Jessica L. Degarmo

A good book if you don't want anything heavy and intricate. It’s very lightweight, predictable, rather one-dimensional…typical chick lit. Having read a book I absolutely did not enjoy and wanted to get out of my head, this was just the tonic.
It was totally unbelievable: a tyrannical, unethical, violent, controlling dad insists on an arranged marriage for his daughter, Emma, to seal a somewhat dodgy lucrative deal. I had a bit of trouble with that: unless you’re from a culture that insists on arranged marriages, it just doesn’t fit in the twenty-first-century western world. The unfortunate daughter manages to run away with the help of her submissive mother and plots to find someone to marry, thereby throwing her father’s plans completely off track. But the unwitting prey turns out to be rather handsome and just…well…perfect. How on earth can she go through with her plan and upset a good man with an equally good family?

The plot had a few holes in it, the long-suffering mother was rather inconsistent (one minute she’s doing her utmost to help her daughter escape, the next she’s insisting that, well, how bad can it be marrying someone you don’t want to?). The father is ghastly beyond belief, and Emma herself is rather bland and, dare I say, a bit stupid.

But, actually, I found myself looking forward to picking up my Kindle and to the mushy, marshmallowy, happy (not a spoiler, this is chick lit, after all!) ending.

A perfect holiday read for a lazy, hazy, sunny afternoon on the beach.… (más)

How To Meet a Guy At The Supermarket is a fun, flirty tale about Quinn's epiphany on meeting single men, and the crazy lengths she goes to in order to try and meet a great guy that way.

DeGarmo's great sense of humor permeates the book as she takes us through one bad dating experience to another, each guy flawed in his own special brand of nut.

This is a quick, easy read that will leave you smiling and wanting more. I'd have given it 5 stars instead of 4 but for that reason. I think it could have been longer, the relationships with the store employees fleshed out a bit more. The characters were well drawn; I would have liked to spend more time with them, allowing those friendships to build.

All in all, a wonderful read that will not disappoint. I'll definitely be reading more from this author!… (más)