A well-written, character-driven story. At times the whining is overdone, but not enough to make me put the book down.

I enjoyed this light-hearted, chick-lit tale. ( )

The characters were so well developed in this little story that you felt like you knew them. I rooted for the main character and hated her sister and mother! I understand LC is working on a sequel, and I am definitely anxiously awaiting it. ( )

From Lilac Wolf and Stuff

Goodreads had a different cover, actually pretty bland, a large white house. I like this cover, with the 2 chihuahuas. The dogs are actually very annoying, and are her Mama's babies. Her sister shows up with a Golden-Doodle, completely untrained and full of fleas and matted fur. Poor guy, the sister doesn't take care of him and Susan or "Nic" is not attached to any of the dogs moving through her house.

The story starts off with Susan, living alone after her divorce now a year gone by. She hates her job, but after being a stay at home mom for the last 20 years, doesn't have a great skill set to offer in this competitive market. That's one thing I like in this story, maybe it will date it but L.C. Evans didn't sugar coat what our economy is like. In fact, the character realizes that considering her options, the miserable job at the pawn shop is better than some alternatives.

Then her friend Victoria shows up and offers her a job running her new Ghost Tours operation. And sweetened the deal saying Susan could live in her Bed & Breakfast and either sell or rent the house that is just too big and expensive for 1 person. Susan wasn't about to gamble and lose the only steady paycheck she has. But her boss finds out and uses it as the excuse he's been looking for to fire her and hire his niece. This part bothered me because she really should have stopped taking his abuse right then. After all, he'd already fired her.

Then her sister shows up with a baby, a huge dog and no money. Moves in with Susan. Then Mama falls and sprains her ankle...and moves in with Susan. Then her son comes home for the weekend with a girl-who-is-a-friend from school. The girl is all piercings, purple hair, grunge but proves to Susan that there's a responsible person underneath it all. So when Jack shows up, he is frustrated to discover the same old "drop anything for her family" Nic he used to know. Susan is in tears because she can't figure out what is wrong with Jack until FINALLY she blows.

So, will the Ghost Hunting job be a success? Who knows, but you'll see what offers Victoria gives her to keep her interested. Will she smooth things over with Jack? Maybe...you'll have to read and see.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to shake sense into Susan. lol ( )

Susan's a divorcee with a horrid job at a pawn store. She's got a mother who is all stereotypical southern old-school lady and an obligatory sister who can't seem to take care of herself. Her best friend Veronica desperately needs help on a new business scheme, and her former best friend from high school (and long term crush) has just shown up in town.From blackmail to ghosts, the book promises a lot but fails to deliver.
Susan is nothing more interesting than a doormat. She drops everything for her ungrateful family, until the last chapter or two. At that point, it's all very superficial changes that made me want to beat her and most of the rest of the cast of characters. Misunderstandings and long-held secrets were fixed with little thought to the reality of a situation. Even the ending failed to provide any satisfaction to the story. ( )

REVIEW OF STORY LINE:
This was a great story. There were times where there were too many different things going on at once (pawn shop, mother, sister, friend, Jack) and it seemed a little flighty, but regardless of that, it was a great story.

This book didn't read like a story. It felt like you were sitting in your living listening to a friend tell you what was going on with her life. There was no fakeness in the story, no "yea right" moments. Everything that happens, DOES happen. And it happens to every day folks, which is what makes this book a comforting, relatable, funny book.

REVIEW OF CHARACTERS:
The characters in this book were written perfectly. That mother will put any guilt-shoving mother to shame. The sister could be any one of our sisters and all the other characters could easily stand for any of our friends. It's rare to find a book where there isn't at least one character that just doesn't seem to fit. This book managed to do it. Great job!

REVIEW OF WRITING:
I enjoyed the writing in this book. It was easy to read and most importantly, enjoyable. I found myself waiting to see what would come out of the mothers' lips or how Susan was going to talk her way out of a situation. Well done.

REVIEW OF EDITING:
Nicely done, nothing major missing or incorrect.

REVIEW OF COVER:
It’s nice. Anyone from the South can relate to the cover and be taken back.

OVERALL REVIEW:
This was a fun read for me. Every daughter will relate to this book, and anyone with a "crazy" family will absolutely love it. It's funny, witty and reads like real life. I will be passing this book on to friends.