Call Me Irresistible: A Novel [Hardcover]

Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 18, 2011

Call Me Irresistible

R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Call Me Irresistible is the book Susan Elizabeth Phillips's readers have long awaited. Ted, better known as "little Teddy," the nine-year-old heartbreak kid from Phillips's first bestseller, Fancy Pants, and as "young Teddy," the hunky new college graduate in Lady Be Good, is all grown up now—along with Lucy from First Lady and Meg from What I Did for Love. They're ready to take center stage in a saucy, funny, and highly addictive tale fans will love.

"Crown Susan Elizabeth Phillips the queen of romantic comedy," raves the McClatchy-Tribune News Service, just one of numerous accolades the beloved New York Times bestselling author has earned in her remarkable career.

For more than three decades, this wise and witty writer has charmed hearts and won the devotion of legions of readers. Now she's back with the book her fans have been demanding—a sassy, sexy, downright irresistible tale of true love Texas-style, featuring gorgeous heartbreaker Ted Beaudine, now grown up and in a heap of romantic trouble all his own.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Letter from Susan Elizabeth Phillips to Jennifer Crusie

Dear Jenny,

It’s once again time to talk about how wonderful you are. No, wait… My new book, Call Me Irresistible, is coming out on January 18, 2011, so it’s time to talk about how wonderful I am. Except I shamefully tried to do exactly that in our last interview, which was about you and your fabulous Maybe This Time, which was such a delicious read that I devoured it in one evening. Truly. It was better than chocolate, so funny and heartwarming, which, let’s face it, is a hard task for even the most gifted writer to pull off, but you did it, babe, and I have no idea why I tried to sabotage that interview. I’m ashamed.

Back to me. So go ahead. Ask me some questions. Make them easy. I’m not half as smart as you. But I’ll put my banana bread up against yours any day.

Love,
Susan

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A Letter from Jennifer Crusie to Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Dear Susan,

My banana bread leaves your banana bread sniveling in the pan from its inadequacy. However, I might write another book again someday and then you’ll owe ME an interview, so I won’t mention that. HA. And I will be Adult and not make the interview about me.

Love,
Jenny

---

Amazon Exclusive: Jennifer Crusie Interviews Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Jennifer Crusie: Welcome to Jennifer Crusie’s interview with her Close Personal Friend, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’m Jenny Crusie and I’m thrilled to be interviewing Susan because she’s not only my Close Personal Friend, she’s also the Queen of Romantic Comedy! Oh, and because she has a new book coming out. And because that’s what Close Personal Friends do. So Susan, tell us about Maybe This Time.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Sigh… Once you tell your Close Personal Friend how much you love her book, she never lets you forget it.

JC: Sorry, sorry, I meant Call Me Irresistible. What was I thinking? Probably that “irresistible” is a bitch to spell, unlike “Maybe,” “This,” and “Time.” So you have a new novel coming out FINALLY. Not that I’ve been impatient or anything, but ye gods, woman, you have fans and none of us are getting any younger. What took you so long? And when do I get my Close Personal Friend of Susan Elizabeth Phillips copy?

SEP: So glad you pointed out the difficulty of spelling “irresistible.” Where was my brain? As for taking so long… Writing is hard! Didn’t anybody ever tell you that? (An advanced copy of the book is coming to you in the mail. Along with a truly superb loaf of banana bread.)

JC: Sorry, sorry, I’m just thrilled that Call Me Irresistible is coming out. Finally. For one thing, I get to see some of my favorite characters again like Meg from What I Did for Love and Lucy from First Lady, not to mention Ted from Fancy Pants and Lady Be Good. Is it fun for you to revisit them? (Not that I care, it’s fun for me, so bring them back anyway, that’s what I say.) Oh, and will readers have to have read all those books to understand this one? Because if so, good marketing.

SEP: I love revisiting old characters. Just like revisiting old friends. (Not that we’re old. Or even remotely mature.) The thing about my books is that they all stand alone, even those with familiar characters. And, boy, does Call Me Irresistible have a lot of familiar characters. If readers want to pick up the older books, more power to them. But they don’t have to. That would be like homework. Except more fun.

