Customer Reviews

Fly Me To The Moon (Zebra Contemporary Romance)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There are some authors who are funny. Unfortunately newcomer Kylie Adams is not one of them. The author adeptly manages to insult just about every group, Jews, Episcopalians, Italians, southern folks, obese people, etc. You name it! As I recently read somewhere, there is nothing like humor that falls flat. The stupid, insipid, brainless, buffoonery in Fly Me To The Moon (which is where I wished I was instead of reading this book)is exactly that.

Savvy Sofia Rose Cardinella has left the same groom at the alter three times. Her father and fiance just won't take the hit, but prefer to pay for the reception, cake and dresses, believing she'll eventually show up. Unfortunately, the only consistency about Sofia is her refusal to marry a man her father approves of.

Enter Ben Estes. He's not Italian. He dares to sing Frank Santra songs. He does have wit, charm, a masterful style, an, very quickly, Sofia's heart. Even when her father has Ben yanked off stage during his second number, for daring to sing Frankie's songs of course, Ben maintains his intensity, sexiness and authority. Not even death threats will stop this romance.

And it's a good thing too, since the elder Cardinella sends too bumbling hit men to erase his problem. When they show up at Sofia and Ben's little vacation retreat, the solution seems simple: marriage. But will that be enough to keep him alive?

Newcomer Kylie Adams' sophisticated style scores a direct hit! With a flair for the dramatic and outrageous, she creates characters who border on the manic, act out the impossible, and keep the laughter rolling. Fashion, cosmetics, and hit men make FLY ME TO THE MOON an exciting read too good to miss. Oh, and don't forget the sassy Mr. Pickles, who deserves his very own acclaim. Very highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. I love that Sofia is so unapologetically shallow---always over the line on her credit cards, blowing her 401K on must have shoes and matching bag. I was a little concerned when she and Ben were flying to CA and she decided to curtail "certain activities" until she had her head straight, but then, just like a real human being confronted with a handsome, romantic "prince", she gave in. I thought Ben was a doll. How fun to have a hero that wasn't some sullen, brooding hunk with deep dark secrets. How fun to have guy who made an obsession with the "uncool" (Frank Sinatra) so cool you want to run out and buy every album he ever made. An old friend is gay AND P.R. and it blew me away, the realism of Ricky's relationship with his parents. The same for Debi---being a Junoesque woman myself---I knew where Debi was coming from. But then Adams lost it. I almost put the book down when Debi and Vincent met face to face at the speed-dating thing. So why did Debi have to end up with her sister's reject. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if Debi had either found herself and decided she'd rather be alone than with some loser who let himself be jilted at the altar 3 times or else she had gotten to hook up with some charmer who saw beyond Society's insistence on size 2 and appreciated the smart, funny woman she was. I mean, even at the end---Sfia's going off to launch her cosmetic comapny, Debi's preparing top give birth. I think Kylie could have done better there. But other than that quibble with a secondary character's treatment, I enjoyed this book and will watch out for future efforts. Oh---and the acknowledgements page really was fun!

I absolutely love this book. I read it while on vacation and couldn't stop laughing out loud. My cousin made me promise to let her read it next. lol Anyway, I loved the dark and handsome Ben. I loved the humorous dialogue and the wonderful characters. So modern and...well..just wonderful. I could relate to Sofia on so many levels and yet it was nice to have her be a little wild and spontaneous. I would definately recommend this to anyone who wants to start reading romances, or even to those readers who love Fabio novels!

I absolutely love this book. I read it while on vacation and couldn't stop laughing out loud. My cousin made me promise to let her read it next. lol Anyway, I loved the dark and handsome Ben. I loved the humorous dialogue and the wonderful characters. So modern and...well..just wonderful. I could relate to Sofia on so many levels and yet it was nice to have her be a little wild and spontaneous. I would definately recommend this to anyone who wants to start reading romances, or even to those readers who love Fabio novels!

"Fly me to the Moon" is a spunky, hilarious novel by
Kylie Adams. It follows the misdaventures of the
daughter of a mobster, Sofia. She has just left her
father's handpicked groom at the alter for the third
time. Then, she falls for a Sinarta cover singer
named Ben Estes. Naturally, Mr. Mobster hates him,
and so they have to go on the run until they decide to
hitch the knot. The two hitmen are hysterically
inept. Soon, Ben gets good advice, and becomes a
success. There is a subplot involving a mysterious
hitman named the Caretaker. The identity of him(?) is
a shocker.

