Falling for April (Zebra Contemporary Romance) [Paperback]

Lisa Plumley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Zebra Historical Romance | Publication Date: March 1, 2002

What happens when free spirit April Finnegan's interests collide with those of hunky, new-in-town department store tycoon Ryan Forrester? A kooky battle of the sexes, that's what! The winner is the last one standing--but soon April and Ryan are both falling for each other.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The only things red-headed caterer April Finnegan and smooth playboy Ryan Forrester seem to have in common is unemployment and the overwhelming desire to prove themselves to others. April is forever trying to live down her flaky family; Ryan has decided to give up his partying ways and live up to his. Their goals bring them head to head in small-town Saguaro Vista, AZ, April's hometown, where there's no room for two community relations specialists (their new titles), let alone one. When April challenges Ryan to stop spending the Forrester fortune to win people over, he has to reevaluate what he really wants. Is it the most challenging female he's ever met, or a seat in the family boardroom? This is hilarious, nonstop screwball comedy, with zany, lovable characters Feisty Fiona, April's check-bouncing, queen-of-garage-sales mom, bagel-pilfering Uncle Bobby, et al. threatening to upstage the love story. Plumley (Making Over Mike) is the equal and more of Sue Civil-Brown and Rachel Gibson. She lives in Chandler, AZ. Jo Manning, Barry Univ. Lib., Miami Shores, FL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Two "different drummers" find happiness accidentally through an accidental competition. Ryan Forrester, left at the altar by a conniving money-grubber who ran off with a groomsman after fleecing the groom, is desperate to prove himself something other than an "idiot savant" and rich heir of the family department store business. April Finnegan, the only responsible member of the ne'er-do-well Finnegan brood, is fired from her bakery job for baking obscene chocolates and tries to impress her former employer to get her job back. Ironically, they both seek redemption by trying to drum up community sponsorships for their respective sources of employment, so meet soliciting the same merchants. Plumley provides an opposites-attract-in-spite-of-themselves subplot to the main theme of like-finding-like, even if they don't know it at first. Although things start slowly, momentum builds once the premise is set, and two scenes are memorable: Ryan's introduction to April's nutty family and a happy resolution at a Greyhound bus stop. Mary K. Chelton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821771116
• ISBN-13: 978-0821771112
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,922,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much fun!, May 17, 2002

By 

Daphne Atkeson (Paradise Valley, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling for April (Zebra Contemporary Romance) (Paperback)

"Falling For April" was pure delight from start to finish. Intrepid April made me laugh and Ryan was a perfect match for her. The kookie family just added to the fun. Lisa Plumley is a master of the humor that lives in the differences between men and woman. If this book doesn't make you smile... you need a loooong vacation!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars amusing contemporary romantic romp, March 2, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling for April (Zebra Contemporary Romance) (Paperback)

After playing the sucker and being jilted at the altar, Ryan Forrester decides no more hedonism and especially no more women. He becomes active in the family department store business. He proposes to his father and the other board members a way to save the midsize stores being squeezed out by superstores. His suggestion is to forge partnerships with local merchants. That is why Ryan is in Saguaro Vista, Arizona testing his idea.

April Finnegan worries about money as her rent just doubled with her roommate?s marriage and she has lost her catering business job unless she finds new accounts. April realizes that Mr. Moneybags, as she has labeled Ryan, is a rival competing with her efforts to partner with Charlie?s Pizzeria Funhouse and other accounts. April bets Ryan he would fall on his face without his family cash. Unable to resist Ryan accepts the wager. As she and Ryan compete for the same business, they fall in love, but he was recently jilted and she has little trust in men.

Lisa Plumley provides readers with an amusing contemporary romantic romp. The story line never takes itself seriously as the lead couple battles one another and their growing feelings for the other while the support cast provides the ambiance of small town southwest living. Readers will fall for the humorous FALLING FOR APRIL.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Fall for the Hype, May 6, 2002

By 

Eileen Collins (Bolingbrook, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falling for April (Zebra Contemporary Romance) (Paperback)

The main characters in this novel, April and Ryan, are the two most shallow characters I've ever encountered in romantic fiction. They have absolutely no depth. And for more than the first half of the book, it was a struggle, not to put this book down, but to continue on with it. Pretty darned boring. It picks up in the second half but when you're finished reading it, you'll realize you couldn't have cared less about either of them through the entire story. These two are so completely self-centered that the only reason they could possibly love each other is because they're exactly alike. Well, actually, April does commit a selfless act in the end. It's not that they're not likeable. They're really rather innocently shallow. The book has its humorous moments and one or two emotional rushes but, overall, it just makes you wonder why you bothered. Don't bother.