Cupid: The Captivating Chauffeur [Paperback]

J. M. Jeffries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

Jupiter has demoted Venus to Goddess of Fruit Trees and Cupid to God of Flocks and Shepherds. To make matters worse, Jupiter promotes Vesta, Goddess of Virtue, to Goddess of Love. Vesta is determined to bring chastity belts back into fashion. In retaliation, Cupid and Venus set out to prove that no one plays the love game as well as they do by matchmaking the impossibly mismatched Andrew Sullivan and Francesca Ling.

Andrew Sullivan has spent his life raising his siblings and making money. Now, the last of his siblings is grown, he’s sold his business, and he wants to take a driving vacation across the United States. The only problem is he never learned to drive. He hires Francesca Ling to chauffeur him, unaware that she is seriously directionally impaired. Despite his complaints, about Frankie, Andrew finds himself lusting after the sexy, free-spirit. But Andrew isn’t about to let himself fall for a maddening woman who can’t read a map, parallel park, or get anywhere on time.Frankie Ling knows she’s driving Andrew crazy. She also knows that the stodgy financial wizard needs to learn how to have fun. She sets out to show him the time of his life, but when she finds her heart getting involved, she quickly puts on the brakes. Andrew’s made his mark on the world and wants to settle down. Frankie is just starting her career and doesn’t want or need a man to complicate her life.Venus and Cupid step in to help the couple realize they are meant for each other. They provide aphrodisiacs and a wild romp at the Chateau d’Amore. When that fails, they stoop to lying, blackmail, and masquerading as bears to keep the lovers together. But Andrew and Frankie still refuse to fall in love.Can Cupid and Venus convince this mismatched couple that they belong together, or will Vesta have her way and change the rules of love forever?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"5 STARS-- Delightfully funny and keeps you guessing. A novel that you just won't be able to put down!" -- Shari L. Brennan Sime~Gen, Reviews Coordinator

"Once the readers begins though, this story will refuse to let them go. Intoxicating! ***" -- Detra Fitch, HUNTRESS BOOK REVIEWS

This is definitely a "read-in-one-sitting" book. I couldn't put it down, and I laughed all the way through!..." -- Tina Adams, HeartRealm, Feb 2001

About the Author

J. M. Jeffries is the pen name for writing team Jacqueline S. Hamilton and Miriam Pace.

Jacqueline is the proud owner of twenty-seven shades of red lipstick. At the ripe old age of twenty-three, she ran away from home to Europe and the Carribean to visit friends and relatives only because Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus wasn’t accepting applications. She is living proof that at age eighteen one doesn’t need to know what they want out of life. She is also living proof that at thirty five one doesn’t need to know what they want out of life.

While she considers herself a happy person, Jackie fights daily with her envy issues. At college, she studied sociology because it was the only subject besides romance novels that attempted to explain the meaning of life. She considers herself a workaholic/procrastinator and would rather lay on the sofa patting her tummy, teaching her friend’s dog how to smoke, and then lie about it. She is passionately enamored of Steven Spielberg’s Animaniacs, William Faulkner novels, and "The New Detectives: a Study of Forensic Science" on the Discovery Channel.  **

Miriam is the only woman in the world with her own hand cream collection which she uses everywhere on her body except her hands. Her greatest beauty secret is lip balm for the elbows. She has the refinement of a Victorian lady, the intelligence of a Nobel Prize Laureate, and when the stars are straight and the moon is full, she has the vocabulary of a truck driver. Miriam truly believes the only reason she received a Masters Degree in English was because her instructors were too afraid she’d come back. She has been known to level mountain ranges with the lift of an eyebrow. But her friends consider her generous, warm and a closet dominatrix.

Miriam knew she would marry her husband of twenty-nine years after their first date, but made him wait a whole year before she said, "I do," so he could have the illusion he was the pursuer. She is known as the curator of the Pace Zoo. At any time one can find sheep in her back yard, a German Shepard mix-breed dog who thinks she’s a cat, kamikaze koi with an attitude, a Russian Blue cat who redefines the word lazy, and a Persian who needs Prozac.  

