Ames’ review of Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi.
Meet Dorothy Jarrow: devotedly unsexy librarian
Buttoned-up book lover DJ is all sensible shoes, drab skirts and studious glasses. After an ill-advised spring-break-fueled fling left her mortified, she’s committed to her prim and proper look. When she’s hired by a rural library in middle-of-nowhere Kansas, she finally has the lifestyle to match-and she can’t wait to get her admin on.
But it’s clear from day one that the small-town library is more interested in circulating rumors than books. DJ has to organize her unloved library, win over oddball employees and avoid her flamboyant landlady’s attempts to set her up with the town pharmacist. Especially that last part-because it turns out handsome Scott Sanderson is her old vacation fling! She is not sure whether to be relieved or offended when he doesn’t seem to recognize her. But with every meeting, DJ finds herself secretly wondering what it would be like to take off her glasses, unpin her bun and reveal the inner vixen she’s been hiding from everyone-including herself.
Love Overdue started off a bit slow for me but it quickly picked up and I was immersed in D.J.’s story about fitting into her new town. And coming face to face with a one night stand that still haunts her. LOL
Eight years ago, DJ embraced her inner wild child and cut loose with some friends on her 21st birthday. She had a scorching night with a stranger but when she woke up the next day, she deeply regretted her actions. Since then, she’s been on the straight, prim and narrow. When she moves to Verdant, Kansas to head up the library, she comes face to face with her past. And he doesn’t remember her!
Eight years ago, Scott Sanderson set out to prove a point – to satisfy a woman, sexually. Encounters with his girlfriend left much to be desired for both of them. But his night with “Sparkle” definitely proved to him that he could handle himself in the bedroom. Unfortunately, he didn’t pay attention to the lesson and he still made a big mistake and married his girlfriend. Now he’s divorced and in a small town there isn’t much wriggle room to have hot smoking affairs. He figures it’s not his lot in life to find someone to grow old with. And he’s ok with that.
But something about DJ reminds him of that woman from eight years ago, a woman he hasn’t stopped thinking, and dreaming, about.
I liked Verdant, Kansas and all its characters. It’s a wheat town, so the harvest is very important. And that means that everyone comes together to make sure the wheat is all harvested. And that means that everyone is close and knows each other’s business. DJ is going to be a big deal, being a newcomer to this small town. She’s welcomed by Viv Sanderson, who hired her for the library. Of course DJ doesn’t realize that Viv hired her so she could set her up with her son, Scott, the town’s pharmacist. LOL Everyone kind of realizes what Viv has done, but when DJ gets the wrong idea about Scott (that he’s a player and a cheater) which is compounded by the fact that he doesn’t remember her, and she resolves to have nothing to do with him. And Scott’s totally confused. The whole town loves DJ but she very obviously has taken a dislike to him. Since it is a small town, DJ and Scott do cross paths (sometimes with his mom’s help) and eventually they become friends. But soon DJ is the one Scott is dreaming about, not his “Sparkle” from eight years ago.
Of course the reader knows the truth about Scott. That he isn’t a player and a cheater. So the dislike DJ takes to him is funny. And I enjoyed how DJ eventually grew to like Scott, despite the bad things she thinks about him. These two together were very fun to read about.
The other characters were good too. There’s Viv, Scott’s mother. She’s a widow and she’s still grieving for her husband, which is making her act a bit crazy. She’s hoarding canned goods like you wouldn’t believe. But she’s got the best intentions in mind for Scott and DJ and there’s no getting in her way. I also liked how she kind of took Dew away from DJ. Dew is DJ’s black terrier and he becomes a great companion for Viv. There’s a scene between them that almost made me cry. I also liked James, an employee at the library. He’s got Asperger’s and he likes to stay in the stacks at the library. He’s a good character and I’m glad with the way he defended the library against another employee who’s trying to stop the change that DJ begins to implement.
Overall, I really enjoyed Love Overdue but there were a few things that I felt were unresolved. I didn’t get it, or it wasn’t clearly stated, exactly why DJ is so hell-bent on the straight and narrow. It can’t all be blamed on her one night stand with Scott because it’s not like she wound up pregnant or with an STD. I didn’t feel like there was enough explained about that part of her character. There was also something with Viv’s machinations with Scott and DJ that wasn’t resolved. The clues were there, but DJ didn’t put them together and I kind of want to know if her and Scott ever did and if they had a good laugh over it, because it was funny. And with that library employee that hated DJ – what happened with her? I know they definitely showed her at the end but did she try and usurp DJ again? *sigh* This book definitely left me wanting more.
But the big thing I wanted was Scott’s reaction. Right at the end, before the HEA, he puts the pieces together and we don’t get to see his reaction!
Despite those few questions I had left, I did enjoy this book and the town and its characters. I’m giving Love Overdue a 3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I was curious to see what you thought of this book Ames. It’s kind of bummer that you don’t get to see Scott’s reaction after he figures things out! You gave it an above average grade, but still not a wowzer… guess I won’t hurry out and read this one, but put it on my radar 🙂 Thanks!