Review: Perfect Match by Kathy Love

Perfect Match
by
Kathy Love


Blurb
Nothing extraordinary ever happens in Fiddlehead Bay, Maine until an enigmatic woman moves  into the small seaside town and  opens her shop of eclectic odds and ends.  There are rumors  among the locals the shopkeeper is a modern day fortune teller and  matchmaker, and Franci  Grassette is fascinated by the concept.  Her nonexistent love life could use some  matchmaking.  Heck, it  could use a miracle.
Dylan O’Brien came to Fiddlehead Bay to make a fresh start with his daughter and to forget the  deceits of his wife and his dark  past. Not to get involved with a woman.  But he soon finds himself  always running into Franci, first as his daughter’s daycare  teacher, then as his landlord.  And it’s  getting harder and harder to ignore his attraction to the sweet, thoughtful and sexy woman.
Franci isn’t sure if the shopkeeper is making the meetings with Dylan happen, or if it’s just  coincidence. But when the “matchmaker” helps her find a perfect dress for  the town’s party of the year, Dylan suddenly makes his interest in Franci  very clear, and it’s  definitely not just as his daughter’s teacher. But you can’t outrun the past and it catches up to  Dylan with a  bang, testing their new love, and threatening their PERFECT MATCH
Author Bio
I started writing romances when I was in junior high. The heroines were my friends, and the heroes were guys you may have heard of such as the Beatles, the Monkees and other various rock stars and actors. I even wrote a romance where Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was the hero and worked at a carnival, which I think is pretty accurate. If he hadn’t made it as a rock star, he’d definitely be a carnie. I was the heroine, of course.2013-03-05 02.29.21
I was also lucky enough to have a best friend who also loved to write. We spend many nights laughing and plotting and writing our wonderful, romantic and completely implausible love stories. (Except for the Steven Tyler story, which as I said, was completely plausible.)
Even though I loved to write, I never really believed I would get published. After all, in the small mill town where I grew up in the mountains of Maine, we have a saying, “You can’t get there from here.” And that was how I felt about the publishing world.
So I set aside my dream of being an author. I attended the University of Maine, left my junior year to move to Providence, then moved to California, then Maryland. For nearly three years, I didn’t write a single story.
But during these years I had many jobs, most of them unfulfilling. I worked as an Atari consultant (don’t ask), in retail, and finally as a receptionist at a hair salon (this one was pretty fun). All the while, the desire to write still nagged at me. Finally, in 2000, I decided I needed to try again.
At this point, I should probably add that while I did write lots of stories in my teen years, I never actually finished one. So this was my first attempt to write a real, honest to gosh, novel. With a beginning, a middle and an actual end. I joined the Maryland Romance Writers and a critique group that I’m with to this day. (Thank you, Tarts, I couldn’t have made it without you ladies!) And I started my first book, a humorous vampire romance. And guess what?
I did finish it. It took two years, but I did it!
At a conference, Kate Duffy from Kensington Publishing heard about my book from one of my critique partners and asked to see the full manuscript. What? Yes, that was my exact response. I couldn’t believe it. But I sent it in. Kate called and told me that while she liked my voice, she didn’t really love the vampires, and did I have anything else I could show her?
Assuming she wasn’t interested in any of the uncompleted stories from my teen years, (even the very believable Steven Tyler/carnival story) I had to tell her no. To my shock, she asked me to pitch an idea. After a couple weeks of toying with ideas and generally freaking out, I came up with the stories for my Stepp sisters trilogy. I emailed the ideas to her, and within an hour, Kate called and told me she wanted to buy them. Again, I was floored.
Now I have finished over twenty books. Yep, all with beginnings, middles and ends. I’ve even managed to rework that first book that Kate rejected, and it was released as Fangs for the Memories. I can’t begin to tell you what an amazing experience this has been for me. Somehow, it did “get there from here” (This is best said with a heavy Maine accent–“get they-ah from he-ah.”)
And not only did I get there, but my best friend who wrote all those silly stories with me made it too. My dear friend, Julie Cohen also became a writer. Check her out here (he-ah). (http://www.julie-cohen.com/)
Pretty exciting for two girls from Rumford, Maine.
Now if I can just get that Steven Tyler/carnival thing published.  Although I have written two books with one of my other besties, Erin McCarthy about a New Orleans vampire band called The Impalers. (The Fangover and Fangs for Nothing.) So that’s pretty close to my Steven Tyler opus.
;-)  Kathy


Author Link
Website

Review
It's been a while since I've read a contemporary from Kathy Love and Perfect Match is well worth the wait. It has everything I'm use to in a book written by Ms. Love humor, and a well-written story with heartwarming characters. You will find yourself laughing and tearing up at the same time. I think I enjoyed Olivia the most. Because of her you get a real insight into what kind of man Dylan is. The way he takes care of his daughter will melt your heart. Sorta like it did Franci's. Of course this is a romance so we all know that their road to love isn't going to be a smooth one. They have some bumps along the way but in the end the learn to work it out. I also liked how Ms. Love set us up for more stories. I can't want to see what she has coming next. If your looking for the "perfect" Sunday read, then you've found it! If you've read Perfect Match I'd love to know what you thought of it. Happy reading!   

Comments

  1. I've only read her paranormal for the last few years. I will be nice to read her contemporary. I loved the Stepp sister trilogy.

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    Replies
    1. I loved them too! This is a good story and easy to read! You'll like it.

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