Isn't it Romantic?

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ISN'T IT ROMANTIC?
Ellen Fisher
ISBN: 1-58608-428-3
May 2004
New Concepts Publishing
Ebook
Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Ellen Fisher has another winner in Isn’t It Romantic! This is a fun, easy read, perfect for a day at the beach or quiet evening at home, with characters the reader feels like he or she would like to get to know personally. Isn’t It Romantic is the second book in Ms. Fisher’s series that begins with All I Ever Wanted, yet it is a totally stand alone book. If you have not read All I Ever Wanted, you will not feel like you missed anything, however, if you have, you will smile at the references to characters you met there.

Blond-haired, amber green-eyed, marvelously hunky Kipling Stanton has moved to Swift Creek to take a break and sort out his life following the cancellation of his hit television show Farthest Space. Swift Creek has several appealing features to Kipling, or “Kip” as his family and fans call him, including having his parents about three hours away, and living in the same town as his pre-med sister Chrissa and the author of the Farthest Space books, Max. All Kip wants is some normalcy without being mobbed by fans. Shortly after he moves in, he meets Cody Lang, with whom he feels an immediate attraction.

Cody is a petite red-haired, brown-eyed, self-made woman in her early 30’s who, to please her father, has told him she is married! Her father, anxious to meet Cody’s new husband, immediately makes plans to come visit, and Cody is faced with finding a husband – FAST! Within moments of meeting Kip, she asks him to be her husband. Therein lies the fun in the story as Kip and Cody try to pull off the deception on her father, Dave.

Ms. Fisher creates absolutely wonderful characters. Each is different and unique in their own way. It is a delight to read a story where the characters do not follow a cookie cutter pattern, but could actually be the person living next door to you. Ms. Fisher’s own playful sense of humor comes through in their interactions with each other, and the messes they get themselves into.

An aspect this reviewer appreciates as well, is how Ms. Fisher raises modern day concerns such as literacy and inspiring children to read as a subtle part of the story. Cody began her bookstore in an effort to bring truly good, quality books to children. Her friend Tiffany, who we first meet in All I Ever Wanted, does a weekly story time for the children as part of the book, and Kip ultimately finds an outlet for his own creativity and acting ability by promoting a television program devoted to childhood literacy. One can read this wonderful story without looking at these deeper issues, or can look at them and applaud Ms. Fisher for raising them.

Another facet of Ms. Fisher’s talent is her ability to describe the different rooms in the different houses. This reviewer fell in love with Kip’s own library with the floor to ceiling bookshelves as well as his own collection of books! And Cody’s house is so well described, if one closes their eyes they can actually picture walking into these very romantically designed rooms.

Ingeniously on Ms. Fisher’s part, she not only reintroduces the readers to Tiffany, who truly deserves a story of her own, but also to Kip’s agent, Serena, who would also be a wonderful subject for yet another story. This reviewer, however, is still waiting for that long awaited book on Captain McNeil! Having “met” the actor that portrays him in Isn’t It Romantic, the Captain McNeill story can’t come soon enough.

Isn’t It Romantic is a must read for the romantic at heart!

Reviewed by Gina
June 2004