Wanting What You Get

I have had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Love and as a result was able to see her quirky nature in her great characters. This only made the read more entertaining. Ellie Stepp is not perfect, at least not in her opinion. She's a little chubby, a little short, and a librarian. Could she be a sadder stereotype? She is living in her small Maine hometown and life is good, at least by Ellie standards. It could be better but...than at her sisters wedding reception the unthinkable happens...Mason Sweet the object of her childhood love, and Millbrook's very handsome mayor flirts with her...on purpose!! Her, Ellie Stepp. Something must be wrong. Way wrong. But actually everything is very right. At least it will be once she manages to get her act together. Than she finds out that one of the towns leading citizens wants a new football field at the libraries expense. Ellie screws up her courage and asks Mayor Sweet to help her. He will...but it's going to cost her... Mason can't believe that he is seeing Ellie in a whole new light. She is beautiful, giving, and warms him like no one else has in a long time. When she comes to him for help, he makes a rather indecent proposal...and is floored when she agrees! Well, he can handle this...no problem. Right? Well, it won't be an easy relationship given that it must be kept secret from the town and Ellie's sister. But than nothing worth having ever comes easy right? Ellie and Mason are wonderfully real characters. Ellie has more issues than vogue magazine when it comes to security and self-confidence. Mason has a tendency to bury his pain in a bottle. Each of them sees the best in the other, and their relationship is sweet as a result. This is a read that will speak to your emotions and one that I highly recommend.

I read the first book in the trilogy and loved it so I went to get this one right away. i knew I would like it, but I ended up loving it. This book is about Ellie and Mason's story. We meet both characters in the first book and now it is their turn. I really really liked Ellie. She was cute. Mason was real. I liked how we really got into their heads. I liked how the author made the characters get into their own heads. It is so much more real and makes it easier to go with the story and feel like you are right there. This story has two "real" people with real problems that we can all identify with. It is also about choices and the paths in life and what can happen when the right choices are not made. It covers the highs and lows of life. It also shows us Abby and Chase again, whom I love and we get to see a little more of Marty, the third sister and third story. This story also showns us more of the town and of small town life. The romance is top notch and very sweet. The plot is good and the story is just bottom line the bomb. Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

"Enjoying What I Get" By SG Cardin Ellie Stepp has lived in Millbrook, Maine all her life. It's a small town and overweight Ellie has watched many romances come and go as the town's librarian. She never thought she'd have her turn. Mason Sweet has been burned by love and he's in no condition to fall in love again - until he decides to give Ellie a shot. Only Mason doesn't realize how complicated true love can be. Mason and Ellie embark on a "secret" affair but it's an affair that touches their hearts. Through their trials and tribulations both Ellie and Mason realize that love can bind one together forever but it's something that's easily lost if it's not nutured in a healthly way. Mason and Ellie are delicious simply because they are so human and suffer from a lot of the same human failings we all do. Ellie is overweight which leads to self esteem issues. Mason hides his pain in a bottle. Only when they look their demons in the face, can they embark on their true love affair. Love is a delightful author. Full of wonderful descriptions she easily draws you into her characters. I truly enjoyed her story of a more realistic romance. (I must admit to having a "secret" romance myself in my younger days) Love always wins in the end and Love proves it without a shadow of a doubt!

Thankfully I was fortunate enough to find this gem when I looked for it at a local bookstore. I'd wanted to savour it over tea during the Christmas holidays but instead I was instantly sucked into Mason and Ellie's world and didn't emerge until a few hours later - story finished. Love has created a novel that transcends modern romance fiction and stands apart from the formulaic standards. The reader is treated to passion, romance and angst without the distractions (verbosity, boring plots or excessive setting descriptions) that assail many readers. Almost immediately you fall in love with the heroine - identifying with her struggle for self-worth and her inability to see herself as the world sees her. You're at once cheering her on while you take stock of your own self-esteem. Ellie Stepp is not the ugly Stepp sister, but the reality of every woman inside, at one time or another. The object of Ellie's affection and obsession is so well- realized that he breaks the mold of romantic hero. This novel stands alone as the most honest and passionate story I've read that is sold under the canopy of romantic fiction. It clips along at an exciting pace without ever missing a beat. I found myself laughing and crying and caring about the characters as if they were old friends falling in love. And if there is any bit of voyeurism in you, you'll be pleasantly surprised about every intimate moment Kathy Love's characters share...The printed word leaps off the page filling your imagination with a completely satifying vision of this exciting relationship from beginning to end. I highly recommend it as a great escape...

I read the first one and I liked it. But I was really looking forward to this one, and I was not disappointed. I rate how much I like books on how long it takes me to read them, and this one took me 2 hours. Ellie was an amazing woman who wasn't exactly perfect but she was real, and since I am sick of thin, beautiful, waifs she was a nice departure of the mainstream. But the character I really loved was Mason. You don't get many books were the hero is perfect on the outside but is really not perfect on the inside. He has a real problem(alcoholism) and he was depicted acurratly, and not like some guy who sweeps his problem under the rug. This was one of my favorite books of the year, and I imagine the wait for the next one will be well worth it.