What, No Roses? [Mass Market Paperback]

Marianne Mancusi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2006

Unless Dora Duncan can stop it, it's going to be another St. Valentine's Day Massacre. A year ago, her (now ex) boyfriend Nick stood her up at the worst possible moment. That was when she gave up important TV reporting for stories like "Too Stressed for Sex." And though such clips have a certain relevance, things have been a whole lot quieter. Too quiet. Until now.

Now she's gotta go back in time (don't ask!) and stop that very same Nick from messing up the time-space continuum. She has to travel back to a place where everybody speaks easy and cuts a rug-and this Chicago ain't no musical. Here, there are tommy guns and torpedoes, guys and dolls, gin joints, flappers, stoolies, rats and a whole lot more; and prohibition means anything but no.

It's the 1920s. Time for Dora to roar.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Dora Duncan thought she had found true love in fellow foreign-correspondent Nick Fitzgerald while covering the war in Iraq. On Valentine's Day, they have the opportunity to cover a raid, but Nick fails to show up and Dora is captured and imprisoned. A year later and still damaged by her ordeal, she now hates Nick. Dora is approached by some men in black who claim Nick has a way to travel in time and that she is needed to stop him from changing history and wreaking devastation on the world. Sent back in time and into the body and life of the showgirl girlfriend of Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, the gangster who orchestrated the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, Dora's job is to find out whose body Nick is inhabiting. The denouement will disappoint hard-core time-travel romance fans, but most readers will find Mancusi's tale humorous and sexy. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

In addition to writing, Marianne Mancusi works as an Emmy award winning television news producer for the NBC station in Boston. Her first novel, "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court", was called by Publisher's Weekly, "A sparkling debut." She's also the author of several teen novels, including the vampire series "Boys that Bite." Marianne enjoys snowboarding, clubbing, shopping, 80s music, and her favorite guilty pleasure--video games. She lives in Boston's historic North End.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (July 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505526751
• ISBN-13: 978-0505526755
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mari Mancusi used to wish she could become a vampire back in high school.
But she ended up in another blood sucking profession --journalism -- instead. Today she works as a freelance TV producer and author of books for teens and adults. When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure--videogames. A graduate of Boston University and a two time Emmy Award winner, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon and dog Mesquite. You can find her online at www.marimancusi.com or www.bloodcovenvampires.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed!, August 13, 2006

By 

debbie60435 "debbie60435" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What, No Roses? (Mass Market Paperback)

I truly wanted to like this book; I looked forward to buying it. I love time travel romances, however, I found this one lacking in many areas. I found the plot to be ho-hum, not very interesting. The characters, except for one from 1929, weren't that endearing or likeable-I didn't care what happened to them! The book is littered with modern slang and cliches, so much so that it was annoying. The book's attempts at being funny and comedic seemed contrived to me as though the author tried too hard at being funny. The only good parts of the book took place when the female character from 1929 was involved in the action. Other than that, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. The ending is a real letdown! Rent the book from the library is you must read it; don't buy it. Oh,well. Not a total waste of time but not a good read, either.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars what a waste of time!, October 15, 2006

By 

Valerie Kelley "Time Travel Maven" (Joliet, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What, No Roses? (Mass Market Paperback)

The previous reviewers were far too generous in my opinion. This book was TERRIBLE! The plot was plodding and highly unbelievable. The humor was slight to totally non-existent (and stupid as well). And the characters were as unsympathetic as you can imagine-I didn't care anything about any of them. I LOVE time travel romances in general but this one left me cold as well as $7.00 in the hole. What a waste of my time and money. I thought this book would be much better.

3.0 out of 5 stars Valentine's Day and all that jazz, March 10, 2009

By 

Renee C. Mulhare "matrixrefugee77" (MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What, No Roses? (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a sucker for Jazz-Age music and styles, and when I first heard about this book, I was itching to find it. The tale is light and witty, and like a Damon Runyon story of Guys and Dolls, it never takes itself too seriously, which makes the twist involving VR at the end a little more credible. I think I knew all along something was up with the time-travel mechanics, but I rode with the story and while it's certainly not F. Scott Fitzgerald (though he does make a cameo appearance), it's a fun read if you like a good romance with enough historical color to put you in the mood.