Hooked

Clarence `Woody' Woods is going to go from dock boy to a real estate mogul with the help of a magical fish named Raymond Prince and Madalina, a waitress he is in love with. She is what he wants and he is willing to do anything to make her happy. Madalina Dragoi knows what she wants and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. If she offends anyone along the way, that is their problem not hers. Woody is a means to an end for her. Hooked is quirky, fun and worthy new look at an old tale. I enjoyed both it's lighthearted sections and the truthfulness of how people act when they are thrown into different situations. I was concerned as I was reading how Hooked would end but I thoroughly enjoyed the ending as much as I enjoyed the rest of the novel. Ms. May's writing left me with a smile on my face. Barb Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Jane May follows up her highly entertaining "Doggy Style," narrated by a dog, with "Hooked," featuring a talking fish. You don't have to be an animal lover to appreciate the author's flowing, creative, imaginative story telling. Her latest literary effort includes a diverse assortment of characters, some likable, some unlikable and others you're not quite sure about until the last few pages, which arrive far too quickly. Can't wait to read what's next from this recently discovered talent. More Jane May, please.

Hooked is a modern retelling of an old tale. Jane May beings it to life with abandon and style. Woody is the assistant dock master at an exclusive Miami Yacht Club. He falls in love with the Romanian Madalina, who is a waitress at the club, but he has competition in Todd Hollinshead a wealthy and spoiled club regular. Woody gets help with his love life from an unlikely source-a tuna who talks Woody into letting him go in exchange for fulfilling Woody's every need. "All you need to do is ask." Is the tuna's line. Woody asks, the tuna delivers, and suddenly life is getting very complicated for Woody. Soon his life is being turned upside down, and he learns that getting everything he wants might just destroy him. Jane May has penned a romp through our modern consumer sensibilities. Woody is an engaging character, and he is accompanied through the story by other quirky and unusual people. Even knowing the fairy tale from which she took her plot, the book is an enjoyable read. I found Woody's relationship to Madalina to be a bit fixated on his sexual reactions, but that didn't detract from the story. Jane May skillfully traps Woody with his own desires. She uses the story to nudge the reader to think about the consumer culture and whether our desires are leading us down a similar path. She doesn't try to hammer the point home, but lets the story amuse the reader. I found Hooked to be a fun and engaging read, but it is a book for adults given the nature of Woody's attraction to Madalina. Armchair Interviews says: Most enjoyable story--with a message and lots of cultural questions.

Hooked is a fast paced,light hearted romance story based in Miami. If you like love stories, sailing stories or rags to riches to rags stories, you will enjoy this book. It was an enjoyable read,compelling you to find out if the hero 'gets lucky' and I was sorry when it was over. This book has movie script written all over it.

"Woody" or Clarence Woods, assistant dock master at the Miami Trade Winds Yacht Club, has gone over the edge with desiring the flirtatious, voluptuous waitress, Madalina Dragoi. But Woody hardly has the money to woo Madalina in a way guaranteed to hook her, so he proceeds to hire himself out to a super-rich, yacht owner who knows nothing of the boat he's bought on E-Bay. After a few hilarious mishaps, Woody manages to leisurely fish one day and his catch is a slapstick, hilarious character turned into a 40 lb. talking tuna, Raymond the Prince. Things rapidly change as Raymond is a magical fish who proceeds to grant Woody his every wish, including Madalina and all the accouterments guaranteed to impress her. Will Woody find happiness in this fairy tale world where his competition, upper class snobby Todd Hollinshead, seems to fade away from Madalina's attention? Receiving one's wishes may not be all it's cut out to be in the yearning, lottery-winner world of the average American, but Hooked gives a surface light, airy, funny and romantic side to the "lucky" dreams-come-true scenario. Woody and Raymond's fate certainly portrays a surprising and not-so-surprising ending that will keep the reader thinking about what fate has in store for one's "enchanted" life! Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on September 27, 2006