Review: Mazie and Ben are BACK!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2014
Last year I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of The Escape Diaries. A Book that was filled with excitement, charm, funny one liners and romance. That is where I met one amazing heroine, Mazie Maguire. A Wrongfully accused pampered ex housewife who was sent to prison for her husbands murder. After escaping prison during a storm, running around the country desperate to prove her innocence and falling love along the way she's back in another crazy race to find a killer. This time though it's not herself she's trying to exonerate.I've had this book on my kindle for a while and have been meaning to read it because I loved the first book so much. I'm not really sure why it took so long for me to get to it but I'm glad I did. While Mazie was on the run in the first book she managed to find love with a handsome TV cameraman Ben Labeck. He was the one who helped her eventually figure out who killed her husband and let her stay with him while she was on the run. Needless to say I was smitten with this dynamic duo and fell hard for their crazy love story. Picking up five weeks after everything settled, Crazy For You finds Mazie and Ben NOT TOGETHER! *record scratch*. I KNOW! I was so disappointed that they had actually broken up. When Ben was offered a temporary job filming with a crew out west and wanted Mazie to come with him she refused thus setting off a chain reaction of "I am woman hear me roar" and "Me Tarzan, you Jane" mentalities between them. I understood the breakup. I mean Mazie had been in prison for four years and wanted to make her way on her own and not rely on Ben and he just wanted to make her life a little easier and take care of her. (Awww)So he left and she got a fantastic job making lots of money and lived happily ever after!.... Yeah, right. Actually she took a job as a secret shopper working for Rhonda, the worlds biggest b---- who makes Mazie's life hell on earth. After an awkward run in with Ben and his new flame, and secret recon at her boss' house that finds Ben in an awkward spot with Rhonda, Mazie's boss ends up with pennies on her eyes. This time it's Ben who needs help and comes to Mazie after finding the body and being the last person to be seen with her. When the suspect net is cast both Mazie and Ben are on the list and have to work together to fend off a detective with a grudge. For me it was easy to figure out who the killer was because I'm like Carmen Sandiego when I read a suspenseful book like this. I have hawk eyes that pick up on the smallest of things so I had this person pegged right away. Where The Escape Diaries was a little bit more fun and upbeat, Crazy For You had a more dangerous aspect to it. This time it wasn't affable cops and the public chasing her down. This time she was running from the killers themselves.Mazie Maguire is up on my list of favorite female characters. She's tough, she's smart, and she works with whatever life throws at her. That was made obvious to me by watching her fight to prove her innocence. Although her and Ben aren't together anymore she's willing to help him find out what happened so that just proves she's amazing. I can get behind a woman who wants to be independent from a man. Hell, Mazie had been a wealthy and kept housewife for so long I was amazed she could find her way on her own. That just makes me respect her more. She proves she can survive on her own when she takes a somewhat degrading job serving coffee in her underwear at a new hip place that has come under fire for being too provocative. It took guts to put herself out there in such a way but true to her character's stubbornness and willingness to make it, I applauded her efforts.Ben may have won my heart in The Escape Diaries but he righteously ticked me off in this one. After their fight about going with him and Mazie's independence he left her alone to go do his thing. I get that he needed time to cool off but after that it took him no time to move on. He waited like, what, Six weeks it was before he found someone else to warm his bed. That's like a month and a half and he already let Mazie go? Gee thanks buddy, I'm glad what we had was special to you! UGH! I couldn't hate on him for long though because it became apparent the more time they spent together that he genuinely cared about Mazie and wanted what was best for her. I loved watching him slowly come to terms with Mazie's side of things and watching him start to change from overbearing jerk to understanding sweetheart thawed my heart for him a little more. Ben was very old fashioned which surprised me. I knew he was the stoic quiet type but didn't really learn too much about him before so I was pleased to get a more in depth look at his background as the story went along.Crazy For You may have been a little more suspenseful and dramatic but there was still the classic humor I fell in love with in The Escape Diaries. Mazie's inner monologue and unique way of handling things always kept a smile on my face. Not to mention a few other characters/suspects that added some light hearted moments to the scene. Mazie seems to make friends wherever she goes even in the craziest of circumstances. I think why these books work so well for me is because it has an "I Love Lucy" type of feel to it. You never know what crazy shenanigans Mazie will get herself into at any given moment. One of the best parts for me was seeing two of my favorite secondary characters show back up in this one. Eddie and Rico. The two Latino teenagers recognized Mazie in her escape attempt previously and ended up helping her. I loved the bond between these boys and Mazie so when they appear again to help not only her but Ben as well it was great to see. I can't get enough of these two and hopefully we'll see more of them with each book.Crazy For You was not what I expected but I loved it just the same. I may have been heart broken by their separation but Mazie and Ben manage to find their way home no matter the circumstances thrown at them. A good strong couple always manages to hit me in the soft spot so it's no surprise they couldn't leave each other alone. Crazy For You can be read as a stand alone for anyone who hasn't read The Escape Diaries but why would you want to miss out on the fun and romance that started it all? YOU DON'T! So take my advice and read both books because I guarantee you will have a good time. Rosetti delivers another Mazie masterpiece with hopefully more craziness to come!