Somebody to Love    by Kristen Higgins Order:  USA  Can Harlequin, 2012 (2012) Paperback, CD, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Martina Bexte Single mom and children's author Parker Welles is more than ready to move on with her life. She's finally free of the Holy Rollers - (the sickeningly moral pain in butt characters she'd invented years ago, who she never imagined would become so popular) - and is looking forward to finally turning a new page in her and her son Nicky's life. Unfortunately though, their new storyline takes an unexpected dark turn when Parker's father lands in jail for insider trading. Suddenly her family's fortune, plus the substantial nest egg she'd put aside for Nicky, is gone. Her only recourse is to move to Gideon's Cove, Maine and oversee the renovation of the seaside cottage she'd inherited from a distant relative, and then sell it, for what she hopes will be a tidy sum. Once she sees the cottage however, her great plan crash lands with a resounding thud. The cottage is nothing more than a mouldering, vermin infested shack in need of a complete tear down. Now what? James Cahill, her father's lawyer and loyal right hand man, isn't quite so pessimistic, however, and volunteers his carpentry skills, despite Parker's misgivings. Cahill, whom Parker has always called Thing One (to his face no less), is a smarmy, pencil-pushing banker, not a handyman. But once she gets a load of the man in his well worn blue jeans and tool belt, she decides to reserve judgement – for now. While James is up to his armpits in sawdust and mice, Parker busies herself discovering her new identity as a small town citizen and business woman – and also eventually learning that James Cahill is by no means the smooth-talking, yes-man lawyer she thought he was. Someone to Love is one of Higgins' better stories; Parker is a wonderfully endearing character, smart, witty, and down to earth despite her privileged background. She doesn't spend a lot of time feeling sorry for her plight, and is determined to buckle down and make a new life for herself and her son. But nothing is ever that easy, is it? Especially once she learns the real truth about James/Thing One. As for James, he makes a great foil for Parker's snark. He's always polite, always helpful, and stubbornly determined to rebuild her cottage as well as to reconstruct her ridiculous notions about the kind of man he is. Chock full of humour, poignancy and small town charm, Somebody to Love is a thorough delight. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews