Marketing executive Lucy Cunningham lands a huge account with the Palm Club, a fitness club. The bad part of it is that she's integrally involved with the account -- in a big, splashy campaign, the club announces that Lucy will work with fitness guru Theo Redmond, and will lose 100 pounds in one year. A constant battle with weight and feeling bad about herself makes Lucy vulnerable but determined, because she and Theo each get $1,000 for each pound she drops. Yep, that would be $100,000 and enough to start her own ad agency.
Theo enjoys his job as a trainer, but his goal is to go back to med school, and working with Lucy can put him back on track for his dreams. She's a little bit of a challenge, but one that he likes. In fact, he finds himself genuinely liking Lucy, who's witty and fun to be around.
But it seems someone doesn't want Lucy to lose weight, sending her boxes of candy bars at work. That just makes Lucy all the more determined -- even if it does mean spending more time with Theo, who is so gorgeous she can barely breathe around him. She has no idea that Theo is fighting feelings of his own -- because he's falling for Lucy, long before she's slimmed down and starts to get attention everywhere she goes.
This is a great book! I'm always a sucker for make-over stories, but what I like about this one is the relationship that develops between the two before Lucy drops weight. They are both good people -- Theo takes care of his brother with Down Syndrome -- and you just find yourself rooting for them to get their money and live happily ever after. It's a feel-good book that makes you think about your own life. Lucy starts carrying herself differently as she loses weight and begins to feel good about who she is. We're all carrying something inside of us that makes us slump and not be at our best -- it makes you want to change things in your life. Terrific job, Ms. Donovan!
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