Blondes Have More Felons - Alesia Holliday - Win a Signed Copy!

Hello, Lovelies! In 2004, an amazing, life changing thing happened for me - my sister handed me a book that was sky blue and had a picture of glass slippers with cherries on the toes gracing the front cover. I didn't read the book right away because I hadn't really read in a long time. But then, a friend of mine borrowed this book and when she returned it the next day said, "You really should read this. It's a great fun read." That made two people I trusted with my life telling me I needed to read this book. So, I did. The book was Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie . I immediately fell in love with the book. The life changing was two-fold, the first happened immediately, I fell in love with reading again. I grabbed up every Crusie I could find and then started branching out, it was like finding a piece of myself (like my writing) that I had been missing. The second life changing thing happened a little over a year later, wanting more Crusie, but seeing her admission to writing slow, I joined the The Cherries. And I met the most amazing, funny, kind, smart, beautiful people a person could ever hope to meet. It was through JCF that I "met" Dee, just one of the many blessings I have. And as it turns out, many of those people were also writers! Did I hit the jackpot or what? Alesia Holliday is one of those amazingly talented, kind, funny, and caring people that I had the pleasure of "meeting" and I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to find out that she also was a published author. Just by her posts I could tell that she was talented, but until recently, I had no idea , just how talented she was. And diverse. Not only does she write under the name Alesia Holliday, but she writes YA novels under the name Jax Abbott, and most recently she will release a new Atlantis series, under the name Alyssa Day , that will be released in March 2007, and you already know I'm dying to read this book! So, without further ado...

Blondes Have More Felons by Alesia Holliday
(BCC)

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE DECEMBER IN FLORIDA...

December Vaughn is tired of her roots. Not the ones in her hair-she's a real blonde after all - but her life in Ohio as a corporate attorney. She's used to Turing heads, but now it's time to turn her life around. And what better way to prove all those dumb-blonde jokes wrong than by opening up her own practice in Florida? She's going to take the Sunshine State by storm...

Soon, she's hired by a man whose wife died because of defective insulin. Now, the drug company and its ruthless lawyers are doing anything in their power to derail the case - and December. It's enough to give a girl split ends.

Luckily her over-the-top office manager, a card-sharp housewife, and a drop-dead gorgeous P.I. are on her side. Because December Vaughn may have parted ways with her old life, but she's not about to give up her new one without a fight...

I actually like this BCC, too. What is wrong with the world these days that I can't even get crappy BCC to tear apart? Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books? Maybe not, 'cause I really liked this book, and if good BCC is the price I have to pay for that - then so be it.

December Vaughn may look like the ideal dumb-blonde, but she is far from. Graduating summa cum laude (sounds kinda dirty huh?) from law school, she immediately takes a job at a top law firm "...Specializing in the defense of products liability cases, with a concentration on pharmaceuticals." Good thing too, since three weeks into her new life as owner of her own general practice law firm, her aunt sends her a doozy of a case. Charlie Deaver lost his wife due to bad insulin, and when his current lawyer decides to retire, December's Aunt Celia sends him to her.

But, it seems that some big-time local attorneys, including the one for the defense, don't like Charlie's decision to use December, and soon they are trying to get her to hand the case over. When December doesn't give up the case, some very personal attacks start to take place and soon it isn't just the fate of her new firm on the line, but possibly her new life.

Add to the tough new case, missing furniture, a new employee, Mr. Ellison, who just happens to be old enough to remember the first automobile, an incredibly good looking P.I., Jake, that may or may not be working for the opposite side and seems to be utterly smitten with her, a beautiful but crazy woman, Gina, that wants said P.I. and thinks December is in the way, her office manager and best friend, Max, who seems to have lost her sense of taste in clothing, her new neighbor and High Stakes Poker Player, Emily, her loving but wacky Aunt Celia and Uncle Nathan, a mystery writer who likes to plot at the most inconvenient of times, and you have the best cast of characters a book can have.

