Customer Reviews

Charming Lily

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I really enjoyed reading Charming Lily ....it has a lot of mystery in it ...just enough to keep your attention until the end . if you like the TV show Survivor , you'll love this book . As always the dogs that are owned ny the characters in the book are delightful & the reader falls in love with them . It is just a good book with things that interest all of us . and of course it is a good love story !! Susan Manning

Ten years ago, Matt Starr jilted Lily at the altar because he feared commitment. While she waited for his arrival at the church, he drove off on his motorcycle and with no capital began the now very successful Digitech. Forty-nine weeks ago, he joined much of the firm on an Extreme Vacation where the guide turned out to be Lily. Matt immediately decides that he wants Lily at his side forever and begins a campaign to regain her trust. Three weeks from now, Matt and Lily will marry in Natchez, Mississippi because they never stopped loving each other.

History repeats itself and Matt fails to show up again. However, this time three thugs abduct Matt. However, Matt's dog Gracie convinces Lily that this time Matt did not flee on his Harley. With normal and paranormal help, Lily begins searching for the missing groom.

CHARMING LILY is a charming contemporary romantic suspense that is fun to read as amateur sleuths battle with amateur kidnappers with Matt being the prize. The cast makes the story line work to include an unnecessary but quite entertaining side bar into the paranormal that Fern Michaels cleverly fits into the main plot. Ms. Michaels charms her audience with this enticing novel.

Harriet Klausner

Thirty years old, Lily Harper has been left at the altar twice by the same man! Lily thinks that she should've known that Matt Starr would leave her at the altar again. All the signs had been there. She hadn't seen him in a month. He'd missed Christmas, barely called, and then put a million he put in her bank account for the kiss-off.

Suits and ties are for others, and although he's the CEO of Digitech, Matt has no qualms about looking like a vagabond even though he has millions tucked in various accounts. Matt can't wait to marry the love of his life. When he leaves the Digitech offices on New Year's Eve, Matt plans to drive to Natchez along with his dog Gracie. Ten years ago he left Lily at the altar, but on New Year's Day, he's finally going to place his ring on her finger. Or so he thinks. But when Matt stops at an ATM on the edge of town, the nefarious activities of three well-dressed thieves results in his being kidnapped, drugged, and missing on his wedding day. Again.

Best man and business partner Dennis finds it strange that no one picked him up at the airport. Closer to Matt than most brothers, Dennis staunchly believes Matt would never repeat his mistake of ten years ago. So when the beautiful Matt's dog mysteriously turns up nearly starved and obviously neglected, Dennis joins forces with Lily and best friend Sadie to find Matt.

As tangled as the plot becomes, the subplot becomes even more fun as a necklace comes to Lily's hands. The "wish keeper" brings about extraordinary events, lending an element of magic to an already entrancing tale. Indeed, Fern Michael's charming storytelling becomes an absolute delight, weaving just the right elements of magic to create a memorable tale of love. The depth of characterizations, not only in the main characters but also the secondary characters and even the animals, results in remarkable novel that you won't be able to put down. CHARMING LILY is very highly recommended!

Fern Michaels has always written about strong women, but like all of us her women have one weak spot and that is their heart. Lily Harper isn't an exception although she is exceptional.

This is a great story of love, hurt, forgivness, and survival. I truly enjoyed ever aspect of this book, and I am glad to see that the woman is sometimes the survivalist and the man is the one lost in the wilderness. This is a very enjoyable novel, and a very quick read.

Lily Harper is an expert at wilderness survival. Matt Starr is a wealthy computer whiz. Left standing at the altar once before by Matt, Lily is none too pleased when he disappears for a second time, just days before their wedding. Despite the efforts of Matt's best friend Dennis Wagner to convince her that something is wrong, it isn't until Matt's dog appears on the scene that Lily realizes Dennis is right and sets out to find her missing man. Lily is aided in her search by Dennis, her best friend Sadie, and canine sleuths Buzz and Gracie. The search is going nowhere fast until Lily comes into possession of the Secret Keeper's amulet. Suddenly she's having visions associated with Matt's disappearance. At times the dialogue drags on adding nothing to the story. The reader learns early on of the connection between Lily's visions and the amulet, whereas it takes Lily more than 100 pages to figure it out. These minor annoyances didn't prevent Charming Lily from being an entertaining read.

This story was slow to begin with, then excruciatingly slow with the rescue and Matt Star's agony in the wilderness. Lily Harper is NOT charming; she's boring, silly, and screams a lot like a teenager with PMS. The dialog goes too far explaining things to the reader as if they're too slow to understand this formula read without longwinded explanations and, in the end, the one character I truly did have interest in, Betsy Collins, turned into another Lily. Just what we need.

I will give Michaels kudos for making the dogs Buzz and Gracie so smart, loyal, and likeable. She proves by her treatment of those two characters that she is a dog lover, and that scores big points in my book. Still, sorry Fern, you've written a few good books; unfortunately, this just isn't one of them.

Matt is on his way to Mississippi to meet Lilly and two of their friends when he is kidnapped. The story is about the adventures in searching for him by the trio of amateur sleuths. It is full of adventure and not dull at all. I was spellbound and read all day.

"In this gothic-tinged romance set in Natchez, Mississippi, a young woman named Lily searches for her missing fiance, Matt, with the aid of Matt's dog and a few paranormal clues."--Alibris

I can't believe anyone would like this book. I agree with others who said the dialogue drags, adds nothing to the plot, and seems as if it was a high school student's first attempt to write. This is not worth the time. The characters and plot are underdeveloped and there is nothing to keep you hanging on.

Lily Harper had been left at the alter by Matt Starr before. It took him a long time to convince her to give him a second chance. During their time apart Matt had built Digitech, a now famous software company. Dennis Wagner and Marcus Collins were his most trusted men. They had been with Matt since the beginning. Yet one of them was selling secrets to the competition. Marcus was trying to convince Matt it was Dennis. But Marcus was the one in major financial trouble and desperate for money despite the huge salary, bonuses, and company perks. As soon as the new software was announced, which would change the high-tech world, Matt would retire. He had only to marry Lily and fire one of his best friends. That was ... until he was kidnapped!

When Matt did not show up for the wedding, Lily was left standing at the alter for the second time by the same man! She was deeply hurt until foul play became obvious. A necklace given to her (called a "Wish Keeper") was sending her short visions of Matt. The necklace and Matt's dog, Gracie, was the only hope Lily and her friends had of locating him.

***** Awesome story! Just a touch of the super natural (in the necklace) and combined with modern day computer geniuses (I LOVE computer nerds!) makes an excellent story for everyone! I could not bring myself to stop reading, so I finished it in less than a day! Be warned, don't start this one until you have plenty of reading time ahead of you! Highly recommended!