Truly, Madly

I won an ARC of Truly, Madly through the LT ER program

Lucy Valentine comes from a long line of matchmakers who have been aided in the endeavor by being able to read peoples' auras. Unfortunately, Lucy's paranormal talent was zapped when she was 14 years old, and now all she seems able to do is find lost objects, not much help when she's forced by circumstances to take over the family business.

This was a fun, easy-to-read romantic mystery with delightful flashes of humor. I thought it was very well-written in a style that was breezy but not annoyingly so. It was written in the first person, which often puts me off, but Heather Webber managed to pull it off. Lucy is a likeable heroine with a couple of major issues: one is that she feels show more as if she's not really good for anything & doesn't quite belong, and the second is a giant fear of commitment.

She shares the story with a cast of supporting characters that include Sean-a hunky but not particularly well-developed P.I./love-interest, Dovie-Lucy's very hip grandmother who, in her desperation to become a great-grandmother, is both adorable and terrifying by turns, a couple of loyal best friends, a pushy reporter, a really creepily psychotic villain, and, my personal favorites, two rescue animals-one a three-legged, neurotically needy cat named Grendel and a one-eyed hamster named Odysseus. Along with Sean's puppy Thoreau, the furry threesome promises to provide lots of comic relief as the series continues.

I thought the solutions to the various mysteries were pretty cool, but I wasn't thrilled with what I thought was a rather abrupt ending. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the next in the series. show less

Well now, that sure was a lot more fun than I thought it would be!

The cover (I know, I know: book covers and all that) was kind of off-putting, like some really shallow romance thing. I am not sure if I even realized it was going to be a mystery. But it is and I actually enjoyed it. I liked her characterization, and the pacing. Didn't see the end coming, so that was a treat, too.

I already like Ms. Webber's writing and style, since I seem to be reading loads of her books. I like her gentle sprinklings of the supernatural, yet depicted in the most natural possible way. And this one was like that. But I also liked that through the main character, she explores how having unusual abilities affects people who do not want to seem crazy or show more superhuman. Can't wait to read the next one in this series. show less

Truly, Madly was an exceptionally fun novel to read. Psychic matchmaker, Lucy Valentine, is caught in a murder mystery with a super hot guy by her side who actually makes her weak in the knees. Psychic? Fun. Matchmaker? Fun. Super hot guy? Very fun. I loved this book and I love Lucy Valentine. She's spunky and independent, yet loyal and slightly unsure of herself and her abilities. She's a character that's so real, you wish you could hang out with her. The wide cast of interesting characters have all the makings of a potentially fantastic series. I can't rave enough. Truly, Madly is amazing.

Heather Webber's Truly, Madly is a contemporary mystery/romance about a woman from a family that has always had a psychic gift for matchmaking. But Lucy's gift went askew and now she can find lost things instead. This makes her unsure of her place in the family, and she only reluctantly agrees to take over the family business during her father's absence.

She immediately meets sexy ex-fire fighter Sean who is clearly the romantic link. Although it may be cheating to have such a strong initial attraction, as long as the author shows their relationship developing I'm happy. They had no reason to like each other so much in the beginning, but they solved problems, made jokes, and flirted together enough to justify the relationship by the end. show more Meanwhile Lucy confronts her ability head on, accidentally outs herself as psychic to the press, and involves herself, Sean, and a client in an old murder case.

The book is a frothy bubble of plot (lost kids! blind dates! depressed friends! needy cats) and flirting, but done in a lighthearted and fun way that rarely makes me want to pop it. After finishing I can agree that many twists were unnecessary, and Lucy isn't the brightest of snowflakes, but I had fun reading it and will be looking for more books with Lucy. show less

Ever since Lucy Valentine lost her ability to see auras (as the rest of her family can), she's felt like a misfit in her family. She can no longer dream of carrying on the family match-making business, and her ability to find lost objects seems useless in comparison. Useless, that is, until a little boy goes missing in the woods and until she 'sees' the engagement ring one of her father's clients lost - on the finger of a hidden corpse. Lucy enlists the help of Sean Donahue, the sexy P.I. upstairs to investigate the cases her ability reveals, and maybe to help do a little match-making herself.

Lucy Valentine is thoroughly charming - despite the fact that she's a 'never touch my trust fund' baby, despite the fact that she's appallingly show more slow to figure out that 'finding lost objects' could relatively easily translate into 'finding lost people' and despite her irritating harping on her family's 'cupid's curse' - she charmed me. I enjoyed the scrapes she got into during her investigative work with Sean. I loved her inability to say 'no' to a one-eyed hamster or a three-legged cat - and their very literarily apropos names (Odysseus and Grendel). I especially adored Lucy's conversations with her driver (who reminded me strongly of Hector Elizondo - probably because of his stint as Princess Mia's put-upon chauffeur in The Princess Diaries).

I was particularly drawn to the premise - romantic aura-matching, and psychic abilities are always fun, particularly when there are some steamy visions every time Lucy touches Sean (not described in detail). The mystery was intriguing with a (for me) unexpected solution. I liked watching Sean and Lucy work together and banter, and I was pleased that, unlike many other amateur sleuths, Lucy was tracked down and questioned by police in short order whenever she stuck her nose in police business.

Truly, Madly was a fun, light-hearted read. The mystery is cozy, the romantic elements high - and the sizzle factor promising when Lucy lands her guy. The real strength of Webber's debut, though, are the lovable secondary characters she creates - Raphael, Lucy's grandmother Dovie, her best friends, and even the three-legged cat. I'd recommend it for cozy lovers who enjoy a splash of psychic.

Also posted at A Hoyden's Look at Literature.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy for review from the publisher. show less

This was a fun, breezy read, with a mystery that kept me guessing until the big reveal. Webber has fleshed out her characters and made them very real to the reader. With just enough plausible magic between the pages, the story moves along with no hitches, and that is something I love in books like these. There's no need to stop and think about things, because the question has been anticipated and answered, amazingly enough. I honestly cannot wait for the next Lucy Valentine book, especially if Webber keeps this brilliant magical writing up.

Life has decided to be unfair to Lucy Valentine right now. Daddy's been a bad boy and Lucy has to clean up his mess. Armed with nothing more than a useless psychic ability (at least in her mind) and a caring heart, Lucy is thrust into a role she feels ill-suited and ill prepared for. Luckily, Sean Donahue PI is there to help. Yet even with (or in spite of) his help, Lucy manages to get herself into one awkward predicament after another. Grendel, her three-legged cat, must have taught her a thing or two, because Lucy always seems to land on her (sore) feet. If not for that skill, meddling grannies, missing persons and affairs of the heart might just do her in.

This book was high energy and high fun from start to finish. Only glitch for me show more was the fact that two characters had very similar names (Rachel/Raphael) so I sometimes got confused when the action was fast and furious (I suppose that's what I get for skimming in order to find out what happened). All in all, an enjoyable read and I look forward to the sequel. show less