Trick My Truck but Don't Mess With My Heart by LuAnn McLane

I want to remind everyone that this month is February with Author Island! The prizes are still a secret, but know there will be several. Don't forget that the Author Island Chatters Cook Blog is now public, so if you're looking for some great recipes, head over there click the name and you'll see some great search-able recipes. Every month Author Island will have a recipe exchange chat, and all of the recipes will be added to the blog, so it will be an ever expanding place to find good food. Also, you can be entered in a contest for joining up over at the Author Island Tiki Hut Forums. It's brand-new and we're announcing it here first, so this is truly a way to be on the ground floor of something so fun! New members and Chatters will be entered to win some contests. LuAnn McLane is an Author Member of Author Island. That means that from time to time you'll see contests for LuAnn's stuff (along with many other authors) over at the AuthorIslan.com home page. And now, without further ado...



Trick My Truck but Don't Mess With My Heart by LuAnn McLane
(BCC)

FRIENDS...

When Candie Montgomery reluctantly leaves a good job in Chicago to help save her family's failing used-car business, she's shocked to find that the townspeople of Pinewood, Kentucky - all 876 of them - are shunning her. Rumor has it that Candie's to blame for the broken engagement between her twin sister, Sarah, and her close frined Nick. But how can she be the otehr woman without even knowing it?

...WITHOUT THE BENEFITS

With the family business, her reputation, and her relationship with Sarah on the line, Candie needs a boyfriend - pronto- to put a lid on the gossip. Damage control comes in the sexy form of Tommy Tucker. It was supposed to be a quick fix, but Candie might just be in it for the long haul.

Two years ago Candie Montgomery left Pinewood and headed to Chicago to make her own way. But, her daddy's had a heart attack and the family needs her help in running (saving) their car dealership. So back to Pinewood she heads, only to find out she's being shunned. Turns out her twin sister Sarah (who although a twin couldn't look more different) has told the entire town that Candie is the reason for Nick breaking off their engagement. Nick and Candie used to be best friends, and Nick misses that friendship. And while he loves Sarah, he also wants to have a friendship with her as well.

In order to get the town to quit shunning her, and in turn help with the saving of the family business, Candie gets herself a fake boyfriend. Tommy Tucker, a few years younger, and one fine looking cowboy happens to volunteer to do just that, all Candie has to do is say she'll play on his sand Volleyball team. The only problem is, this fake boyfriend of hers sure ignites some major feelings and trying to ignore them turn out to be impossible.

With a new guy in town running his daddy's car lot that used to sell the trade-ins to Dapper Dan's (Candie and Sarah's family car lot) business is a lot harder to come by. Thankfully, Candie has an idea that could save the business, but will hers and Sarah's hearts be able to stand the path it will put them on?

As with Dancing Shoes and Honky Tonk Blues, McLane captures what it's like to be a small town southern gal. With insecurities about our past, fears of the unknown and coming to terms with the curve-balls life throws us. McLane touches on real life topics with heart and humor. "I'm just not cut out for this stuff. In truth, I'm a pretty simple girl too." I shake my head. "I feel like I'm caught up in a redneck soap opera."

There are books in our lives that find themselves in our hands at exactly the right time, and TMT is one of those books for me. Candie finds herself dealing with how short life can be. Seeing her once strong and invincible (in her eyes anyway) daddy sick, helps Candie see that life doesn't always turn out how we plan. Today, I found out that my daddy, is not as invincible as once I thought, either. Daddy stopped by to tell me he's having surgery on Monday. Yeah, as in two days from now. We're a close family, so why am I just now finding this out? Because my daddy didn't want me to worry. Well, DUH, of course I'm gonna worry. Like Candie, I never though my strong, take-charge daddy would ever be sick. But - he is, and we have to deal with that. I can't tell you how glad I am that McLane's book will be in my hot little hand while I do.

Candie, Sarah, Tommy, and Nick also have to face the hard truth that we are what people expect us to be. You have to understand, that small town life defines a person. In a small town, a mold is set for us early on. We are either pretty, smart, athletic, or doomed to failure. Very rarely are we allowed to be anything else. Candie found a way to help herself and those she holds closest realize that we don't have to be what we once were, as long as we expect people to expect more of us, they will. The mold that was set for us, doesn't have to hold us, but it's up to us to shatter it.

Trick My Truck has it all. Humor, Romance, and Personal Journey. When life runs too fast and too hard, it's nice to know that you can reach for a book by McLane to lighten the mood and leave you with a smile in your heart. To take you to the small town South, where life seems just a big friendlier than our own. Written in First Person, Candie takes us on her personal journey that she takes with many, and sucks the reader right into her world. I didn't want it to end.

I have a ton of notes written for this book - passages or pages that caught my attention, so I thought I'd share just a couple, because I know once you read them, you are gonna go right out and buy the book yourself!

When Candie and Sarah decide to egg the competition for the car dealerships car.

- "Or maybe you were vandalizing my car."
"Yeah, and maybe your trouser monster is hanging out."
...
"So you didn't throw the egg at my car?"
"I most certainly did not. Oh, and by the way, when you call the police I want you to explain why you tackled an innocent jogger and showed me your trouser monster."

When Candie decides to flirt a bit with Tommy and pretend she's tough and gonna head-butt him in the gut. (I love this one because this is me to a T.)

" He's right of course. I especially wouldn't want to ram my head into his rock-hard abs but I narrow my eyes and he takes a step back, looking kind of nercous. Jusr for fun I decide to take a couple of steps backward and then act as if I'm going to head-butt him as threatened. The operative word here is act but the toe of my shoe catches on a raised crack in the sidewalk (I swear there's one there) and I go airborne like a chicken trying to fly. Well, we all know that chickens can't fly, so I find myself flopping forward in an odd almost slow motion tumble."

Another one that's me.

-"I finally fell asleep. I kept going over my incident with Nick and then my date with Tommy in my head and ended up having a weird dream that I was a mermaid."

Go get this book. You won't be sorry.

Take Care