Lydia Lane: Girlfriends (Harlequin Superromance No. 1032)

Since the Wordweaving review of this book furnishes a good plot summary, I'll just add that the book is indeed pretty enjoyable; Lydia and Sam do jump the gun and wind up sleeping together once, but the episode is fairly low-key. A particularly fun read for those who can sympathize with Sam's domestic woes.

Once a week, Attorney Sam Pereira and his eight years old daughter Amber faithfully watch her mother and his ex-wife Candace Downing on TV. Candace hosts The "What's New with Candy Lou show", which is Amber's almost only contact with her celebrity mom though Sam admits to himself that Candace loves and cares about her daughter. The guest is Lydia Lane, who runs Domestica, a firm that teaches household skills so people can have a nicer, more organized life and is the younger sister of Sam's best friend. Candace hires Lydia to help Sam organize the chaos of his personal life. However, Lydia remembers Sam as her first crush when she was fifteen. Not expecting to follow the paths of her two best friends, ZOEY PHILIPS and CHARLOTTE MORE, who are getting married, Lydia admits she still finds Sam very attractive. However, Sam discovers that he is in love with Lydia and thinks she may bring out the passion he lacked in his first marriage. LYDIA LANE, like the first two novels in the "Girlfriends" trilogy, is an engaging contemporary Canadian romance. The story line is fun due to the strong cast. Judith Bowen completes her super romantic mini series with a delightful tale that still leaves a few secondary characters deserving books of their own.Harriet Klausner

Zoey Phillips, Charlotte Moore, and Lydia Lane met just after high school while working at a wilderness resort in the Rocky Mountains. Ten years later at the reunion of the Jasper Park Lodger summer staff, someone speculates what fun it might be to look up the boy that led to their first heartbreak. Perhaps he's balding, paunchy, and boring. Then at the next year's reunion, they'd all report their results. While Zoey and Charlotte are planning wedded bliss, Lydia Lane doesn't pursue her first love; instead, he finds her.When ex-wife Candace Penelope Downing invites Lydia Lane to be a guest on her afternoon talk show, Sam Pereira immediately recognizes the long legged beauty as his best friend's sister. She'd had a crush on him when she was fifteen, but with her being five years younger, Sam hadn't been interested. One look at this domestic goddess now, however, and he's more than interested. So when Candace suggest that Sam give Lydia a call and hire her to put his household in order, he places the call right away. Hawaiian pizza and soggy salad are getting old, and Sam's ready for a change. But he had best watch his step or Lydia may be organizing more than his closets and teaching him to sort laundry.Lydia Lane's great-aunt inspired her business called Domestica, a service that organizes people's lives and teaches them household skills. For a hefty price, she creates order out of chaos. But she finds her emotions spinning wildly out of control as she spends time with Sam. He'd been the bad-boy with the motorcycle, and now he's making good, trading corporate life for working out of the office at his home and volunteering a third of his services to the down-and-out. Nevertheless, he still prefers a motorcycle to a BMW. Unfortunately, with everyone telling them each how perfect they are for the other, both Lydia and Sam get a lot of heat from external sources that threatens to smother their own burning desire.Author Judith Bowen concludes the delightful miniseries Girlfriends with LYDIA LANE. A character driven romance that never shirks the value of the domestic arts, LYDIA LANE proves surprisingly entertaining. Well meaning friends that think Lydia and Sam are perfect for each other threaten their new relationship, as do the sticky ethical issues involved. Despite such complications, Lydia and Sam prove the way to one's heart is not limited to the kitchen. A delightful, romp with a terrific child propelling the action along, LYDIA LANE comes highly recommended.