Winter doldrums set in

All the snow and cold make one wish for spring and the budding of trees and spring blooms. But if I can not have that I will have to make do with books.
And for a sassy, witty, and fast paced romantic adventure Susan Elizabeth Phillips'  CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE  ( Morrow 978-0-06-13515) fills the bill.  If you have read Phillips, you have probably met Ted Beaudine  (Mr. Irresistible) from Texas, Meg Koranda, black sheep daughter of Hollywood royalty, and Lucy Jorick, daughter of a formerAmerican president (female no less) of the United States..  It involves Ted's adoring townsfolk (he is the town's mayor) ,Lucy as a runaway bride, and Meg as the villain in the piece.  Since Meg is broke, she takes on some peculiar jobs in Wynette and faces the collective wrath of the townsfolk who blame her for the cancelled wedding between Lucy and Ted.  It is fun to read the repartee and enjoy the small town ambiance.  It is a romp through the world where all's well that eventually ends well.  The rootless tough loved daughter gets roots and learns to follow her passion and learns to do honest work.   Ted turns out to be more complicated that he seems at first appearance. And the wealthy bully and his pushy daughter get their comeuppance and go back to Indiana. ( I would have preferred people this disagreeable to have been from some other state.)  And all in all it is a pert love story that is good reading on a gloomy day.  As I was reading the book and thoroughly enjoying the imagery the author painted of these ladies and gentleman that came to life like a television episode in my imagination, I chuckled at the  dialogue .  I thought how much the saucy heroine made me think of Lass Small, a friend of mine and former author who just died.  Her Texas heroines (Actually her Indiana ones as well) were as pert and saucy as was  Meg.  I think I might never have read and enjoyed Phillips nearly as much if I had not read Lass years ago.This is fresh and fun novel  Phillips write women's fiction with a colorful flair for spot on characterizations. Some of her people are dead ringers for some real life characters I seem to recall. I will look forward to the next chapter of the lives of the Beaudines and Wynette, Texas.