My Bluegrass Baby

Bluegrass, #1

Molly Harper

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Date of Publication: April 09, 2013
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 5 hrs and 28 mins

An original series from popular romance author Molly Harper! When Sadie & Josh compete for the same Kentucky Tourism Commission job, sparks fly—turns out Kentucky really is for lovers.

Sadie Hutchins loves her job at the Kentucky Tourism Commission. Not only could her co-workers double as the cast of Parks & Recreation, but she loves finding the unusual sites, hidden gems, and just plain odd tourist attractions of her home state. She’s a shoo-in for the director’s job when her boss retires at the end of the year…until hotshot Josh Vaughn shows up to challenge her for the position.

Josh is all sophisticated polish while Sadie’s country comfort, and the two have very different ideas of what makes a good campaign. So when their boss pits them against each other in a winner-takes-all contest, they’re both willing to fight dirty if it means getting what they want. But it turns out, what Josh and Sadie want could be each other—and Josh’s kisses are the best Kentucky attraction Sadie’s found yet!

I've been a fan of Molly Harper since reading her stand alone And One Last Thing... So I couldn't help but give a bit of small squeal when I heard a reference to that book in this one. It's not the first time that the author has added some small reference to one of her other books/series, but I still get a thrill when I recognize it. It's like a bit of a wink or a nod from the author to those in the know.

As with the Jane Jameson and Half-Moon Hallow series', this book is set in Kentucky. Many years ago, I once spent almost a year in Lexington. I had a fabulous time and met some wonderful people. Reading about the interesting people and unique culture of the state always reminds me of that time. This is especially true with this book, as the setting deals with tourism and the many facets of Kentucky life.

I was a bit surprised that this book didn't end with a definitive "Happy Ending". As a romance, I was expecting the HEA, but what I got instead was a Happy for Now ending. Spoiler Alert: there wasn't even a marriage proposal to help tie up the ending. Yes, Sadie and Josh were together, but  I still had questions that needed answers and issues I wanted resolved. I am hopeful that their story line will have more resolution in the next book, maybe tied into that story.

Amanda Ronconi was a new to me narrator and I thought she did a fantastic job. Doing multiple variations on an accent can be tough, but she did a great job. I enjoyed her pacing and emoting as well. She kept my attention on the story, even when I was doing other things. I can't wait to start the next book knowing she's going to be there with me.

I always enjoy Molly Harper's books, now in audio format as well. Her heroines tend toward the spunky and snarky, and I know I can always count on great dialogue. If you are looking for a quick, fun read, and don't mind an open ending this should be on your list. I gave it 4 stars.

31/3 - Not what I was expecting.  Like other reviewers I was unaware that it was part of series when I started reading it, so I felt little or no emotion at the revelation of the birth of a couple of babies or the announcement of a long-awaited pregnancy.  I did notice there were a lot of c names, which doesn't help an uninitiated reader to untangle all the different people who are thrown at us throughout this story.  Plus, to make it even more confusing, everyone seems to be related to almmost everyone else in the town.  After I finished reading I had a look at some of the reviews to see if my thoughts mirrored any of the other reviewers'.  Of course, they also mentioned wishing they had known it was part of a series, some editing errors (most significantly, grammar problems in my opinion and a mention of "taunt abs"), the bombardment of their senses with people's names (most of whom, even fans of the series, they hadn't heard of), etc.

I was expecting a story more along the lines of 'A man in a Santa suit playing secret Santa.  He's giving away gifts to all the townspeople.  But he saves extra special, romantic gifts for a certain special girl who doesn't know who Santa is (gifts might include secret, risque notes as well).  He gets her to meet him on Christmas Eve for a romantic dinner where he finally reveals himself as her secret crush/love and also reveals that he's had a crush on her for some time as well.'  Now doesn't that sound more romantic than what was actually written?