Frisky Business

Sourcebook Casablanca

Frisky Business
Tawna Fenske
2014

The Summary
"No more rich men for Marley Cartman.  Absolutely not.  Thanks to her dad, her ex-fiance, and the overbearing donors she schmoozes for a living, she's had more than her fill.  From now on, she wants blue-collar men with dirt under their fingernails.  But when Marley makes a break to handle donor relations for a wildlife sanctuary, she finds herself drawn to the annoyingly charming--and disturbingly wealthy--chairman of the board.

"Judging by his hipster T-shirts, motley assortment of canine companions, and penchant for shaking up stuffy board meetings, you'd never guess that William Barclay the Fifth is a brilliantly successful businessman.  Will has good reason to be leery of scheming women, and as he and Marley butt heads over the wisdom of bringing grumpy badgers to charity events, he can't help but wonder if his new donor relations coordinator is hiding something other than a perfect figure beneath that designer suit..."

The Good
This book was so much fun.

Frisky Business is absolutely hilarious.  Granted, I found it slightly strange and a touch unrealistic, but, overall, it was enjoyable.  It made me laugh until I couldn't laugh anymore, which allows me to forgive any number of sins, including unrealistic romantic relationships.

Marley is a strangely endearing female character with overbearing parents and a penchant for people pleasing; Will has a dysfunctional family (an aunt who collects phallic rock statues) and trust issues (his ex-wife ran off with his sister).  They're an odd couple, especially after Marley vows never to date a rich man ever again, but they just seem make perfect sense.

I mean, I just love the way they interact.  They're funny characters with unique personalities and respecting baggage.  It's so much fun to watch them flounder through their feelings and combat all the day-to-day calamities involved with relationships and working with a wildlife sanctuary--like overbearing fathers, ex-convict mothers, slobbery canines, ex-wives turned sister's new girlfriend, etc.

It's hilarious.  Almost on par with Fenske's other romantic comedy, Making Waves.

The Bad
Personally, I just didn't care for the conclusion.  It seemed...forced, in my opinion.  But I think that's more of a personal preference than a true reflection of the novel.

The Ugly
Phallic rocks.

You heard me.