Review: Another Konisburg winner!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2012
From the first book in this series, I have been hooked on Konisburg, Texas and its residents. Growing up in San Antonio; the hill country was a hop, skip, and a jump away and starting at age 18 (and yes I am showing my age because when I was 18 that WAS the legal drinking age in Texas), my friends and I would pile in to whatever vehicle we could fit in and every other weekend we'd head for hills. We loved exploring the quaint towns during the day and then kicking up our heels at the local honky tonks at night dancing and flirting with "real cowboys" and listening to some very talented entertainers. So, these books remind me of those day and those towns. Meg has recreated a typical hill country town with absolute authenticity. Every time I read a book in this series I'm transported back to those days of my late teens and twenties and remember it fondly. In Fearless Love, we see quite a few honky tonks and experience some entertainers including our heroine, MG Carmody, a Texas transplant who relocated from Nashville to care for her dying grandfather.Joe LeBlanc has fascinated me since he first hit Konisburg. A highly acclaimed chef that hit the skids and is now working at a Texas hill country "resort" restaurant, he has a history with Clem the chef at the Faro (one of Konisburg's honky tonks). Other than that, we don't know much about him and he likes that. He keeps to himself, works, exercises, and works some more. Oh and in my head he sounds just like Matthew McConaughey and looks like Anson Mount minus the hair (and if you don't know who he is, look him up...you won't be sorry). That is until he rescues MG from her wild rooster, Robespierre. Suddenly he finds himself fascinated with a woman and decides he wants more than the fresh eggs she supplies him with.MG has had a rough year, her manager wanted her to be something she wasn't and almost killed her love for song writing and playing music. Then her beloved grandpa had a stroke and she moved to Texas to take care of him and she promised she would keep him farm going after he died. It's been tough and she's come to realize she needs to make some money. When Joe comes by and offers to buy her eggs, she's excited not only about the money from the eggs but her reaction to Joe. She soon finds herself working in his kitchen and rediscovering her music.I really enjoyed watching these two navigate the relationship waters.They both have some pretty heavy emotional baggage and neither wants to share it with the other. I love that Darcy (one of Joe's assistants) was devious enough to push them to opening up. I admire Joe for understanding why MG hid her music from him but fully supporting her once she explains it all to him. MG scores points for not pushing Joe too hard to divulge his past. She knows there is more to his story but she reigns herself in and let's him confess it in his own time. Let me also say that I flat out adore how Joe uses the endearment darlin' a lot, but even more I love how he uses MG's full name (Mary Grace) during their intimate moments. He took a name she didn't like and turned it into something very special and helps her realize she does deserve the name. I also appreciated that when they did have a pretty big misunderstanding Joe apologizes and MG accepts; they don't play games with each other. It's real and refreshing and very satisfying.Fearless Love is another enjoyable addition to the Konisburg series. As is Meg Benjamin's style, the characters are highly likeable despite their flaws; the dialog is intelligent but fun, the plot intriguing, and the sex scenes more than gratifying. My one disappointment, despite the ending of the book taking place at the annual Food & Wine festival, we didn't get to "see" and catch up with the Toleffson families! I was really looking forward to seeing how everyone was doing and thought for sure we'd see them enjoying the festival or some time at the Faro.However, this book is so well written and tells such an amazing story I'm forgiving Meg for that little setback. I'm already looking forward to the next installment in this series and I'm so hoping we are going to see Darcy get knocked off her feet (and maybe see the Toleffson's), hey a girl can dream!4.5 StarsReview copy provided for an honest review.