JC: You remember back when I told you not to marry Charles and you got all huffy about it? Meg does the same thing to Lucy in this book and she listens. What kind of heroine tries to break up her pal’s wedding? (Tell Charles I said hi.)

SEP: My husband’s name is Bill, not Charles. (This interview isn’t going nearly as well as I’d hoped.) Meg, the heroine of Call Me Irresistible, sees clearly what Lucy Jorik, the bride, can’t—that Lucy and Ted Beaudine aren’t the perfect match everyone believes them to be. Lucy flees her wedding just as she’s supposed to be saying, “I do,” leaving Meg to face the wrath of Wynette, Texas… and Ted Beaudine.

JC: Okay, the last time I saw Ted he was a kid, so his appeal as a leading man wasn’t evident (cute, though) but now he sounds like The Perfect Man: a civic minded, athletic, sweet, rich genius. Did Meg turn into superwoman in between books to earn this paragon? Because I’m feeling inadequate enough without having to live up to a Perfect Heroine.

SEP: Not to worry. As you pointed out, Ted really does have it all: looks, money, charm, and that annoying genius I.Q. As for Meg… Unlike our sexy paragon of a hero, Meg is so deliciously imperfect. Kind of a screw-up, although her heart’s in the right place. She also has big problems. She’s broke, stranded, and unemployed in a town where everybody’s out to get her…and where Ted Beaudine holds all the power.

JC: What is it with you and Texans? Not that I have anything against Texas except, you know, politics, but you’re practically a tumbleweed groupie. Did you have a great one-night stand there that you’ve never quite let go of? Did you look across a room and meet the eyes of a tall, dark ranger and then Charles made you play golf? Because your erotic fascination with that state is well-documented. Give us all the details. And pictures. Pictures or it didn’t happen.

SEP: My husband’s name is NOT CHARLES, it’s BILL! And who are you calling a groupie? I seem to remember a certain wild night, a certain famous rocker… I’ll say no more. As for my Texas settings—and no offense to my Lone Star friends—but that state is a writer’s dream. You can make any dang fool thing happen in Texas and readers will believe it. Thank you Sam Houston and all your fine descendents.

JC: I never had a chance to be a groupie once you told him I threw rolls at you. You asked me some really good questions in our last Amazon interview (smart, talented, and beautiful; you really do have it all, oh Queen of the RomCom), so I’m throwing two of the best back at you: “How do the stories you want to tell now differ from the ones you wanted to tell when you started writing? How are they the same?”

SEP: Do I detect a little sarcasm with all these Queen references? I should never have borrowed your tiara. Great, insightful questions, by the way! (Please don’t bring up the roll incident.) My core story will, I think, always be the same. I love books that make me laugh and get a lump in my throat, sometimes on the same page. I love sexy heroes, funny heroines, and happy endings. Basically, there’s not much difference between what I used to write and what I write now. Except now I’m a lot better speller.

JC: Thank you, Susan for these insightful and fascinating answers. And now for our last question: WHAT’S NEXT? Tell me all about what you’re working on so I can harass you so you can finish it faster and I can read it. And because I’m a pal, proofread it.

SEP: I’m not giving too much away by saying that, by page thirty of Call Me Irresistible, Lucy Jorik has fled her wedding, and we don’t see her again for the rest of the book. Leaving us to wonder… Exactly what happened to our runaway bride?

From Publishers Weekly

Phillips crafts a laugh-out-loud and romantic story with panache that mostly makes up for some gaping plot holes. Onetime PGA star and smalltown mayor Ted Beaudine (met in 2005's Fancy Pants) is about to marry Lucy Jorik, the daughter of a former president, when she's persuaded to break it off by her best friend, Meg Koranda (2008's Glitter Baby), the aimless daughter of Hollywood royalty. Everyone in Wynette, Tex., loves Ted, but Meg feels Lucy deserves a passionate partner, not a god of self-control. After the disaster of calling off the wedding at the last minute, Meg's parents cut her off, stranding her in the hostile town. As Meg finds her own path and helps Ted discover his heart, the townspeople stoutly (and hilariously) defend their golden boy. However, some readers may not appreciate that Meg's good deed is punished so often and severely en route to happiness. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (January 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061351520
• ISBN-13: 978-0061351525
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS is a New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, and USA Today bestseller, whose books are published all over the world.

