Heather Webber

Lucy Valentine is as smart as can be, as single as you can get, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service. But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it's Lucy's turn to step up and help out—in the name of love. Plus, her rent is due. Here's the problem: Lucy doesn't have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read "auras" and pair up perfect couples. But not Lucy. Her skills were zapped away years ago in an electrical surge, and now all she can do is find lost objects. What good is that in the matchmaking world? You'd be surprised. In a city like Boston, everyone's looking for something. So when Lucy locates a missing wedding ring—on a dead body—she asks the sexy private eye who lives upstairs to help her solve the perfect crime. And who knows? Maybe she'll find the perfect love while she's at it...in Heather Webber's Truly, Madly.

A Lucy Valentine Novel

Truly, Madly

Colleen

4 Stars

* This review contains minor spoilers.*
 

Truly, Madly is the story of Lucy Valentine. There are two blights on her life. The first is that she has been unlucky in love which is particularly noticeable since her family runs a successful matchmaking company. The second is that, unlike everyone else in her family, she does not have the ability to psychically see a person’s aura and determine their perfect match. Instead, Lucy has the ability to find any lost inanimate objects. Which is great when you lost your keys but doesn’t help when Lucy unexpectedly gets left running the family matchmaking business. She goes with the fake-it-till-you-make-it approach as she humorously struggles through the awkward business of love.
 
Lucy is in her twenties and hasn’t figured out what she wants to do with her life. She struggles at adulthood but not in that over-the-top inept the way that a lot of books are. She does have some poor little rich girl vibes going. It’s nice that she won’t access her large trust fund and wants to live life on her own means, but the fact is she is still filthy rich. So I couldn’t drum up any sympathy about her lack of career or rent being due.
 
There is also a mystery element to the story. Lucy’s ability to find lost objects leads her to an item found on a dead body. Before she knows it, she is involved in a murder investigation and in way over her head. She seeks help from hunky private investigator Sean Donahue, and sparks fly between the two of them.
 
As far as the romance side of the story goes… it was cute despite having a heavy dose of instalust. But it had a major roadblock that kept me from enjoying their romance more. (view spoiler)[Officially, Sean is still engaged and living with his finance. He claims they have both agreed that the relationship needs to end and that he’ll be moving out. It’s grey area cheating for sure. My life experience has been that either the person is lying about the previous relationship truly being over or that the other person isn’t ready to move on. And even if both parties agree that the relationship is over, they would still have to go through all of the rigmarole around telling their friends and family, moving out, and officially ending everything. So it’s a horrible time to start dating someone else, and it isn’t fair too anyone involved. (hide spoiler)] The story was totally setting up for future drama. I really wish the love interest didn’t have such baggage, because that was the biggest problem I had with this book.
 
I’d probably call this Magical Realism rather than Paranormal Romance. Other than some characters having light psychic abilities, there are not any other Fantasy elements to the story.
 
The story was fast-paced and fun. I liked the Boston setting too. There were quite a few little tidbits to build up the setting rather than just being told generic information about the city. Truly, Madly was entertaining but not too fluffy or smutty. Actually, it was borderline to being a cozy mystery. So don’t expect much steam other than a slow burn romance. The ending sets up for the sequel, and most of the characters have open arcs that will probably continue in the next book. But the story definitely entertained me, and I look forward to continuing on with the series.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Truly, Madly A Lucy Valentine Novel

Reviews