Pesto Packing Mama by Nan D. Arnold

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Pesto Packing Mama
Author: Nan D. Arnold

Author Site

Buy Link
Publisher: Champagne Books

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Length: 310 pages

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 2 – the photograph of the red teddy, the teddy bear, and the basil plant was a great idea, but not well executed. The glare in the center gives it an unprofessional quality. I much preferred the snappier cover art shown on Ms. Arnold’s personal website.

Presentation: 4

Editing: 4 – few, but not many, errors.

Story: 5

Writing Ability: 5

Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

About The Book: Maggie Duncan’s love life goes from champagne and delphiniums to revelations of dead wives and dirty diapers in mere days. If that’s not enough, her stare down with a sociopathic loan shark in a caterer’s storeroom makes Maggie wish she hadn’t pushed well-meaning heartthrob Bruce Herring out of her emotional jurisdiction.

The Review: Brenda, Brenda, Brenda! After your spitfire, skin-tight-leather wearing, pistol packing performance in the previous story (Hitting the High Notes) I was sorely disappointed to find out what you were doing with that chef! And behind Big Dad’s back!?!

At first, my love for, and subsequent disappointment in, the ferociously feminine supporting character left me feeling less than thrilled about how Ms. Arnold chose to resume her tales of Maggie’s romantic woes. Yet I could not help but be won over by Ms. Arnold’s adorably realistic sense of humoristic timing, the way in which she portrays Maggie’s oh-so-true inner monologue, and the respect she pays to a real romance. So many romance novel writers leave their characters at the all-too-familiar “…and they lived happily ever after!” ending, without bothering to delve into the kind of commitment, gumption, and fear-tackling it takes to move a relationship from a froofy romance into a solid love. Thank you, Nan, for writing the second portion of Maggie and Bruce’s tumultuous story.

Pesto Packin’ Mama looks at down and dirty real life situations in a hilariously fun setting; friends that have affairs; emotional baggage from previous marriages; negative inner diatribes, miscommunications, mis-expectations, and learning how to trust again. In this world, as in our own realities, love is not simply seeing someone attractive, having great sex, and living happily ever after. Ms. Arnold portrays the realistic struggles of a menopausal widow seeking to establish a trusting relationship after a previously abusive marriage. She somehow manages to keep the necessary poignancy to create a sympathetic character while throwing in visits from an Italian opera star, stalking by a mafia hit man, a sketchy next door neighbor, and a nosy wannabe mother-in-law. A fantastic follow-up to the first novel starring Chef Maggie.

And Brenda, I forgive you.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Hitting The High Notes by Nan D. Arnold

PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title:  Hitting the High Notes
Author:  Nan D. Arnold 

Author Site

Buy Link
Publisher:  Champagne Books

Genre: Romance

Length:  220 pgs.
Other:  M/F

Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

About The Book: What have green eyes, green socks, and a run away opera star have to do with a widow getting back her groove? Widow Maggie Duncan learns life is a song when she meets by chance an AWOL opera star and a certain color-blind cop. Who will partner Maggie in a very special duet?

The Review: Sometimes romance novel heroines can seem a bit formulaic. Sweet, innocent, but slightly sassy, 20-something in need of a rescue, right? In “Hitting the High Notes” you’d be delightfully wrong! Maggie Duncan is a menopausal widow fighting hot flashes and depression who has wisened up after ending an abusive marriage.

On impulse, she accompanies a seductive foreign man to his condo for wine and, as she puts it, “a snug blanket” only to leave suddenly through the fire escape as her host is accosted. When Stavros disappears, and the police take no notice, Maggie puts on her big girl panties and attempts to unravel the mystery on her own.

Ms. Arnold has created a hilariously memorable cast of characters. At first glance, Stavros/Lorenzo is everything you’d want a romance novel hero to be: suave, sophisticated, mysterious, tall, dark, and sexy with a voice that could melt hearts. Turns out he’s a neurotic run away opera singer who couldn’t face his bad reviews. Bruce Herring is an Irish cop whose solidity and simplicity entice Maggie. Woven through the entire tale are references to the best criminal gang ever invented: The Green Socks Gang. This is a gang of radical environmentalists whose vicious protests include throwing pies in famous people’s faces. Brilliantly hilarious!

But by far my favorite character in the entire book was Maggie’s best friend, Brenda. Brenda is the brazen, intelligent, confident leader of a Grandmother’s biker gang: the Dalai Mamas. She’s responsible for saving Maggie’s butt on several occasions by calling in her biker buddies for some cheerfully wielded, tough woman savvy. She’s just as liable to flash her gun as she is to show off pictures of her adorable grandchildren.

I was enormously pleased to note that Ms. Arnold has written a sequel to “Hitting the High Notes”. I can’t wait to read it, and I’m begging her to write a prequel, detailing what must have been a steamy, stormy, wild ride of a romance between Brenda and her Big Daddy.

Pagan Elements: None

Cover (Rated 1-10): 5

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.