Wonderful You [Mass Market Paperback]

Mariah Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

Twenty-eight, single, and struggling to keep her little shop of handicrafts afloat, Zoey Enright is pleasantly surprised when a knockout audition for a home-shopping network lands her an impressive job as an on-air saleswoman. Little does she know, Delaney O'Connor, the company's CEO, is bringing his only grandson and the hero of Zoey's childhood, Ben Pierce, home from Europe to run the network.

Ben's one true passion was Grand Prix racing -- until he laid eyes on Zoey again, all grown up and more beautiful than ever. But he also must face his haunted past and the near-fatal accident that brought his driving career to a screeching halt. Confronting painful emotions he crossed an ocean to forget, Ben must barter his old dreams for new ones if he and Zoey are to claim the wonderful future they are meant to share.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Despite being bright, charming, artistic, and talented, Zoey Enright has struggled for years to find her niche in life. After several aborted attempts at a variety of careers, Zoey's flair for sales lands her a job as an on-air saleswoman for a home-shopping network. Zoey is thrilled to get the job and even more excited to learn that Ben Pierce, her childhood hero, is her new boss. Whisked off to Europe after the death of his mother, Ben Pierce hasn't seen Zoey since she was a girl. When she walks into his office and says hello, Ben realizes that the once precocious 11-year-old is now an exceptional 28-year-old woman, and his feelings for her are more than brotherly. Zoey, too, finds her feelings have deepened for Ben, but will the two let their clashing career plans stand in the way of their growing love? Find out in this touching tale that will leave readers sighing with regret when the last page is turned. --Lois Faye Dyer

Review

Mariah Stewart's Wonderful You should probably be renamed "Wonderful Everyone". Nearly every character she creates is truly wonderful! The entire cast of this book is delightful, perhaps because they received such a glorious start with Ms. Stewart's Devlin's Light. However, unlike some authors who don't tell you enough or tell you too much about their previous storylines, Mariah Stewart provides just the right blend. You may even be tempted to seek out some of her past works to see where these characters came from. Wonderful You breaks into your heart with a very down-to-earth and enchanting heroine - Zoey Enright. She is the quintessential modern woman. Zoey is smart, beautiful, but she just hasn't found her niche in the world yet. That is, until she finds herself on TV, working as a hostess for a new cable marketing channel. She sells to the camera and everyone loves her. It's as natural as anything she has ever done, but with one very pleasing twist - she's happy doing it. The only thing missing from Zoey's life is her old childhood hero, the boy who had left her mother's home when they were but children. Ben had gone to live with his grandfather when his mother had died, but that hadn't meant that Zoey would forget the boy who had been her brother's best friend. She had waited a long time for Ben and just couldn't bring herself to stop hoping that someday he would walk into her life again. Enter Ben Pierce - now running the very company Zoey works for. The Fates could not have been more kind! And it looks like Ben may be having second thoughts about this girl he remembered only as a boyhood friend, the lanky tomboy who followed him around. This woman who's eyes flashed like lightening...could she really be the same Zoey? And what about those long legs and lush curves? The world nearly stops turning for Zoey and Ben. When Zoey's family goes through some growth spurts, Ben is there to lend his support. When Ben's dream's begin to fade into the past, Zoey understands. Wonderful You shows how a beautiful love story can blend smoothly with elaborate drama and subtle mystery - a combination that cannot be beaten when in the hands of Mariah Stewart!Romance, both elegant and inviting! All the elements of a winner! Characters you know when the last page turns! They grow...they feel...they live. Mariah Stewart is a reward to the reader! Beautiful stories and beautiful people! Karen Ellington -- Copyright © 050198 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

This book has romance, laughter, suspense (bit of surprise). Totally charming and enchanting. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671004166
• ISBN-13: 978-0671004163
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 3.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mariah Stewart is the bestselling author of ten novels and three novellas. A RITA finalist for romantic suspense, she is the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO (Reviewers International) Award honoring excellence in women's fiction, a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine, and a two-time recipient of the Golden Leaf Award for contemporary romance. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives amidst the rolling hills of Chester County, PA, with her husband, one geriatric gold retriever and one rambunctious mixed breed rescue dog. She's currently neglecting her garden and working on her next book. In past lives, she's been a teacher and an insurance executive, but firmly believes she's found the perfect job: sitting in her sunny office in old sweats and J. Crew flip flops, making up stories and the characters who live in them, and getting paid for it. Could life be sweeter?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for Readers of Nora Roberts' Trilogies, September 4, 2000

