Michael Lee West

Author Michael Lee West is one of the south’s treasures as she’s shown with her previous works set amongst the live oaks and Spanish moss. Mermaids in the Basement is a worthy addition to her funny and convoluted tales of the modern day south and the resilient (and sometimes off-beat) women who live there.

No blowsy magnolia blossom, screenwriter Renata is down and depressed by her mother and step-father’s unexpected death in a plane crash several months prior to the opening of the show more story. She has a distant and superficial relationship with her father, who is about to marry a very young trophy wife. Her writer’s block is flaring up even as the latest deadline on a crap screenplay is due. And to cap it all off, she sees a tabloid showing her boyfriend, a successful director, in a clinch with the latest Hollywood “It girl” on location in Ireland. After an unproductive call to boyfriend Ferg, a few too many drinks, a bonfire, and alcohol-inspired Fed-Exing, all of which turn out to have been Bad Ideas, Renata finds a letter from her mother marked to be read only in case of an emergency. This letter drives Renata’s flight to her paternal grandmother’s home in coastal Alabama to find out the truth behind her parents' life together. Once home, matriarch and grande dame Honora, former nanny Gladys, and long-time family friend and former actress Isabelle conspire to help Renata find the steel in her backbone, share the skeletons in the family closet with her, and show her that her future, while anchored on the past, can be made to suit the person she is becoming.

Filled with grand parties, shocking revelations, and more side plots than you can shake a stick at, West has created her trademark eccentric but entirely believable characters and plot. She has a way with the turn of a phrase that sometimes doesn't dawn on the reader until they are a paragraph further on but will still elicit a bark of laughter. This is a snappy, witty, and fun read that sucks you and and doesn't let you go, through both the unconventional, crazy happenings and the more mundane. And it will make you a bit sad you don't have characters like this in your real life, because honey, you know they'd take you for some wild ride. An easy, smooth read, West does tackle some heavier topics than calling this a breezy romantic novel would suggest. And she handles them deftly, not allowing them to destroy the light touch of the whole. This is one I definitely recommend. show less

Teeny is all ready for her big day, with one exception…the cake. With a few ideas in mind, a great new cake decorating class paid for in full by her fiance and a few weeks to prepare she’s certain she’ll create a masterpiece. Unfortunately the class is canceled on the very first night, leaving Teeny to drive home and find her husband with two other women playing badminton in their backyard, completely naked. What starts as a wonderful evening eventually ends in the death of her show more soon-to-be husband and her subsequent arrest. This is not at all how she imagined her “big day” happening and she especially didn’t expect the one person who could save her would also be her first and possibly only true love who left her hospitalized many years before.

Gone with a Handsomer Man falls into that “maybe not quite Chick Lit” category, but who knows? There are so many forms of Chick Lit anymore that I can’t discount any of it. What I can say is that I absolutely loved this novel. From beginning to end Teeny had me laughing and shaking my head at her antics. This pint sized Southern belle could bake a delicious cake that could not only win your heart but stop it in an instant if you got on her bad side (which rarely happened). Her character was so well written, she was shy and demur, but not annoyingly so. It must be the Southern charm or perhaps her near-constant need for an inhaler, because I felt she was perfectly balanced as was the entire novel. It’s basis is obviously a bit in the mystery genre, but there is a definite pull into the romantic Chick Lit world as well.

Those who have read my reviews before, know I have a pet peeve for discovering the ending a bit too early in books. Well, when it comes to mystery novels I get even more picky, because shouldn’t they be even more difficult to figure out? With Gone with a Handsomer Man I will say I had my guesses about half of the way through the book, but West’s writing kept me plugging away at the pages without a second thought. In the end, my guess was right, but I wasn’t bothered the way I normally get. I’m positive this has everything to do with the writing and the other characters in the story who made it so enjoyable to keep turning page after page.

As for the romance, well, I went in expecting a wedding perhaps and ended up with a girl being swept off her feet by a first love all over again. Teeny and Coop’s relationship was adorable and I’m truly hoping there will be an additional novel after this one to continue on their story. I’d love to see if they ever end up having their “happily ever after” and what exactly is going to happen with that incredible cliff hanger West slipped in a the last minute of the story.

Whether you are a fan of mysteries or not, if you love a great Chick Lit novel then Gone withe a Handsomer Man is absolutely a novel you need to give a try. If for no other reason that it has one of the most hilarious covers ever, you should give it a try. But of course, the writing is superb, the romance has you holding on to the last pages wondering how it will end up and the mystery of who killed the fiance will have you guessing to the last pages. Oh, and I almost failed to mention, Teeny is a baker and the food aspects of this story will have you positively drooling throughout! This is definitely a book I’ll be recommending and cannot wait to see if Teeny and Coop’s story will continue on in another novel to come! show less

The novel begins whenTeeny comes home to find her fiance, Bing, playing naked badminton with two "ladies" in their backyard. She takes to a tree and pelts them all with peaches which gets her in trouble with the law and makes her the prime suspect when he ends up dead not too long after.

Gone with a Handsomer Man starts with a bang and never lets up. It had me laughing and reading to the very end. I was eager to figure out the mystery of who killed Bing and I wanted to read more and more show more about the yummy Southern food.

This book had me craving some down home comfort food like chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, homemade pies. It seemed like every page had some new food described in detail and it made my tummy rumble. Luckily in the back of the book...recipes.

There are times when a recipe is given during the narrative that reminded me a lot of the movie Waitress. Any of you seen it? She describes making the pies for different reasons-jealousy, revenge, etc. I started picturing Keri Russell as Teeny saying these voice overs,

"I imagined shooting the women with a paint gun. No that wasn't mean enough. I wouldn't feel satisfied until I force-fed them Good Riddance Blueberry Pie."
Add 2 1/2 cups of berries, along with 3 tablespoons of melted blueberry jelly and a dollop of Havoc-a blue, granular rat poison with a rodent-alluring flavor."

Michael Lee West has assembled a truly great cast of characters and infused this book with lots of Southern charm. The humor is a bit raunchy, which may offend some, but I found it hilarious. Such a fun read. Can't wait to read more by West. show less

I adore Michael Lee West's books.

In her latest, Gone with a Handsomer Man, we meet Christina "Teeny" Templeton. She's sort of kind of making her adult way in Charleston, South Carolina, after a tough but mostly happy childhood in nearby rural Georgia. We open as a she is attending a baking class, given to her as a gift by her fiance Bing, ostensibly so she can make their wedding cake. Upon finding the class cancelled, she returns home, only to find Bing and two women playing naked badminton. show more Instead of slinking away, she climbs a tree and assaults all the naked people with not-quite-ripe peaches, which apparently do great damage. This concludes with her being arrested, and a record made of her new antipathy toward her now ex-fiance and his lady friends.

So when Bing is found dead - by Teeny, even though she was supposed to stay away from him - suspicion naturally points to her. So now she's under suspicion for Bing's murder in addition to having to find a place to live, a job/career, and starting a new life. Add her very first love, his nearly ex-wife, a surly private detective, and a couple of adorable dogs into the mix, and you have Gone with a Handsomer Man.

This novel has all I expect from Michael Lee West; plucky heroine, humor, food, and a deep and abiding love for the South of which she writes. To talk too much about the plot will spoil it, so I'll not do that. There will very clearly be at least one follow-up novel, and I already cannot wait. Highly recommended! show less