Sandy M’s review of Divorced, Desperate and Delicious by Christie Craig
Contemporary romance published 27 Nov 07 by Leisure Love Spell

It’s been ages since I’ve laughed out loud while reading a book.  Christie Craig pulled laughter out of me I don’t know how many times during my read of her Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, a wonderful story of Lacy Maguire, who has sworn off men after her divorce, and Chase Kelly, a sexy police officer who is running for his life and trying to save his career when his current partner suddenly turns on him and he can’t figure out why.

Here’s the book blurb:

Ever since photographer Lacy Maguire caught her ex playing Pin the Secretary to the Elevator Wall, she’s been content with her dog Fabio, her three cats, and a vow of chastity. But all that changes when the reindeer-antlered Fabio drags in a very desperate, on-the-run detective who decides to take refuge in her house–a house filled with twinkling lights and a decorated tree. (Okay, so it’s February. but she has a broken heart to mend, a Christmas-card shoot to do, and a six-times divorced, match-making mother to appease.) For the first time in a looong while, Lacy reconsiders her vow. Because sexy Chase Kelly, wounded soul that he may be, would be an oh-so-delicious way of breaking her fast. Now, if she can just keep them both alive and him out of jail…

Here’s an excerpt.

Watching these two strangers in a dangerous situation come to believe in and trust one another, give in to their desires, and eventually fall in love, all despite the comings and goings of family and friends that would push most of us off the deep end, is a wonderfully zany time.

Lacy is unsuccessfully trying to tell her mother it’s none of her business whether or not Lacy has a sex life – she currently doesn’t – when her dog, Fabio, goes crazy in the backyard.  Curious, Lacy admonishes Fabio for his antics and runs straight into the wounded cop they’ve been warning people about on television.  Armed and dangerous.  Yes, he is definitely armed.  And he is definitely dangerous.  Even wounded and sopping wet from a plunge into the river, this cop is as sexily dangerous as can be. 

But he’s a dirty cop and Lacy is scared witless when he barges into her home and handcuffs her to the bed.  She had been determined to get through this particular day.  It’s her would-be fifth wedding anniversary, and even though she’s better off without her cheating husband, it still hurts to be divorced, something she refuses to go through again and again so she won’t end up like her mother, who has been married and divorced six times.  So she does not need this!

Chase just needs a place to rest and regroup so he can figure out why his partner is ready to kill him, and it looks like that place is going to be with the beautiful woman who stumbled upon him during his getaway from Zeke and a date with death.  But once inside Lacy’s home where animals are dressed like reindeer, Christmas music is playing, and appliances talk, he’s sure she’s loony.  And with a busy-body, matchmaking mother, friends who drop in unannounced and talk about becoming lesbians, and her ex-husband phoning to make a date for a roll in the hay for old time’s sake, Chase knows he should be on his way. 

But there is something about the woman and her big, blue eyes that makes him stay put.  Even a Fancy Feast sandwich isn’t enough for him to give up and move on.  Lacy has taken hold of him and brought him back to life after a two-year hiatus from living since his wife’s death.  However, until his mess of a life is straightened out so they can talk about the future, Chase has nothing but danger to offer her.

Even with uncertainty, doubt, and danger lurking all around them, this couple still has loads of fun together – especially while making love — and when their feelings finally open up, it’s romantic and loving.  They’re both scared to move into a new relationship for their own reasons, but when they’re together, even a look sets off sparks between them.  They tease and nudge one another into laughter and into bed. 

The secondary characters are all so well written and that’s where half the laughs throughout the book come from.  Lacy’s mother is a hoot!  I also enjoyed the way Ms. Craig used remnants of earlier hilarious scenes later in the book to continue the fun until the very end, i.e., the aforementioned Fancy Feast sandwich and Lacy’s mother’s missing thingamabob – you have to read the book just find out about that. 

The book is full of fun, romance, and love and you’ll have one heck of a good time until the very last page.

Grade:  A