Dee Ernst

am quite tired of reading about the love lives of perky, gutsy, kick-butt 20 -something’s and have been wondering just where the sexy, clever books are for us women (and men) of ‘that certain age’. Well I am wondering no more. I just hope that this author keeps writing about women and men who have actual life experience and aren’t afraid to use it!



If you took Olivia Goldsmith or Suzan Isaacs and took out the mystery, you would have a good idea of Ms Ernst’s “voice”. This is a show more tale of a woman of a certain age and her journey through divorce and jumping back into the dating game. While this could have been a trite book since the subject has been done so many times before…it wasn’t. The author has a unique perspective on both what it feels like to be alone and lonely after a divorce and what a kind and close-knit community can do to, and for a woman once she has put herself back into the game. The characters are well written and entirely believable. The idea that Mona had money of her own but wasn’t filthy rich was a happy extra. The writing was nicely tight with no superfluous angsting of any of the characters. Plenty of good, clearly written dialogue and tight plotting. A fun and funny story line and wonderful secondary and tertiary characters.



The idea of “life imitating art” is certainly apt since Mona, a romance writer, has gotten the idea that she wants to write a book outside of her norm and soon she finds that her life is imitating her heroine. There are some sex scenes but nothing neither offensive nor overly descriptive. The secondary characters are almost better than the story line and I would love to see another book with Mona, Ben, Aunt Lily , her daughters the wacky neighbors and her assistant.



Please write a sequel! show less

ow many women have a fantasy about a hot younger rich man who finds you unbelievable attractive coming into your lives? If you do, this book, "A Different Kind of Forever" is for you.

I read Dee Ernt's other books, "A Slight Change of Plan" and "Better Off Without Him" and promptly got this one as well.

The story is about a divorcee, Diane Matthews, a college professor raising her three daughters. Still good friends with her ex but realizing that their marriage lacked passion she walked away show more years earlier. Though she is happy with her life, she feels like something is missing. What follows is an unusual meet cute with Michael Carlucci who is a member of the successful rock band, Ninety Seven. Diane feels herself pulled to Michael and feels uncomfortable with their almost 20 year age difference. Michael should be thinking about a hot young wife and having babies, instead he just wants Diane.

I really did love all parts of this novel. I sympathized with Diane and her attraction to Michael and her reluctance to fall in love with him. The two characters really do make sense together and I like that even though the sex scenes were very hot (very hot) you could also see that they really did work. I liked the entire plotting of the novel and Diane's concerns about her kids and her professional life. Michael really came alive to me too and I was surprised that Ms. Ernst was able to write him that well. Prior to this her other novels I have read were always from the point of view of the female character. I also like that Ms. Ernst has both of her characters addressing the age difference and you have Diane having pangs of inferiority and jealously while dating Michael. It made it more realistic instead of everything just working out perfectly for them both.

I would definitely recommend! show less

4.5 stars

MUCH better than most small-sized KU independent mysteries tend to be. Writing style, characterization, and small town charm make it a slice above the rest.

While the mystery part didn't start heating up more intensely until later, I was enchanted with the main character, a mother who has come off weight loss with daughters after a mid-life change. It almost felt like the comedy The Burbs, where a group of friends start getting nosy about weird neighbors. Fun stuff.

Her friends and show more their health walks with the wine and dogs felt absolutely natural. The conflict of still being hung up on her ex-husband who bailed was also natural but not usually touched upon with this kind of novel that usually keeps it simpler, but the new relationship felt mixed between downright cute/funny and warming. Sometimes kids can be annoying in these, but that wasn't the case here - instead the mother has to start letting an older daughter go when she wants to move on with her life, while consoling a younger daughter who doesn't feel the same. Even the dog had a convincing personality.

Mystery wise it was good. There were some small twists. The strength of the story didn't like in a complex mystery, but how the small town was woven up into this tragedy under their noses.

Another thing was a surprisingly dark and gritty finale mixed in with standard cozy mystery fare. Despite convincing humor this book didn't keep it so light and fluffy that it was airy as some cozies tend to be. This helped put it a pace above the rest, with the mental illness coming across chilling, and the final dream sobering - hard to forget.

Highly recommended for cozy mystery fans. show less

An MC that is (almost) 50? Who has a romance? Yes please! One quibble though - does the author really think 50 is that old? When the couple finally gets together (he's 55) they have one round of not so great sex and then say "well, if we were younger we'll give it another go but hey, let's go for a walk instead?" That isn't me or any of the people in their 50s that I know. We can still go multiple rounds in a day! Especially when it's a new lover.

Otherwise, this book is about Lucy, who after show more having gone through a horrific personal and professional incident finds herself taking a job that challenges all the doubts that have crept in during the aftermath. We see her navigating her family, creating a new found family, and rediscovering just how good at her job she is. A lot of books set in France by USians writers end up being so nauseating in their gushing about that country but this one sets just the right balance in giving us a window into life there without fawning over it. It has a wonderful cast of characters and gives us strong female friendships. I just loved this book. show less