Ames’ review of Venus in Blue Jeans by Meg Benjamin.
A guy. A girl. A Chihuahua. Two of them will find the love of their lives.
Coming off a broken engagement to a lying charmer, all bookstore owner Docia Kent wants is a fling, not a long-term romance. And for her fabulously wealthy and fabulously nosy parents to butt out of her life for a while. The Texas Hill Country town of Konigsburg looks like the perfect place to get both. Especially when she gets a look at long, tall country vet Cal Toleffson.
Cal has other plans for Docia. One glance at the six-foot version of Botticelli’ss Venus, and he knows he’s looking at the woman of his dreams. Now if he can just fend off the eccentric characters of Konigsburg long enough to convince her romance isn’t such a bad idea.
One night of mind-blowing sex isn’t the only thing that leaves them both stunned. With Docia’s bookstore under attack, Konigsburg suddenly doesn’t seem so welcoming. Once again she finds her trust tested-and is left wondering if she was ever meant to have a happily ever, after all.
Cal is Konigsburg’s latest transplant. He has signed on with the local veterinarian as a partner. And as the newest piece of man-meat, the women in town are finding any little reason to bring Fluffy into to see him. But Cal is not interested in anyone until he sees her, his dream woman.
Docia Kent is in need of a margarita. And the only place to get one is the local watering hole. There she catches Cal’s eye, and he catches hers. But Docia leaves before introductions can be made.
A few days later, Docia comes home to find her cat has been shot. He’s still alive so she takes him to the vet, where she finally meets Cal. Cal saves her cat, and these two decide to test out their chemistry.
But Docia has been burned in the past and Cal doesn’t want anything serious. What are two commitment-phobe adults to do?
LOL I thought Venus in Blue Jeans was a fun book. At the centre of it all is the small, charming Texas town of Konigsburg. There is quite the cast of characters to this little town. And they all had some depth, even the couple of villains that were floating around.
Docia has a very well known family and wants to do something all on her own, thus her bookstore. But Docia is having a bit of difficulty getting the locals to warm up to her, to see her as a true Konigsburgian. She won’t give up though! She’s tenacious. And she isn’t totally without friends. There’s her assistant, the gay couple who own the local winery and her friend who owns a bakery. I liked Docia’s friends.
Cal…Cal is a guy. LOL He comes from a nice, mid-western family and he’s just looking for a good time. He’s also incredibly hot (as all vet’s must be). I really liked Docia and Cal together. They meshed well.
But I did have a few quibbles with this book. I felt like there was too much going on at the end – there was the wrap up of the mystery and then Cal and Docia were at odds. I would have preferred if it was one or the other, because the mystery bit kept the conflict between these two characters going on too long. But that’s just my opinion. It wasn’t a major issue, just would have preferred the ending to be tighter. That’s my only complaint though.
I thought this was a solid, light-hearted read. Great characters and some humour. All good stuff. So I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Samhain. You can buy it here in e-format.
You can read more from ~ames~ at Thrifty Reader.
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