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Imajinn Books (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893896137
• ISBN-13: 978-1893896130
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,508,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.M. Jeffries is the award winning writing team of Miriam Pace and Jacqueline Hamilton. Authors of romantic suspense and romantic comedies, they can't decide if they like killing people more than they like making them laugh. Miriam and Jackie have been writing together for eleven years, though it seems longer on occasion when they are on deadline. Miriam thinks Jackie is a master manipulator. Jackie knows Miriam is a bulldozer. Miriam has a deep and passionate love for shoes, amber jewelry and purebred cats. Jackie collects red lipsticks, Animaniacs memorabilia and steals pens.

Together they've written over twenty-two romance novels including the award winning Cold Case Crime Unit series for Genesis Press and the critically acclaimed Cupid series for Amber Quill books. They have also appeared in three anthologies.

Miriam and Jackie live in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unusual and whimsical -- Very highly recommended, April 4, 2001

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cupid: The Captivating Chauffeur (Paperback)

Defying Jupiter's "hands off humans" policy was disastrous. Venus hadn't known she had allergies until was demoted to Goddess of the Fruit Trees and Gardens. The eight months of puffy eyes and sneezing leaves her absolutely determined to regain her position as Goddess of Love. Since Cupid was downgraded to God of the Flocks and Shepherds, he just scratches his fleas and moans about his hooves. Worse, Vesta has been made the Goddess of Love, complete with chastity belt and determination to base matches not on love, but on logic. Despite her demotion, Venus pits her match making skills against Vesta. Venus arranges the love match between Andrew Sullivan and Francesca Ling, while Vesta tries to pair him with The Ice Queen, Olivia Montgomery.

Drew spent his life raising his younger siblings following the death of their parents, not even graduating high school himself, but ensuring education and support for each of his younger siblings. Finally freed of the last of responsibilities, he's ready to live. Retiring from business, Drew plans a cross-country trip, hiring a limo since he doesn't have a driver's license. He doesn't realize his driver's directionally impaired until they wind up at Niagara Falls. Giggles and guffaws later, following skinny dipping, tickets for lewd behavior, tawdry hotels, aphrodisiacs and inhibitors later, Drew and Frankie find joy of love despite Vesta's hysterically funny interference.

This delightful Cupid novel exhibits the freshness and delight that marks J.M. Jeffries's writing style. Joyfulness in love brings mortals and gods into a remarkable contemporary romance that satisfies the most demanding critic. If you love the unusual and the whimsical, then CUPID: THE CAPTIVATING CHAUFFEUR is a must read! Very highly recommended.

3.0 out of 5 stars Venus, Cupid, high jinks, April 7, 2003

By 

K. Newman "krazykmcd" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cupid: The Captivating Chauffeur (Paperback)

This book is one of a very funny series that has Cupid and his mother Venus meddling in human affairs to make good their own situation with dad Jupiter. Sometimes to make Jupiter pleased, sometimes to tick him off. The Gods really are like mischievous, spoiled and often charming children, and cause complete chaos and mayhem for the humans they are focusing on.

In this book it's the directionally impaired Frankie Ling, half Italian half Chinese part time worker in her fathers limousine service. Andrew Sullivan, having just sold his business for mega bucks and now free of the siblings he helped raised, is looking to cut loose a little. Only a little, because his idea of cutting lose is a learning tour - hiring a car and driver - Andrew can't drive - for a month and going to all those places he's always wanted to go. Only he gets Frankie as his driver, who takes him to places he's never even been before.

It's a funny story, largely because of the antics of Cupid and Venus and how they affect Frankie and Andrew. Frankie is a free spirit, and Andrew a stick in the mud, and that makes for some fun dialogue and situations. I don't know if two so completely opposed people would really get on, but Jeffries certainly makes these two opposites attract.

It takes real talent to be consistently light-hearted and funny without being heavy handed, and Jeffries really succeeds in this fantasy/comedy/romance. It's a tad shorter than the average tale, but well judged as otherwise it might have dragged.