The Secret Goddess Code
Peggy Webb
Harlequin Next, Nov 2007, $5.50
ISBN: 9780373881468
Forty-five year old soap opera star Gloria Hart is stunned when her character is killed off and she is fired from the show Love in the Fast Lane because some sexier younger upstart stole her role as the TV Goddess. Struggling to comprehend what happened as she heads to her childhood home in Jackson, she closes her eyes for a moment while driving her Ferrari Spider in Mooreville, Mississippi; the subsequent crash destroys her car and leaves her injured.
Log cabin restaurateur Rick Miller invites Gloria to stay at his house while she recovers from her injuries; though slight she accepts his kind southern hospitality. Gloria and her host’s wife Jenny get on like old friends especially when the actress mentors the pie-maker on applying THE SECRET GODDESS CODE to waken the passion in her marriage. As Jenny tries to bring life into her relationship with Rick and their teenage daughter has romance troubles, Gloria meets rancher Matt Tucker, who kisses her as if he means since there is no camera around to film their lips locking.
This is an entertaining look at the impact on a small southern town when a Hollywood superstar arrives. The story line contains two mature romances with the Millers reclaiming their relationship and that of the actress and the rancher; the subplot with the daughter adds a teen romance to the spin. However, predominantly rotating the first person perspective between the characters provides more insight into what disturbs these individuals, yet also proves somewhat jarring to follow as the audience ironically never gets close to anyone. Still readers will enjoy the Hollywood diva’s return to her Mississippi roots.
Harriet Klausner
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