Desdemona Brown's (she goes by Fil) life couldn't be better, she has three great male friends (all single and a bit nerdy) that share her love for comics and ScFi and accept her exactly like she is (blue hair and all). Plus a job she loves as the artist who draws "Girl from Mars" the best female super hero out there. But when one of her friends suddenly is in a steady relationship the dynamics of their friendship change irrevocable and Fil just doesn't know how to handle the new situation. But not only her private life gets more complicated by the minute, because sale numbers are down Fil is forced to work with famous screenwriter/director Dan McKay (a real hottie). Dan has some new ideas how to spice up the love life of "Girl from Mars" but Fil is shocked by the new developments because she doesn't want anything to change in "her" comic. Even though Dan and Fil come to an understanding regarding the comic things still stay complicated between them because they are attracted to each other but Fil is afraid of how a relationship with Dan would change her frienship with her platonic friends. Things get even more difficult when she falls in love with Dan, the father of one of her friends nearly dies and she realizes that her best friend may have deeper feelings for her. "Girl from Mars" is a great book. Fil, her friends and Dan are great characters and I loved reading about Fil and Dan and how their relationship evolves. But I also enjoyed the platonic friendship between Fil and her male friends. I can absolutly understand why Fil is afraid of change and that's why I love that in the end she understands that change can be positive and beautiful and is finally ready for it. I can sincerely recommend this awesome book about love and friendship to all fans of romances.