If you'd like to know more, including info on her newest book, whether any of her books will be made into movies, how to get an autographed book, where she gets her ideas, please visit her web site. You can also see goofy vacation photos. register for her monthly contest, and chat with her on her Message Board. http://www.susanelizabethphillips.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 131 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Irresistible?? Nah. January 18, 2011

By C. Read

Format:Hardcover

I waited till midnight to download the book to my reader. And in typical SEP style, she draws you in immediately, making it impossible to put the book down simply at chapter 2. Are you insane? There's no way you could stop there!
Yet, the reason I gave it 3 stars, was that there was something "off" about this book.
Let's break this all down shall we? I was dying to read about Teddy. Ahh shy, hot piece of man meat Teddy. Euu.. Where was that man in this book? Because the Teddy in this book was pompous, fake, and..odd.
And I have to say that it's not unusual for SEP to have her heroine's become humilated quite a few times. I grit my teeth through it because I KNOW that the end will make up all for it. But it seemed like all that happened in this book were people revelling in Meg's humiliation, and worshipping the ground that Teddy walked on. A few times I think I prayed that Meg would kick him straight in the nugget's to get him to get it together.
Let's not forget Meg in this equation. I was sometimes confounded by her character. She was the wild child of her family, went to the beat of her own drum. (you get the picture) But for her to act the way she did, didn't "Click" for me. I will put a score for Meg that her character was Flawed, wasn't the serene, innocent heroine that we always see in the romance genre. That was refreshing for me.
Was I the only one that found their sex scenes a little hard to believe? There was no chemistry, probably because after they were finished Meg would make the comment that it didn't seem right, that something was missing. Uhh! that's your cue to walk away Meg!
There is more to this book that had me stratching my head. It's still def. not the worst book I've read. You can see the spark of SEP's writing, but not like her other ah-amazing novels.

Now the next thing I'm waiting for is Lucy's story... I'm dying to find out more about what happened to her!!

62 of 71 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I would give it 3 stars, but I expect more from SEP. January 24, 2011

By BookWorm

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just read it over the weekend. I'm not going to say that I hated it (it's not the worst SEP book I've ever read), but I won't be re-reading it and it wouldn't be the SEP book I'd recommend to anyone.

It read like a mish-mash of SEP's previous books. If I had to choose, I'd say that this book is a mish-mash of "Ain't She Sweet" (entire town against the heroine) and "Match Me if You Can" (girl from over-achieving family has to figure out what she's good at and she ends up with ultra-successful guy that every girl wants to be with).

I actually loved both of those books, so I probably enjoyed "CMI" more because of it. (Just because the theme interested me.) However, there were a lot of problems with THIS book that I didn't have with the previous books.

First of all, I've read "First Lady", but I have not read "Fancy Pants" or "Lady Be Good". Nor will I ever read them, because I feel that SEP's work becomes quite dated quite quickly (probably because of her obsession with designer stuff) and reading those books is very much like watching an old episode "Dynasty" or "Dallas". It just doesn't work for me.

So, for me, I kind of walked into this book with no knowledge of Meg or Teddy. (I haven't read "What I did for Love" either, because I knew it was about Jolie/Aniston/Pitt.) So, I was ready to read the book on its own merits without worrying about the history of these characters.

The Good Points:

If a person likes SEP's writing style, this book is very much true to the best of SEP's writing. The characters have a good sense of humor (especially Meg) and their conversations are fun. It's fast paced without being too fast-paced. The hero and heroine have good chemistry and neither one of them do things that make them Too Stupid to Live.