Written in First Person, I didn't quite expect to get the sense of community and knowledge of the other characters, it just doesn't happen that way in First, but by the last page, I felt like I knew each and every person and they were all apart of my life as well. Curious as to how she managed such a feat writing in only one POV, I asked, "...I'm very comfortable in first person. I've written several books that way. This is my first book with such a sense of community, though. I really wanted the reader to have a sense of who December's friends and family are." And boy, did she ever do more than give a sense of who those friends and family are, you truly care for these characters as if they were in your own life.

Now, if you were to ask me what genre Blondes is, I would say RoCoMy (my own word for Romantic/Comedy/Mystery). It's like one great big book of some of my most favoritist genres. But since you won't find a RoCoMy shelf at your local bookstore, you'll be able to find it in the Mystery section. And while the mystery aspect is stellar, it is the mixture of all three that made me say Blondes would have been one of my Top 3 Picks for this months contest.

Since I've already touched on the Mystery part of the book, shall we talk Romance? Jake Brody, ex-Navy Seal and now very hot P.I.. I'm talking mega-fantasy guy. He has this whole man of mystery thing down, and he seems to always be there when December needs him most. Then, there's Matt Falcon, super hot attorney. We meet Matt as December prepares to argue her first criminal case, and is he ever yummy. And although we don't see much of Matt in this book, there is some definite vibage between him and December. The ever curious (okay, impatient) reader that I am, I asked Alesia if we would see more of Matt in future books, "Oh, yes. Matt will be back. If Jake is the alpha bad boy who's really a good guy, Matt is the bad boy who really IS bad. The kind of man who's fun to play with but not necessarily keep around for the long term . . ." Ahhh, I think we all should have a Matt in our lives.

And then there is the comedy. The first line of the book is, "Nobody ever tried to stab me when I did corporate work." And throughout the book, we see several variations on this. I have to tell you, it was so much fun to read the book and try to guess where the next one would come up. The Hubs thought I was a total fruitcake while I read this book, I would say the line I thought would be coming and then laugh hysterically when it came up. So warning - Do NOT Read This Book In Public if you want to appear sane. There are also some situations December gets herself into because of her big heart that are just too funny. For instance, that first line up there? The person trying to stab her is Mr. Ellison, the older man that soon becomes her new employee. "In writing humor, I generally have a few riffs that play throughout the book. In the series, the ongoing riff throughout the books is that December is a soft touch for lost causes - anybody with a hard luck story who walks through the door is going to wind up with a job at her law firm. It's going to make for an interesting employment situation! You already know Mr. Ellison, retired bus driver. Stay tuned for an out-of-work psychic astrologer in BLONDE JUSTICE!" (Nobody ever tried to read my mind when I did corporate work. Not a line from the book, I'm just playing around here.)

And of course, no review of Blondes would be complete without the disclaimer - OFFICIAL DECEMBER VAUGHN MYSTERIES DISCLAIMER: NO DOGS DIE IN THE MAKING OF THESE BOOKS!!! When I saw this on her site, I HAD to know what was up. I mean, it's a BOOK! People are killed in fiction constantly, so was it a very big deal if a dog did? "Yes!!! YES!!! Oh. My. Goodness! I had one person call me from an AIRPLANE to yell at me! My editor called me mid-book at that scene to tell me I couldn't kill a dog! I said, of COURSE I wouldn't kill a dog! Especially a pug named after my darling pug, Daisy! Sheesh. :)" I can tell you right now, that Daisy is alive and well and spoiled at the end of this book. No worries!

For a laugh out loud, fast-paced, and just all around feel good read, pick up Blondes Have More Felons you will not be disappointed. What's that you say? You'd like to have a chance to win it? Oh well, OKAY! Alesia has graciously offered to give THREE of our readers a signed copy of Blondes. One copy will go to the winner of this months contest and for your chance to win one of the two remaining, simply leave a comment or send an e-mail to deeanddeedish@sbcglobal.net with the words, "Daisy didn't die so I'll give it a try!" and you'll be entered to win. I'll draw two names from a hat from all the entries and announce the winner in one week. That's right. You have until 8:45 a.m. on Wed, Dec. 27, 2006 to comment or e-mail and you'll be entered!

Take Care