It's her wedding day and Sophie Cardinella has just jilted her fiance...for the third time. Just because her mobster father, Joseph, wants her to marry Vincent Scalia doesn't mean she'll be bullied into it. So Sophie decides to skip her wedding, do a little shopping in SoHo and cut her long hair off. Proclaiming that the world's looking at the new Sophia, she vows that the next time she becomes engaged, it'll be her that's picking the man and not her meddling father. That's when she meets Frank Sinatra wanna-be Ben Estes. He's everything her father hates and he's perfect for her! Bored with her makeup counter job at Berrenger's and nonexistant sex life, Sophia decides that having a man like Ben in her life could be fun....and pleasurable.

Ben Estes is a lawyer, or was until he threw away his law books for a snazzy suit and a microphone. Hoping to make it big on Sinatra tunes, Ben lands a job at a local mini-mall where he meets Sophia. Recently single (his ex left him for a toothless, illiterate hockey player), Ben decides that someone as sexy as Sophia might add a little fun to his life. Immediately attracted to her beauty and personality, Ben invites her to an upcoming show at Villa, a local restaurant. Ironically it's the same night as the Cardinella "family night", so Sophia agrees. Unfortunantely for Ben, what should've been a night of pleasure turns into a nightmare after Sophia's father puts a hit out on him. Joseph doesn't want his daughter dating some unemployed jerk who carves up good Sinatra tunes! Hoping to save Ben's life and get in a little vacation time, Sophia takes him on a free trip to Carmel. This of course is where the fun (and pleasure) really starts.

Aside from Sophia and Ben, I also found myself equally entertained by other characters in the novel. They include: Ricky Lopez (Sophia's gay best friend and co-worker at the Berrenger's makeup counter), Debi (Sophia's overweight, smart sister who's in love with Vincent), Mr. Pickles (Sophia's pampered pooch who likes to urinate on legs, clothing and basically anything expensive), and Fat Larry and Little Bo (her father's bumbling hit men).

As I was reading, I really connected to Sophie on some weird Valley-girl plane. She's judged more on her looks that her smarts. Most people see her as a materialistic, ditzy, daddy's girl. Underneath though, she's an intelligent, savvy businesswoman. Her interaction with others reminded me so much of myself that I found myself cheering her on through the novel.

I suggest "Fly Me To The Moon" to anyone looking for a sexy, comical, contemporary romance. Author Kylie Adams is a genius! She had me laughing to the very end and entertained me so much that I read it again the next day. I've never laughed more in my entire life! I look forward to reading more from her.

P.S. If you're looking for some steamy sex scenes, this book is perfect! Your eyebrows and your temperature will raise...guaranteed. I'll never look at honey the same way.

Gennie Bailey-Rogers

Pure and total fluff!!!! Loved every page and will read more from Ms. Adams for the entertainment value!! Have already loaned this out to friends and they are all waiting for the loan of the next Adams novel!

This was such a fabulous book, that I couldn't put it down. I was getting rather tired of romance novels, as the all seem to be very much the same, but if Kylie Adams is going to continue to write them, I might just keep reading them.

Sophie is a great character, so chock full of flaws that she even seems like someone I could meet at teh make-up counter of MY local department store. Ricky and Debi, her co-conspiriters are great, too. Very funny, but with problems of their own, and things that they need to work through. Ben is a riot, sexy and funny, and I love the way he talks! And his friends, especially Kitty (I would like to see Ms. Adams write a book about her, I think she would be a great heroine, refreshingly uninhibited), are frank and easy to relax around.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the "Fairy Tale" quality to teh ending. The couple fall into marriage, and then fall into love, and then fall into success all without a major hitch in sight. Still, if you can suspend your disbelief for the three-hundred-or-so pages, this is a refreshingly original romance novel, with slightly raunchy language, and some very great major and minor characters.

Joseph Cardinella feels three's the charm as he plays matchmaker between his Mafia family and another, similar to the way royalty used to do so in Europe. However, his youngest daughter Sofia proves him wrong as she leaves Vincent Scalia at the alter while the Wedding March drones on and on. Instead Sofia is listening and watching singer Ben Estes perform like a mall-Sinatra.

Sofia decides Ben is perfect not because he is drop dead handsome which he is, but because daddy will hate him. She picks him up, but when he learns who is best fan's father is, Ben decides to vacation in California with Sofia. As Joseph's thugs follow, Ben and Sofa fall in love, but will the groom live long enough to attend the wedding and if he makes it to the alter will the bride finally show up?

FLY ME TO THE MOON is an amusing romantic romp that will please readers who enjoy laughter with their novel. The story line is stretched, but understandably so as debut author Kylie Adams uses her secondary cast to provide humor. Though some charcaters appear more caricature-like and perhaps even stereotypical than is needed, sub-genre fans will find Ms. Adams has the talent to entertain even though one must wonder how she knows that Hollywood's George Clooney is "real"?

Harriet Klausner