I understood the motivation behind Meg's decisions, for the most part, and I found her to be a sympathetic heroine. (To an extent.) I wanted to see her get an HEA.

The Bad Points:

I felt like SEP expected every reader to have read her previous books, so she didn't flesh out Teddy's story AT ALL. Since I walked into the story without any idea of who Teddy is, I kept waiting to learn more about him and what makes him tick. The major key point of Teddy's character is that he is "perfect". But, obviously, no one actually IS perfect. So I kept waiting to get Teddy's POV, where we're told about all his flaws and why he feels the need to set the bar so high for himself.

Unfortunately, the majority of the book (about 85-90%) is in Meg's POV. Folks can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't seem to recall that being the case with a lot of SEP's previous work. For the most part, I seem to recall that she splits time fairly evenly between her hero and her heroine. In any case, this book suffered because of the lack of Teddy POV. The only way I could see his actions was through Meg's POV and (of course) she's a biased character. Teddy is going to come across as a jerk to the reader, because Meg considers him a jerk. When she no longer sees him as a jerk, then the reader is forced to re-asses. Not because we're shown WHY we should reassess, but because the main character essentially tells us to.

I might even have been able to go along with it, if we were told Teddy's story through Meg. If Teddy and Meg had spent some time getting to know each other and, through Meg, we learned his background. Other than a brief mention of an incident that took place when he was nine, I never got the sense that Meg took the time to get to know Teddy and - unfortunately - that meant that I didn't get to know him, either. Instead, the reader is essentially told that Meg just GETS Teddy on a level that no one else does and he GETS her in a way that no one else does. And that is why they have True Love.

Well... I'm gonna need a little more than that, SEP.

I could continue, but you get the point. I think that SEP suffered from the idea that folks loved Teddy so much from previous books that they were intimately familiar with his story and to go over it again would be a re-hash. Well, given that she wrote those two books over a decade ago, I think she was wrong in that assumption.

Although I liked Meg, for the most part, I did have some problems figuring out why she stuck around a town where everyone hated her. I understood the idea that going back to LA wasn't an option and that she'd hit rock-bottom. But she was incredibly nice to an entire town of people who truly didn't deserve it. Add in the fact that the entire town pretty much pimps her out for their own gain and it becomes even more baffling that she would feel that she owed them anything.

I also had problems with the ending where Meg/Teddy have their Big Misunderstanding (you know the drill from all romance novels - "He/She doesn't love me as much as I love him/her, so we're parting ways for a few chapters...") and I'm completely taken aback.

** SPOILER **

Essentially, Meg tells Teddy that she's in love with him and if he's not in love with her then he sucks. And she's out of there. Now, I fully understand that she fell for him and that she's trying to protect her heart. But - seriously? He tells her that he was just engaged to someone else just TWO MONTHS AGO and she thinks that's not a valid reason. And, later, Teddy has to grovel and chase after her because that was a huge mistake on his part. Not realizing that he was in love with a woman two months after meeting her, even though when they met, it was the night before his wedding TO ANOTHER WOMAN. The heroine doesn't give him time to sort out his feelings. She doesn't say, "Hey, I have to go live my life. But call me when you get your act together." He's calling her parents, her brothers, everyone in the world, and she completely ignores him. Like he killed her puppy in front of her or something. When all he did was say, "Listen, this is hard for me. I almost just married another woman. I can't just be in love with you two months later."

I really wish that they'd allowed him more dignity and that the heroine would have been more mature. I understand the need for the Grand Gesture in romance novels, but does it really need to be at expense of the characters' personalities?

** END SPOILER **

But that's not even my biggest gripe with the book. The one that will probably make it that I will never re-read this book again. The people of Wynette. The entire town (and I include characters from previous books in this). They were - how do I put it? - completely reprehensible.

