Carlisle Wainwright Cushing's life has revolved around
rescuing her mother Ridgely who prides herself on being a
perfect example of Texas society winning the title of
Debutante of the Year at her coming-out ball. Life after the
ball was anything but perfect but even now as she faces
divorce number five she considers herself an expert on men
which is nothing short of comical. She never fails to
criticize Carlisle on what she perceives as major
shortcomings -- lack of social graces. She had hoped Carlisle
would follow in her footsteps but that seemed unlikely
following a coming out that was not what you could call
graceful.
Carlisle learned several harsh lessons from her mother -- not
the least of which was that men are all the same -- they
always break your heart. She learned early how to protect
her heart by distancing herself from any relationship and in
doing so became a rather dispassionate person. As a highly
regarded, successful attorney she felt her life was on a
good albeit safe track. Now called home to deal with her
mother's latest emergency -- divorce #5 -- Carlisle has to
face her past which includes her well hidden feelings for
Jack Blair, husband #5's attorney, the one man who always
managed to make her feel things she so carefully avoided.
Jack sees life very differently from the Wainwright's and
tries at every turn to convince Carlisle that messy is good.
Life is chaotic in the Wainwright household with siblings,
in-laws and children in resident. Add to a full plate
handling what is turning out to be a very nasty divorce, she
has been placed in charge of this years deb ball complete
with a group of misfits commonly referred to as hormonal
teenage girls and their parents. How much more mess can she
take? Turning away from the desire and passion that sparks
each time Jack and Carlisle are near is becoming impossible.
But neither one seems willing to take the ultimate leap of
trust and see if they have a future. Can Jack fit into the
historically social background of the Wainwright family and
can Carlisle allow her life to become less safe and more
passionate? In short messy.
All I can say is wow. Linda Francis Lee has developed the
most dysfunctional characters I've ever met and yet with
each page you become more and more absorbed in their stories
and lives. The question is are they crazy or is this just
another side to normal. After all who's to say what's
normal? Lee doesn't expect you to take this book seriously
and never misses an opportunity to add bits of humor to an
all ready outrageous scenario -- so put it on your must read
list.
When Carlisle Wainwright Cushing left her native Texas to
start a new life in Boston, she had no regrets. The former
Texas debutante, who never felt at home in her Southern
skin, had found liberation--or so she thought. Until the day
she gets an urgent call from her mother, reporting that:
one, the Symphony Association Debutante Ball, which
Carlisle's family has sponsored for years, is about to be
called off;
Two, her mother's divorce has the whole town
talking;
And three, the family's good name is at stake and
Carlisle is the only one who can fix it all.
So Carlisle
takes a leave of absence from her law firm and goes to Texas
to help. Her fiance, who has no idea she's an heiress, can't
know that she's organizing the ball, handling the dramas of
the girls involved, settling her mother's suit--and coming
face to face with the true love of her life, whom she ran
out on when she left Texas.
Her trip home challenges
Carlisle's sense of herself and brings the pieces of her
past togther, so that when she finally re-meets the man of
her dreams, she's in a perfect place to tempt fate.
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