Review: FUN ROMANCE !!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
RHYTHM AND BLUEGRASS  is the second book in Molly Harper's BLUEGRASS SERIES.  It's an enjoyable and humorous story about Bonnie Turkle, a Kentucky Tourism Commission employee, and Will McBride, mayor of the small, dying community of Mud Creek, KY. Bonnie plans to research and catalog whatever items remain in historic McBride's Music Hall, an important venue for burgeoning blues, bluegrass and country/western groups in the 1950s and 1960s and a place where both whites and blacks intermixed without prejudice. Will's family owns the hall, and though his mom and other residents of Mud Creek step up to help Bonnie with her project, Will is reluctant to encourage any long-term focus on the building. He's been courting the ComfyCheeks Underwear company to build a new plant on the same property and doesn't want anything to hurt what could become a big employer for the financially struggling people of the region.Bonnie and Will's relationship has lots of ups and downs. They first meet when Bonnie's car burns up just as she reaches the welcome sign for Mud Creek. Will stops and helps her get some belongings out of her SUV before everything goes up in flames. She doesn't know what to think about Will, especially when he leaves to deal with a sewage problem in town, so she's surprised when he ends up being the town official she has an appointment with later in the day. Will has a unusual sense of humor, and he and Bonnie get along great until she decides to nominate the music hall for status as a national historic landmark without telling anyone in town. Will is furious when he finds out, because a landmark deseignation for McBride's Music Hall might kill the ComfyCheeks project. And without the influx of new jobs, many of Mud Creek's remaining residents would have to seek jobs elsewhere, putting another nail on the town's sinking coffin.Bonnie jeopardizes all her good feelings and interactions with the townspeople because of the landmark nomination. She knows she's really in trouble after experiencing Will's unhappy reaction and reading the newspaper article slamming both Bonnie and the McBride Music Hall project. Will's angry open letter in the “Letters to the Editor” section states that Bonnie is preventing Mud Creek from getting a factory that would bring over 200 desperately needed jobs to the flailing region. Mud Creek's residents show community support by denying Bonnie services and goods. Now Bonnie has to come up with a solution--and fast--if she has any hope to save her position, the future employment potential of the town, and her relationship with Will.As someone who's been involved in historic preservation, I like that both the benefits and downsides of protecting locally significant sites are woven through the story. I understand Bonnie's desire to preserve the music hall's important history and to share it with others. I also can sympathize with Will's anger and frustration at not being informed about the landmark nomination and his concern that a positive landmark ruling would wind up killing his struggling town.The story is humorous from the first chapter to the last page. Bonnie's temporary living situation is far from the cute apartment she's envisioned, and Mud Creek residents are a good kind of quirky. There's Fred, who runs the fire department and wrecker service; Miss Earlene, the spunky 50-year employee of the Mud Creek Public Library and it's first black head librarian; Joe Bob, the bald, bearded teddy bear of a tow truck driver and builder of the out-of-spare-parts VW bug (“FrankenBug”) he loans to Bonnie; and, Sheriff Jenny Lee Felter, who turns on her cruiser's siren and pulls Bonnie over to just introduce herself. Mud Creek is full of the type of loyal and lively characters I'd want as friends and neighbors.Overall, I loved RHYTHM AND BLUEGRASS.  It spoke to me about loyalty and friendship, small town pride in spite of economic concerns, and acceptance no matter who you are. Bonnie and Will's fun relationship and all the Mud Creek residents' antics make this a perfect book for anyone wanting a light-hearted romance with a hearty helping of small town life thrown in. It's the right read for the beach, a welcome snow day, or just anytime at all.If You Like This Book, You May Like --- MY BLUEGRASS BABY  by Molly Harper, THE LUCKY HARBOR SERIES  and THE ANIMAL MAGNETISM NOVELS  by Jill Shavis, SERENDIPITY'S FINEST SERIES  by Carly Phillips, THE KOWALSKIS SERIES  by Shannon Stacey* Read my other reviews on the Blue Moon Mystery Saloon blog.** An ARC was provided by Pocket Star eBooks and Edelweiss for an honest review.