Customer Reviews

Truly, Madly: A Novel

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first of a series of books (at least two more) with the main character Lucy Valentine. I enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next one to see where the story goes. It is romantic, but is not a romance; has some mystery, but is not a mystery; and has a little bit of psychic abilities but is not in the paranormal genre. Added to all that, it has some light comedy. Put it all together and it was a fun book to read.

The Valentine family has matchmaking ability as a result of their ability to read auras and Lucy's father asks her to take over the family matchmaking business while he recuperates in the Caribbean. But Lucy's ability was zapped away when she was 14 and now she can only find lost objects. One of her clients leads her into a mystery and shows her a new use for her abilities. She hires the sexy private investigator whose office is upstairs to help with her the matchmaking and the mystery.

The tone of the book is light, romantic and a little bit comedic. You might even call it a fun bit of fluff. It's a great book to curl up and read in front of the fire or on the beach.

I think what makes the book so fun is that it is filled with interesting characters. In addition to Lucy, her parents and grandmother, and the private investigator, there is her father's driver (who is also looking for love) and Lucy's two best friends. This book introduces us to Lucy and her family and friends and plants the seeds of some future romances involving several of the characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Deeply, Desperately: A Lucy Valentine Novel due out in August 2010.

I enjoyed reading "Truly, Madly" a great deal. This surprised me because I started one of the author's other books, from her Nina Quinn series, and couldn't finish it. I didn't like the characters and the story wasn't fun at all. But I immediately liked Lucy Valentine and her family. The premise of the Valentine family business, matchmakers who use a secret, hereditary, psychic ability to find matches, is interesting and not too "out there" to be unbelievable (for me anyway). Lucy can't matchmake because of an accident with lightning as a teen, instead she can locate lost objects. The book follows her discovery of ways to use this talent and the feelings she struggles with over it. Of course, there are the obligatory sexy men, but the author makes them part of the story and it works well, the romance novel flavor doesn't take over the mystery. "Truly, Madly" is filled with humor, mostly centered around the foibles of Lucy's parents and her grandmother, which gives the story enough lightness to be enjoyable for me (I think that's what was missing in the Nina Quinn books). I would recommend for any reader who enjoys lighter mysteries not slotted into the "cozy" category.

Truly Madly is a wonderfully funny romance, that looks to be a continuing series. I really enjoyed this lighthearted romp but I must warn readers that the romance in the story is ongoing and does not conclude at the end of the story. In fact, I believe the author intends this to be a paranormal, chick lit mystery series.

Lucy Valentine was lucky enough to be born in the famous Valentine clan. A heritage that includes special powers that allow all their family to see auras of people. This helps them match couples and their success rate has made them rich and famous. However, although they can match other people they are cursed to never be able to find their own perfect match! So when Lucy's married father is caught in an affair he asks Lucy to take over the business while he goes with her mother to hide and let the publicity die down. But there is a BIG problem, Lucy is a Valentine but she lost her power to see auras when she was electrocuted which mysteriously changed her powers. Now she has the ability to find lost objects. Lucy feels like a fraud and useless but circumstances teach her that maybe she has more abilities than she believes. When she thinks she discovers an unsolved murder and asks for the aid of the new and handsome investigator, Sean Donahue her world spirals gets out of control!

This is a quick and enjoyable book that is perfect to get you in the mood for Valentine's.

Lucy Valentine comes along line people with psychic-ish abilities. Her father owns a `match-making' business because he can read auras that pick their perfect mates. Lucy can't auras only find lost `things' like your wallet, book, key etc. While her father is on vacation from the Paparazzi she is forced to take over the business. Lucy has reading and `sees' a dead person where the client lost engagement ring - she asks hunky PI to help with her mystery - and then it is off.... This book was so good - romance, mystery, adventure and above all great writing. Enjoy! Looking forward to her next book Deeply Desperately due out August 2010.

Armed with a special form of ESP that allows her to find lost items, Lucy Valentine sets out to cover the family match-making business while her father hides out after a scandal. She's concerned about her abilities to handle the job because she was denied the family's true gift (being able to read auras that assist in match-making) after a freak childhood accident. Along the way we meet a brilliant cast of colorful characters, including a steamy PI who assists Lucy in solving a mystery or two that arise while she's working with her father's clients.

This romance/mystery is witty, fun and refreshing. Instead of your typical boy-meets-girl, the reader is teased in a good way as the sparks between Lucy and Sean (the PI) fly freely. Even after the mystery concludes, you're left wanting more! Fortunately, this novel was set up as the first in (at least) a trilogy and I, for one, can't wait for future installments. It's been a long time since I read anything this entertaining!

I had not read any of Heather Webber's books until I stumbled on this one, but I am now totally hooked. This book was such a fun read that I didn't put it down until it was done. The characters in this book are so much fun. They're quirky, but lovable. I like the romance between Lucy and Sean - both are cautious and so the relationship builds slowly (and hopefully it will continue to develop). Lucy's parents and grandmother are unconventional, which Lucy understands and accepts. Raphael, who's more like Lucy's father than her own father, is one of my favorite characters. The ESP angle is well done and doesn't over-power the plot. I never felt any drag in the story - it kept moving along and taking me with it. This is definitely a series that I will follow as long as Heather keeps writing.

This was a quick, fun read - it cleans the palate after too many grisly body counts or harrowing apocalyptic reads.

Heather Webber has really created a winner with this first Valentine Inc book!!!

I not only luuuvvv her quirky fun cast of characters...I luuuvvv 'em enough, I'd get a kick out of a day job at Valentine Inc!!! I wonder if they're accepting applications?! LOL!

Can't wait to re-visit this fun and fabulous world again and again with each new story in the series!!!

This is the first book in a new series about psychic Lucy Valentine. Lucy's family runs a renowned matchmaking company, Valentine, Inc. Most of the Valentines have been gifted with the power to read people's auras, thus enabling them to match people successfully. Through a fluke of fate (and a lightning storm), Lucy's aura-reading skills were stripped from her, leaving her only with a psychic ability to find lost objects. Despite her lack of matchmaking skills, after Lucy's father is embroiled in an adultery scandal, he leaves town and leaves Lucy temporarily in charge of the family business. Lucy's attempts at matchmaking team her up with a sexy private investigator and lead her on a wild adventure involving missing children, years-old dead bodies and an attempt to reunite two first loves after a misunderstanding tore them apart years before. This is a light-hearted book filled with quirky, loveable characters. The plot is original and well crafted. This is a great combination of the chick lit genre and the paranormal romance genre. I will look forward to reading additional books in the Lucy Valentine series.

This book is first in a cozy paranormal series. Lucy has the psychic ability to see where lost items are; she tries to keep this a secret. Her family owns a matchmaking business and Lucy takes over the company while her father is on medical leave. Lucy begins to believe that she may be a viable member of the company after all. She is drawn to Sean, a PI in the same building as the company. Together the two of them try to solve a mystery involving a matchmaking client. Good secondary characters in this book, I loved Grendel (Lucy's cat) and Dovie, Em and Marisol. This book had a good mix of humor, mystery and romance. I won a signed copy of this book from the author, who is a very nice lady. I will continue reading this series.

[...]