I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
A Date with the Other Side
by
Erin McCarthy
It is part of the Cuttersville #1 series and is a paranormal romance in a paperback edition that was published by Berkley on January 2, 2007 and has 284 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include High Stakes, My Immortal, Bit the Jackpot, An Enchanted Season, Fallen, The Taking, Bad Boys of Summer, Bled Dry, Flat-Out Sexy, Sucker Bet, Hard and Fast, Hot Finish, When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, First Blood, Slow Ride, The Chase, The Night Before Christmas, Out of the Light, and into the Shadows, Jacked Up, Heiress for Hire, Bad Boys in Black Tie, True, Seeing is Believing, Believe, Shatter, Sweet, Burn, Gone with the Ghost, Murder Drama with Your Llama
First in the Cuttersville humorous urban fantasy series taking place in this small town in Ohio.
My Take
This was cute. A nice bit of comic relief from some of the heavy reading I’ve been doing.
I do enjoy Boston’s reaction to a farming community with its heart attack special at the Busy Bee Diner and the lack of Starbucks. He’s not used to considering other people’s feelings nor with that downhome friendliness of a small town. He loves the old, creaky, fussy house he’s staying in too. Nothing could be further from his own experiences. I like that he’s open to new experiences even if he does think he hates being here.
Shelby irritates me, she’s a tease. She gets Boston all het’ up and then makes him stop. Over and over again. Then she wonders why he’s grumpy. Duh…
Amanda’s experience with small town life is pretty funny as well. It’s interesting what different perspectives can sound like. She certainly appreciates the code of honor the men in this town have.
The Story
Gran is frustrated with Shelby’s life as she simply slides through. When Boston Macnamara shows up in Cuttersville to look over his boss’ factory, she rents him one of her haunted ones at a high rate and schemes to send Shelby on by.
Shelby is so forthright, and Boston wants nothing to do with her. Well, that’s what his brain is saying. His body has other ideas. And so do the ghosts. They seem to have decided that Shelby and Boston belong together too.
The Characters
Shelby Tucker is divorced and living in her grandmother’s house from which she conducts Haunted Cuttersville Tours, ghost tours. Danny Tucker is her ex-husband and he still loves her, wants her back. Shelby, however, expects more from a marriage. Mrs. Jessie Stritmeyer is gran and she owns a number of houses around town which she rents out. Brady Stritmeyer is her cousin who thinks Shelby’s cool; Joelle is his girlfriend.
Boston Macnamara works for Samson Plastics and has been sent to Cuttersville by his boss Brett Delmar in hopes that he can circumvent his daughter’s interest in Boston. It’s exile and Boston hates it. Mary is the housekeeper who comes with the house. Amanda Delmar is Brett’s daughter and she’s bored. It’s one reason she’s followed Boston to Cuttersville. I suspect we’ll find her married to Danny in the next in the series, Heiress for Hire.
Bob and Phil are the plant managers for Samson Plastics and are panicking over why Boston is here. Half the adults in town work for the factory and with the economy…
Harriet Danforth is a gossiping busybody with a daughter Boston intends to avoid.
The ghosts include Nanny Baskins is a loving spirit, the Old Colonel likes to sunbathe naked, Red-Eyed Rachel bludgeoned her fiancé to death when she caught him with the parlormaid, and the Blond Man.
Adrienne Ashley is a reporter for Channel Five Action News.
The Cover and Title
The cover is brilliant pink-on-pink vertical stripes with a puffy golden heart supporting a trio of skyscrapers on one side and a heart-belching cabin on the other.
I suspect the title refers to the the ghostly machinations involved in getting Boston and Shelby involved. It’s A Date with the Other Side all right. Of course, it could also refer to the TV reporters…hmmm…
