Review #5: The Husband List, by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

Hey, we can't read high literature all the time. Sometimes, you need some fluff. The Husband List is fluff. It's decent fluff, though, and it doesn't pretend that it's anything other than that.

Fans of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum will recognize a tiny bit of her pluck and fiestiness in Caroline Maxwell, an heiress whose mother is hell-bent on marrying her off to a member of the British royalty. Caroline, however, thinks she should marry for love, not for money or title, and therein lies the rub: the love of her life, Jack, is neither British nor royal. In fact, he's Irish, and he's nouveau riche, and this just will not do.

Caroline's mama has her sights set on the evil Lord Bremerton for Caroline's husband, who is creepy in an I'm-going-to-wear-your-skin kind of way. Helping out the creep factor is the rumor that Lord Bremerton's first wife died in a mysterious tragic horse-riding accident, but I definitely got hints that she might be floating in the attic, drugged and hidden away a la Mrs. Rochester.

Caroline's no Stephanie, and Jack is for damn sure no Ranger, but it's a decent story. All the same, check it out from the library or download it once it goes under five bucks. Don't buy the hardback.