From the beginning, they were introduced as small town people with a bias against big city people and huge inferiority complex that manifested itself in the form of pure rudeness and haughtiness towards Lucy (first, as Teddy's fiancé) and then Meg. I truly did not understand how or why I was expected to find any of them likable or sympathetic. First of all, they treat Teddy like dirt (like they own him or something) and act like Lucy is not good enough for Teddy even though she's the child of a former president of the United States. (And since I've read "First Lady", I can tell you that Lucy - as a child - was a very awesome character who does not deserve to have an entire town looking down at her.) Then, when Lucy is out of the picture, they have a gang mentality and turn on Meg, completely making Lucy blameless and making Meg's life hell, even though it really wasn't Meg's fault.

As time goes on, they do absolutely nothing to change my opinion of them or give me ANY reason to think that Meg should like these people and that she should want to stay in this town. At one point, Teddy's mother (who was the heroine of "Fancy Pants") hits rock bottom, in my opinion, and essentially humiliates Meg in front of the majority of the town. And the town folk? Talk smack about Meg and we're supposed to think it's sweet because they don't do it in a loud voice. They only do it so the `core' group hears them and not the whole party. Well... um... in my world, they shouldn't be doing it AT ALL. It's like they keep trying to bring Meg down a peg, when she's really hasn't done anything to deserve that attitude. What lesson is Meg supposed to learn from this? That people are mean?

And, in point of the fact, that's the crux of the matter. The reason why "Ain't She Sweet" works with this similar story line (an entire town hates the heroine) is because the heroine was truly a horrible person in her youth. The book is the story of her redemption and her healing the rift she caused with the people of her hometown. In this case, it's more along the lines of a small town being a little clique and closing ranks on the "outsider" and using her for their personal gain without giving her anything back.

Anyway - I really love SEP's books and look forward to them (especially since she only releases one every 2-3 years). But this one is definitely not going onto my keeper shelf. Reading it once was enough and I'm not sure that I could recommend it to anyone. Its not her best work and I wouldn't even say that it's the best contemporary I've read recently.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Call Me Enchanted! January 20, 2011

By J.P. = Reader

Format:Kindle Edition

Meg Koranda blows into the town of Wynette Texas to be a Maid of Honor at the wedding of her best friend, Lucy Jorik. Unfortunately upon meeting the Groom (Ted Beaudine) Meg has a bad feeling that the wedding shouldn't occur. Something is wrong. In spite of the fact that the Groom is nearly as perfect as any man could possibly be (Including mysterious halos of light dancing about his head and bands of trumpets choosing the exact moment he appears to begin their practice) Meg feels that he is simply all wrong for her best friend Lucy. And she says so.

And Lucy impetuously agrees and does a runner.

Leaving Meg to face a town of angry town folk who are angered at the insult to the golden favorite son, angry parents, and Ted himself - who although seems far less upset than he really should be isn't quite yet ready to issue Meg a thank you. Throw in the fact that Meg's parents have chosen that exact same week to cut off her financial support and the Jorik's forget to pay her hotel bill as they take off after their fleeing daugher .... And Meg has a problem.

The book is laced with the humor and quirkiness that made the name "Susan Elizabeth Phillips" a staple of romantic comedy. We witness Meg (finally! In the view of her parents) learn to be self-sufficient and we witness Ted (finally! In the view of Meg) throw off his anointed one persona and claim his right to be occasionally selfishly human.

I agree with some of the viewpoints here that Ted's POV is underrepresented through most of the books, however I suspect that was mostly a deliberate decision. In the beginning chapters Ted Beaudine is little more than a town figurehead. He does what he believes he should do, what the perfect man does. His indoctrination into that role is so complete that he doesn't even allow himself access to those private thoughts and desires - much less us readers. We, like every other citizen of Wynette are left being "Just another woman who think she knows Ted." When in reality, until the end of the book not even Ted knows Ted.

I will also agree that the book is laced with flashbacks to previous books, sometimes good and relevant and frankly sometimes not so much. I didn't find it overly distracting but I suspect that a reader who hasn't read Fancy Pants etc might sometimes wonder "And why do I care?" I don't find this to be a negative enough point to distract from my rating though.

Great job on the book SEP! Five stars, and that isn't something I say often.