By 

Beachreader "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wonderful You (Mass Market Paperback)

Rarely do I decide to review a group of books instead of just one. And, while I believe each one of these books can stand on its own, readers will be so enthralled with the Enright family, they will want to read them all. Much like the wonderful family series by Nora Roberts, these books are to be savored as some of the best relationship novels of the 1990s.

DEVLIN'S LIGHT set on Delaware Bay is the story of criminal prosecutor India Devlin and the first Enright sibling, marine biologist, Nick. And although there is more of a mystery in this story as India attempts to find out who killed her brother, it's the relationship with Nick that's at the forefront.

WONDERFUL YOU, set in Chester Co, PA is tells Zoey Enright's story as she falls in love with Ben Pierce, a childhood friend. There are some light moments in this story when Zoey, would rather eat take out than cook herself, is required to prepare a few dishes in order to help demonstrate cookware in her job on-the-air at a home shopping network.

In MOON DANCE, Stewart tells the story of the youngest Enright, ballerina Georgia. Set in the Maryland countryside, we find Georgia who wants one certain barn as a dance studio, while her nemesis, Matt, has planned to use it as a veterinary clinic.

The settings of these stories are all so vividly described, it's hard to imagine they're not real places. Readers will want to visit Devlin's Lighthouse, Zoey's Garden, The Bishop Inn, and the farm at Pumpkin Hill.

A common thread running through all three books is the matriarch of the family, Delia Enright, bestselling mystery novelist, who loves her children but does interfere perhaps a little too much, but always in a caring manner. Many readers will wish they had a mother like Delia!!! Readers will also be happy to know that Delia gets a love interest of her own in MOON DANCE.

Mariah Stewart's books, like Nora Roberts' sibling sagas, are not about murder, espionage, or mystery (although each book has a bit of intrigue as well) but are instead about relationships - between a man and a woman, between a woman and her mother, between sisters. I can't think of many writers who can do this better. In all her books, strong secondary characters abound. She creates a world the reader is reluctant to leave after the last page is turned. Thankfully, readers can look forward to more of the Enrights in PRICELESS which will be out in 1999. It can't be soon enough for this reviewer. Reading each book has been like visiting an old friend.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mariah Stewart Never Disappoints!, November 24, 2005

By 

Julie L. Mink "higirl" (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wonderful You (Mass Market Paperback)

The second book of the Enright Trilogy is Wonderful. It is full of people you want to get to know, wonderful relationships and descriptions of the locales that bring them alive. You do not want the book to end and can not wait to read the next to see what is happening to another member of the family. There are so many facinating secondary characters and you wish there could be a book about each of them to tell their stories. I have read several other Mariah Stewart novels and have all the rest in my "to read" pile. When I want a great story that explores relationships, I know her books will not disappoint me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice and Sweet, January 27, 2005

By 

Shamim Adam (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wonderful You (Mass Market Paperback)

Mariah Stewart, in her second book on the Enright family focuses on middle child Zoey, as she tries to figure out what to do with her life. Her business is failing but fortunately, her natural talent for talking won her a spot as the new host of a home shopping network show.

Ben Pierce is a race car driver with a bleak childhood whose highlight seemed to be the four years he and his mum stayed with the Enrights, where she worked as their housekeeper, before she died. He stayed with his grandfather after her death and deliberately refused to maintain any contact with any of the Enright siblings to protect himself from yearning for what he felt he cannot have.

Zoey and Ben met again through his grandfather's machinations and are immediately attracted to each other. Mariah Stewart writes beautifully the relationships between the protagonists in the story. I only recently began reading her older books and have to say that they are definitely more charming, unforgettable and worth keeping compared to her more recent efforts at romantic suspense (which are also very enjoyable, just less so than her previous works.)