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Thanksgiving
by
Janet Evanovich
cozy romance in a Kindle edition that was published by HarperCollins on October 13, 2009 and has 256 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Smokin' Seventeen, Love in a Nutshell, Explosive Eighteen, Wicked Business, Notorious Nineteen, The Husband List, The Heist, Takedown Twenty, The Chase, Pros and Cons, Top Secret Twenty-One, The Job, Two for the Dough, Stephanie Plum #3 – #7, Visions of Sugar Plums, Wicked Charms, Love Overboard, Stephanie Plums, Plum Spooky, , Tricky Twenty-Two, The Pursuit, The Scam, Curious Minds, Turbo Twenty-Three, Dangerous Minds, Hardcore Twenty-Four, "The Shell Game", Look Alive Twenty-five, The Big Kahuna, Twisted Twenty-six, Fortune and Glory, The Bounty, Full House, The Recovery Agent
A standalone cozy romance set in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and revolving around a potter and a pediatrician.
My Take
Setting this story against the backdrop of Colonial Williamsburg made this a more interesting story with all those extras Evanovich had to work with in her scenes. It does help that Megan and Patrick seem to be history buffs — it’s more of a tell though as Evanovich doesn’t do a lot to show this in the story.
Evanovich’s description of Megan in the first chapter was interesting. She’s obviously not your standard woman character and does have a sense of humor about herself and her work as a visitors’ aide in Colonial Williamsburg. Megan is easygoing enough that she’s easy to manipulate. Although she suddenly deviates near the end, which was a spoiler for me. For an intelligent woman, she sure can be stupid!!
That Patrick has some sense of humor. And it does get him into a bit of trouble. He cracks me up what with calling Megan “Mrs Hunter” so often. Evanovich has Patrick seriously thinking of Megan as his wife, and yet when it comes to the point, he backs off so fast. And why doesn’t he tell her his fears about marrying?
We know all this because Evanovich uses third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Megan’s and Patrick’s perspectives.
Pat’s house does sound sweet. Small, but with plenty of character. A good thing his housing is free, as Patrick is poorer than a church mouse, although he can spend it.
The story is primarily about Megan, as she reflects back on the positives and negatives of her life, especially in comparison with what Tim can likely expect. Some of that negative is current with Tim managing to get food all over her. Another negative that has affected her all through college is her parents’ attitude about the “real” purpose of college. And that girl has no backbone! Then there’s Timmy . . . and another dumper.
I’ve been reading a number of stories lately in which the female character enjoys her food. Is this a truism in the real world that women poke at their food? Another plus for me about Megan is her creative side. Oh, yeah!
It was character-driven with action. A low-key kind of action as we heard from both Megan and Patrick separately and together, as they work through this unexpected baby.
The Story
An escape-artist rabbit keeps chewing on Megan’s costume, and she is not impressed with his owner. How awful that he doesn’t keep Tibbles safe!
Only Dr Patrick Hunter was too attractive to stay mad at for long. Soon the two are making Thanksgiving dinner for their matchmaking families.
The Characters
Megan Murphy has had a difficult romantic life, bad enough that she felt she had to escape. She’s only working as a visitors’ aide until she has her show. And life is easier as she’s house-sitting for a member of the William and Mary faculty. Her parents have moved to Florida . . . and it’s still not far enough away. Her dad, Mike, had been a policeman; Mom had been a housewife.
Dave (and his sacred body that needs lots of attention) and Steve are the men who’ve left her at the altar. Jimmy Fee had been her five-year-old boyfriend until he dumped her for Mary Lee Barnard.
Dr Patrick Hunter is a newbie pediatrician (lucky enough to use Aunt Catherine‘s home in the village while she’s on a six-month leave). Tibbles is his escape-artist rabbit. His parents live in San Diego. His brother’s family lives in Connecticut. His oldest sister goes to UC-Berkeley while his two younger sisters go to UCLA. Laurie
Colonial Williamsburg is . . .
. . . an outdoor educational living museum providing immersive and authentic 18th-century programming for visitors. Anne Hedgeworth works at the wigmaker’s shop; Fellow Visitors’ Aides include Martha Greenwald (her granddaughter is Larissa) and Betsy Markham.
Dr Boyer retired last month. Tilly Coogan has recently had a baby, Tim. Turns out Timmy’s daddy joined the Navy. Roger Bruno got circumcised. Cynthia Kramer got a DPT booster.
The Pit has great chili dogs. A boutique in Old Town Alexandria sells handthrown tea sets. Jimmy Szlagy had been a medical student with Patrick. Mrs Yates came to look like her poodle while Skokey Moyer got to looking like his old bloodhound.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a cheery gradient of orange to pale, pale, pale peach for the background. At the very top is an info blurb in pale peach. Below that is the author’s name in a deep-blue-shadowed pale yellow. Below that is the title in a deep orange script arched over an arched stone fireplace with a blazing fire while a stuffed “Tibbles” lies on an orange-brown-yellow rag rug in front of it.
The title is all about the thanks they’ll be giving this Thanksgiving.
