The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Southern hospitality and sweetly loose-lipped neighbors ooze from the pages of the sparkling latest from Lippi (Homestead). John Dodge is a traveling man, rescuing small businesses around the country to flip for a profit. When he finds himself in Lamb's Corner, S.C., to take over a stationery store, he is greeted by some kooky Swedes building an automotive plant and an observant young girl who is determined to uncover his past, among others. Dodge, as he calls himself, befriends Julia Darrow, the owner of a fine linens store who is always in her pajamas. Julia is secretive and mysterious, but Dodge cannot ignore his attraction to her. He doesn't plan to stay in Lamb's Corner very long, and it becomes apparent that Julia can't leave. Lippi's characters are heartfelt and pricelessly named (one 10-year-old boy is called Bean Hurt). While the novel moves slowly, it's never shy of drama: Lippi makes a great story out of how a hardcore wanderer and an agoraphobic come together. (Feb.)
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Review

"Sharp, quirky, and deeply tender, you'll laugh out loud at The Pajama Girls."
-Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Midnight Twins

"A rich pleasure of a book from start to finish."
-Joshilyn Jackson, author of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

"Rosina Lippi drew me deep into the world of her characters in their lovely fictitious Southern town and held me enthralled there so that I did not want the book to end."
-Mary Balogh, author of Simply Perfect

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425225917
• ISBN-13: 978-0425225912
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #161,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic comedy of the best kind, March 18, 2008

By	Michelle Schwartz "malbrec92" (Avondale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square (Hardcover)

"A bird may love a fish, but where will they build a home together?" (Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof)

He's claustrophobic. She's agoraphobic. He's a rover, moving from town to town rescuing small businesses on the brink of disaster. She couldn't be more settled in her apartment in Lambert Square. John Dodge and Julia Darrow both have secrets. They have problems. They have pasts. But can they have a future together? All of Lambert Square is watching and waiting, and from the first page to the last, you will be too.

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square is a romantic comedy of the best kind, with smart, funny characters drawn by an author who knows exactly when to keep us guessing and how to make us laugh. Fans of the Wilderness Series (written by Lippi under her pen name Sara Donati) will recognize the author's trademark wit and her ability to address real-life problems with loving attention to detail.

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square is Lippi's second foray into the romantic comedy genre, following 2006's Tied to the Tracks, and she has only gotten better with practice. Pajama Girls is sexy, funny, and genuine. If you're looking for a page-turner, this is it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Southern Romance, March 2, 2008

By	Shannzu (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square (Hardcover)

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square is a really wonderful book. The idea of a linen shop where the employees go to work in their PJs is really fun. It's also nice to read about two people falling in love who have some baggage and a whole life lived before meeting each other. I loved all the quirky characters and the fictional town of Lamb's Corner. Lippi's writing is so good that it will sneak up and steal your heart you when you're least expecting it. I'm definitely going to hunt down her backlist, including Tied to the Tracks so I can soak up all the southern goodness.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Figurative Square Dance, July 19, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Rosina Lippi is a former linguistics professor and has given us a wonderful, visually descriptive story in The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square. The book touches on many issues such as inter-racial relationships, sexual orientation and mental illness, set in the very conservative south, and does so in a way that is neither overblown nor preachy. She has developed a completely fictional town of entirely likable characters. Characters who almost make you want to go out looking for just such a town to relocate to yourself.

There are essentially two main characters. There is Julia. She has agoraphobia and cannot leave the confines of the market square where she lives and owns a business. And, there is John, who suffers from a type of claustrophobia, and can't manage to settle in any one place for too long and who has just purchased a business in the market square.
The two begin a relationship complicated by their disorders, secrecy and lies of omission.

Lippi delivers eloquent imagery throughout the entire book. She even managed to capture the feelings of embarrassment and humiliation perfectly with the following: ""She had to say that out loud, in front of all of us. It must have been like being stripped naked. No," she corrected herself. "It was like realizing that you've been naked all along and everybody knew it except you.""

There are a few somewhat tedious sections that perhaps could have been edited more for content, however my only real complaint about the book is that the type set was too small and the spacing too close for genuine enjoyment of the book. I would loved to have been able to have read the delightful and thought-provoking story straight through, but couldn't without suffering headaches from eye strain.

It is a well-written story that has me adding Rosina Lippi's last two books to my reading list and putting them well up the list in priority.

Reviewed by
Serena K. Snyder