Friday, January 21, 2011

Review - Lady Be Good



Title: Lady Be Good
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publishing Date: 1999
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: I purchased a used copy.

Lady Be Good is loosely related to Fancy Pants, another book by the illustrious Susan Elizabeth Phillips, AKA SEP. Kenny Traveler is a professional golfer who has been suspended from playing in tournaments for bad behavior. He is determined to clean up his act and lay low for a while to get back in the good graces of the golf commissioner. He has been asked to chauffeur Lady Emma Wells-Finch around Texas as she does research for a paper. She is the head mistress of a private institution for young ladies in England. She has never been attached to any scandal and is looking to ruin her reputation. Her motivations are complicated. Put Emma and Kenny together and they are fire and ice.

God, I love SEP! Her books entertain me endlessly. Right off the bat, Kenny and Emma both mistake the other. Emma thinks Kenny is just a hot body with no brains and Kenny is struck by Emma's beauty but once she opens her mouth her bossy demeanor has got to go! Kenny loves toying with Emma's serious, straight-laced personality and shaking up her world. Boy does he ever! But don't let Emma fool you, she shakes up Kenny's world and surprises him at every turn. He thinks she is going to react one way, but she never fails to turn the tables.

I really enjoyed this story. Kenny and Emma's characters are great. Kenny is a super, spoiled rich kid with whom nobody has ever really gotten to know. Emma is practically an orphan who has never had a family to call her own. These two manage to find and balance each other out. Emma is the first person to really see Kenny. I love that the major focus of this book is these two characters and their relationship is front and center. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a master story teller and this is a wonderful read. Fortunately, for those of you who haven't ever had the pleasure of reading her can start with this one. Even though it is loosely connected to Fancy Pants you don't have to have read that one to enjoy Lady Be Good.

2 comments:

nath said...

Glad you enjoyed this book, Jill.

I read this one, but I had no idea it was related to Fancy Pants... Hmmm.

Jill D. said...

Nath - Yeah, Dallie who is the golf commissioner in Lady Be Good was the hero in Fancy Pants. I am pretty much a sucker for anything SEP writes.