Grace Evangeline, successful romance novelist, has decided the next goal of her career. She wants her newest novel produced for the stage, and she wants Devin Bressard, also a playwright, to be the producer. In fact, she won't consider anyone else. When he pans her work to her face, she douses his (face, not work) with her glass of sweet tea, but she doesn't give up. She's going to prove him wrong not only about her novels, but also about the nature of art itself. Drama in real life does happen, and dramatic art fortifies the soul to face its own trials, and Grace is going to prove this to Devin if she has to stalk him to do it. Fortunately for characters and reader alike, Grace is a naive and inept stalker, and Devin quickly finds her out. When they are compelled to work together on a new project, their polarized points of view result in a battle of wits and wills and ignite a passion between them they never expected or wanted, but that just might begin healing they both need.

I entered this book with excitement because I've been a fan of Heitzmann for almost ten years and have read most of her novels. But I also knew this is classed as a romcom, and I avoid comedies (and this author is the only exception I can think of to my avoidance of romances). I expected to enjoy it but hoped the humor would work for me. Well, by the end of the first chapter, I felt the magic. I was grinning as I flipped pages, often laughing out loud, devouring the brilliant banter between Grace and Devin. The book is probably 70% dialogue, but it never feels like "too much talking." These are voices you can hear in your head and characters you want to have coffee with (even Devin, even if he calls my writing less than art). I was settled into the comic groove of the book and perfectly happy with it despite my usual genre preferences. However, there were hints: all is not as light as it seems. Devin's cynicism and Grace's resolution against it are more than comic vehicles. Life has happened to these two people--life has hurt them, and they have each adopted a defense that suits them.

And yes. Around the halfway mark, the passion between them creates consequences neither of them are prepared for. They don't know what to do, and since they're broken people, they do the wrong things. They grab their shields and huddle behind them, stumble away from each other at least as messed up as they were when they met.

Here's the beautiful thing, though: the story's only half done. By the end, what began as a battle of wits and wills becomes ... well, it's a romance, so I'm sure you can guess. But while certain pieces of the story are dictated by the genre, the journey that brings us there is overall a fresh one. I could have done with fewer tied bows at the end, and at worst, one could accuse the book of a tonal shift at the halfway point that some readers might not be on board with. But if you go in looking for clues to the human undercurrents in the hilarity, you will find them, and you'll anticipate discovering the pasts that made Devin and Grace who they are. This book takes a look at defense mechanisms and how they affect our perception of the world around us--people, events, and yes, art. Devin and Grace's quarrels about art's purpose in life are some of the shiniest gems of the book.

The dialogue sparks and sparkles and delves deep. The characters make me worry and cheer. I'm looking forward to meeting Grace and Devin again in the sequel TOLD YOU TWICE, as well as getting inside the head of secondary character Bo Corrigan. TOLD YOU SO proves Kristen Heitzmann can write anything and do it right. ( )