Grace Cavanaugh is working on her PhD in women's studies. Grace's dissertation is based on the premise that being beautiful leads to an unhappy life. The summer before she finishes her PhD she is invited by her great aunt Sophia to stay with her as she convalesces from hip surgery. Grace is hoping to use her great aunt as a subject for her dissertation as a former bombshell and B-movie star who is now old and virtually alone ostracized from family and having no real friends.

When Grace arrives at Sophie's Pebble Beach estate she isn't prepared for the force that is Sophie. Her great aunt challenges her to try and become a bombshell and see for herself if beauty equals misery. Sophie claims that the happiness and self-confidence found in beauty is not just skin deep but how you carry yourself and feel about yourself. Grace starts to tell Sophie what she can do with her challenge but then Sophie raises the stakes and offers to give Grace the money she needs to pay for her school loans which is something Grace can't refuse.

During her transformation Grace attracts two attractive men. Each man has their strong points. Declan is smoking hot and the potential for steamy sex is something Grace finds hard to resist. Dr. Andrew is intelligent and treats her with respect and has the potential to offer her a nice comfortable marriage. As the summer progresses Grace goes through a drastic transformation but now she isn't sure if she is becoming Sophia or if she is finding the woman that was always inside her.

GREAT AUNT SOPHIA'S LESSONS FOR BOMBSHELLS is hilarious and entertaining. The relationship between Grace and Sophia is charming. I loved the battles between the two, my favorite was when Sophia buys Grace lingerie and expects her to wear a corset. Grace and Sophia have witty banter and we also are treated to Grace's journal where we get her internal monologue about the bombshell transformation.

GREAT AUNT SOPHIA'S LESSON FOR BOMBSHELLS teaches readers that not only is beauty only skin deep but you should never judge a book by a cover. There are plenty of surprises that I never saw coming, which helped make this book a summer sleeper for me. I expected a simple sweet story and what I got was so much more. Thank you, Lisa Cach for this delightful and fascinating story; you have a new fan in me.