Review - Deeply, Desperately

Title: Deeply, Desperately
Author: Heather Webber
Publishing Date: 2010
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: I purchased this book used at a book store.

Deeply, Desperately is the second Lucy Valentine novel by Heather Webber. Lucy Valentine is the daughter of Oscar Valentine, who started up a renowned matchmaking business. The Valentines have been blessed with being able to see a person's aurora and can tell when two auroras are a match, hence the success of the business. Unfortunately for Lucy, she lost her ability to see auroras and it was replaced with the ability to find missing objects. Lucy opened up her own business to help find missing people. She also sidelines by helping the police department with missing person cases. Sean Donahue, a private investigator helps Lucy from time to time and is also her boyfriend.

In Deeply, Desperately, Lucy and Sean's relationship is moving to the next level, but Lucy is afraid because even though the Valentine's are responsible for many successful relationships, their own love lives are abysmal failures. Lucy is afraid of following the same pattern and has been very cautious with Sean. In addition to her love life, Lucy is trying to help an 80 year old POW find his lost lady love of 50 some years ago and is also helping the police find a missing woman.

I really enjoyed Deeply, Desperately. It is a cute book and Lucy is a great character. She is down to earth, loving and sensible. I enjoyed this second book even better than the first. It was just a fun story. The pacing is great. There is a lot going on in the book and the mysteries are balanced by Lucy's personal life. Lucy has got a great head on her shoulders and it is fun to follow along with her on her cases. It is also a treat to see her struggle over her feelings for Sean. I also really enjoy Lucy's interactions with her friends and family. They are a big point of focus in the book and it makes Lucy all the more easily to relate to. I am looking forward to more of this series.

Review - Truly, Madly

Title: Truly, Madly
Author: Heather Webber
Publishing Date: February 2010
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Subtle
Book Disclosure: Received an ARC from a friend.

Truly, Madly is the first book in the new Lucy Valentine series by Heather Webber. Lucy Valentine comes from a long line of matchmakers. Her family has a very special trait that is passed down from generation to generation where they can see people's auras. When Lucy was fourteen she lost her power to read auras and gained the gift of finding lost items. Lucy has always felt like a failure. Her father needs her help to run his matchmaking business after he has a heart attack. Lucy knows she is no good at it, but she doesn't want to let her father down. When one of her clients needs help tracking down his childhood sweetheart, Lucy teams up with one sexy PI, Sean Donahue. She instantly gets thrown into a mystery when an unexpected dead body pops up. Hopefully, with Sean's help she will get to the bottom of this mystery.

Truly, Madly is told in the first person from Lucy's point of view. The writing style is very light hearted and humorous. The tone is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's contemporary romances like Hot Stuff, not necessarily her Stephanie Plum books. It has a fun, quirky characters and nothing too dark or heavy. The romance is very subtle, just establishing Lucy and Sean's relationship. Lucy’s relationship with her family and friends also adds to the story.

Lucy at first doesn't appreciate her gift. She doesn't find it very useful and that frustrates her. As the story progresses, she discovers that her gift does have its advantages. This helps to add growth to Lucy’s character. Although at times, it seemed like we are only scratching the surface of these characters. They did seem a little superficial. Hopefully, as the series continues the characters will have more layers and depth. Readers who want to take a break from the broody, dark world of demons, vampires and shifters will want to give Lucy Valentine a try.

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This book can be purchased in print format from Amazon.