Fall TO Grace

Hot Wheels and High Heels
Jane Graves
2007
ISBN 0446617865
Contemporary
****



Coming home to find strangers living there and all her things gone to Good Will does not inspire "good will" in Darcy McDaniel. Her husband has vanished, taking with him hundreds of thousands of embezzled dollars, leaving her high and dry, and ending her career as a trophy wife. With few skills and less experience, Darcy finds herself moving back home with her parents and the best job she can get is working for the man who repossessed her Mercedes, John Stark. Though the two butt heads from the moment they meet and have completely opposite tastes; she lives for Neiman's, Starbucks and all the finer things, while John is content with Wal-Mart, whatever coffee is on sale, and the simple life, there is a sizzle between them that neither can ignore. Darcy is also finding it hard to completely be immune to the charms (read pocketbook) of the millionaire who is offering her a ticket back to the good life, if she'll settle for being a mistress. This is the biggest test Darcy has ever faced as is forced to cram life lessons harder than she ever anticipated.



I must admit, I opened this book not expecting to like it and closed it cheering because it was wonderful. Darcy and John's chemistry is dynamic and sheer fun. Watching her adapt to a less than princess like existence is painful, yet humorous. Though none of the characters is perfect, as Stark points out, imperfect people are the most interesting. The pseudo-villain was not even perfectly rotten, and in the end, I found myself hoping he gets a story in which he gets to be the hero and redeemed.