By Charlotte Hughes Mira Books ISBN #1551668637 Romantic Comedy October 2001
"A lighthearted but insightful and entertaining contemporary romance."
In the quiet town of Chickpea, South Carolina, Marilee Abernathy finds her life falling miserably apart. Her minister husband is having an affair with Lafonda Bonaire, the town's floozy, and leaves Marilee to go live with his girlfriend. Her teenage son blames her for his father's desertion and opts to go live with him. Frustration and depression lead her to attempt suicide but she injures herself while trying to 'abort' the plan! That's when she meets her neighbor, Sam Brewer, who incidentally, is convinced Marilee needs psychiatric help!
Marilee decides she needs A NEW ATTITUDE and sets about getting one. The first thing on her list is a job and she finds one - helping her childhood friends, Irby and Debbie, at their funeral home. Marilee also starts paying attention to her special project - a home for pregnant teenage girls. As time passes, Marilee gets a better grip on her life and her new relationships. She also comes to realize that she's quite capable of looking after herself, not only financially but also emotionally.
Charlotte Hughes presents an entertaining romance within the pages of A NEW ATTITUDE, a lighthearted but insightful story of one woman's journey to achieve personal fulfillment.
The characters of Marilee and Sam are delightful and I really enjoyed meeting them. Marilee learns a lot about herself as she travels through each day, trying to improve her life and in the process, helps others too. Her relationship with Winnie was well portrayed. Sam was wonderful, sweet, and sensitive. I personally wish Ms. Hughes had taken a little more time to emphasize the romance brewing between him and Marilee, but this did not take away from my pleasure of reading this wonderful tale.
A NEW ATTITUDE also has an intriguing and colorful cast of secondary characters who cannot be easily forgotten as they stood out from the beginning to the end, demanding some attention for their very own. This is a story that really emphasized relationships and friendships in a meaningful and sweet way.
For readers who enjoy contemporary romances focusing on character introspection and blended with a unique sense of humor, A NEW ATTITUDE is a great book to curl up with this fall.
Leena Hyat for Romance and Friends