Loose Screws (Red Dress Ink) [Paperback]

Karen Templeton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

In the space of a few hours, thirty-year-old Ginger Petrocelli had gone from bride-to-be to bride-who-never-was. So here she sat, alone in her cramped apartment, wedding crinolines askew, drowning her sorrows in a hundred-dollar bottle of Veuve Cliquot, when her doorbell rang. And her trip to hell in a handbasket was about to escalate.

At the door: Nick, Ginger's "first." Only, he's a police officer now, and he wants to find out what she knows about her M.I.A. congressman fiance. When was the last time she'd seen him? She'd better not leave town . . .

And the spiral continues: her cozy little sublet (really, she liked having her shower in the kitchen) is about to be yanked away, and the prestigious little design firm where she works is about to go belly-up. So what's a girl to do?

Her answer, born of desperation: move in with her crazy, widowed mother -- who Ginger claims sucks the life force out of every creature within one city block of her -- and her grandmother, who spends much of her day engaged in heated arguments with her dead husband.

Well, it's a plan. But bizarrely, as the summer progresses, her eccentric but lovable relatives give her the courage to make choices based on what she wants, not what she wants to avoid.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Loose Screws is the latest from veteran romance novelist Karen Templeton (Plain-Jane Princess). When Ginger Petrocelli's groom-to-be doesn't show up for their wedding, it's just the beginning of her problems. Her boss is murdered and the business goes under with him, leaving Ginger out of a job; the woman she sublets an apartment from decides she wants it back. A fire in her new building forces a reluctant Ginger to move in with her good-hearted but taxing mother, Nedra, and batty grandmother Nonna. Despite all this, Ginger somehow manages to keep from cracking up, with the help of her cousin Shelby, good friend Terrie, and Nick, a handsome cop with whom she had a fling years ago. The novel bustles with characters and surprises, including one very unexpected pregnancy. The chummy, conversational tone ("don't look at me like that, I give to charity, jeez") can be grating at times, but overall, it's hard not to hope that things in Ginger's screwy world turn out for the best.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ginger Petrocelli figures things can't get any worse after her fiance, Greg, fails to show up for their wedding. But she's wrong: within a matter of weeks, her boss is murdered and she loses her job at the design firm as a result, and the person she is subletting her apartment from decides to move back to New York, leaving Ginger homeless. The reappearance of Nick, the man she lost her virginity to, only complicates matters. Ginger manages to find a new job and a new apartment, but the new job is far from satisfying, and a fire at her apartment building forces her to do what she's always dreaded: move back home with her mother and her grandmother. Ginger is fighting her growing attraction to Nick, but she's falling for him hard, at least until Greg shows up, full of apologies and wanting a second chance. An inventive and consistently surprising plot as well as a smart and likable heroine set this romance apart from the pack. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 331 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250193
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250196
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,459,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a multi-published romance/women's fiction author for Harlequin/Silhouette and Red Dress Ink who loves to write about real people dealing with the drama (and humor) of everyday life. I've been a voracious reader since I was four, still manage to read a book or two a week despite having five sons and a full-time writing career.

My 'reviews' are more 'recommendations', since I don't post reviews about books that don't ring my chimes. I tend to be drawn to women's fiction and mainstream family drama most often, with some mysteries tossed in for balance. For a book to 'work' for me, I have to find the characters appealing and believeable; the prose must be compelling and well-crafted; and it doesn't hurt if there's a good dollop of humor somewhere along the line.

Fave authors include Jeanne Ray, Terry McMillan, Anne Tyler, Janet Evanovitch, Curtiss Ann Matlock, Marsha Moyers, Marion Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Crusie, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Read!, January 9, 2003

By 

Delores McCarter "mizdmc" (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loose Screws (Red Dress Ink) (Paperback)

In order to get away from my own personal drama, I deviated from non-fiction books after the holidays and picked up LOOSE SCREWS. Wow, I'm hooked. This book is so funny and real. Take it from a single woman with drama in her life too (but not THAT bad though). I like Karen Templeton's style of writing. She definately has a gift for not only drawing the reader into the plot but incorporating the reader into the story. She is a very polished writer and is an inspiration to me. I was so impressed by her style that I may even dust off my old writings and try hone my craft one day. If I could only find the time between episodes in my OWN life. (smile) Enjoy the book! I certainly did.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What more can go wrong for Ginger., September 21, 2002

By 

Lizzie "carebrite" (La Palma, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Loose Screws (Red Dress Ink) (Paperback)

Ginger is a woman is 30 and getting married to the man she thinks is Mr. Right. Well after her fiance dumps her at the altar and she finds out a few days later that her boss is dead and then her too perfect sublet of an apartment is about to go too, Ginger wonders what a girl is to do.

During all of Ginger is dealing with getting a new job, a new place and trying to keep her cool. When talking with the police about her bosses death it is there she meets Nick a man she met years ago at her cousins wedding.

When Ginger has tried to everything she can to keep her life in check, she realize she is going to have to move back in with her mother and grandmother. There is where the story starts to pick up. Ginger's mother is a riot and her grandmother is there to give Ginger some advice that helps her out.

This was a cute and quick RDI read. Overall I really enjoyed this book and found it to be funny and a light read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing screwy about this one!, October 29, 2003

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loose Screws (Red Dress Ink) (Paperback)

I love it when a book from which you expect no great shakes turns out to be great! Usually the Red Dress Ink books are light and easy reads, nothing taxing, and enjoyable for what they are - brain candy, fluff, bonafide chick lit. So when I encounter one that offers something a little bit more, I always get a tad bit excited....

Loose Screws begins with 30-year-old Ginger Petrocelli drinking herself into oblivion on her supposed wedding day. Being stood up at the altar doesn't do much for the self-esteem, and Ginger's missing fiancé didn't have the guts to dump her face-to-face. However, it seems that no one has seen Greg lately - well, within the past couple of days anyway - and a knock at Ginger's door brings her past rushing up to greet her. A police officer - a one-night stand deflowering from ten years ago - is on the other side of the door to inform Ginger not to leave town while they search for Greg.

But that's not the least of her problems. From that moment on, Ginger's life quickly down-spirals, and it's one pothole in the road after another. It doesn't help that the police officer, Nick, seems to be around at every turn, looking cute and intensely blue-eyed as ever. So what's with Greg and his no-show stunt? How will Ginger cope with everything now that life's been turned on its head? Read this book to find out!

Loose Screws is a step above your average girlie book. While still maintaining its feminine appeal, this novel doesn't make you feel more stupid for reading it. I really enjoyed the story, and the writing was many, many notches above high-school level. A fun, funny, crazy ride of a book. Karen Templeton did good.