Smitten audiobook

4 Stars for Smitten: Elsie Hawkins Series, Book 2 (audiobook) by Janet Evanovich read by C. J. Critt. It’s so much fun listening to a romance set around home remodeling while I’m remodeling a house. These characters are great and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Cute book with Elsie Hawkins at it again. Adorable wee love story.

Janet Evanovich seems a big self-deprecating about her former career as a romance author, and I have yet to figure out why. The talent behind Stephanie Plum has always been there, her love of ill-behaved dogs and general chaos present from the very beginning.Lizabeth Kane is divorced with two sons to raise, and she’s determined to make it on her own. She doesn’t have many marketable skills, but that doesn’t stop her from going to a construction site to ask for a job. The first person she meets is Matt Hallahan, part owner of the construction company, who practically falls in love with Lizabeth on the spot. He gives her a job and also starts making up excuses to fix her rundown house. He also falls instantly for Lizabeth’s sons, Jason and Billy, whose ambitious father has no time for them. Toss in a harmless midnight flasher, Lizabeth’s odd Aunt Elsie and her big, blue, indestructible Cadillac, add a big stupid dog and a couple mentions of a cat, and it’s pure, vintage Evanovich.This is a quick read I gobbled up in a couple of hours. It’s a perfect light little snack of a novel with fun, warm characters and a happy little plot. I’m glad Janet is re-releasing these early gems because I’m sorry I somehow missed them the fist time around.

I found myself laughing over and over again while reading this book. It was so funny, but that is not unusual for books by Janet Evanovich. She is an author who has a quirky sense of humor that I have come to appreciate completely. I loved the banter between Lizabeth and Matt and thought their getting to know each other was really adorable...Lizabeth's fascination with becoming a fairy was awesome, and so was her relationship with her 2 sons. I absolutely adored Elsie! I think I laughed most at her antics, especially the scene where (view spoiler)[she jumps in her Cadillac to chase after the flasher who has jumped on Matt'S Harley to make an escape...and right when she is closing in on the motorcycle the police turn on their lights behind her causing her to slam on her brakes...causing the cruiser to slam into the rear end of her car! Hilarious! (hide spoiler)] I didn't realize this was part of a series though and now that I know I will definitely check out the others...I would have rated this 3 stars but the humor in it gained a whole star all by itself! ☺

A few parts were annoying, but overall this was hilarious! It was a comedy of errors at times and had me laughing out loud at some of the antics. The one thing that irked me was that Lizabeth kept thinking that tattoos were worse than motorcycles in terms of corruption rates for her kids. She didn't like motorcycles either, but didn't think they were as dangerous as tattoos. A tattoo can't kill you, but motorcycles sure can! She sometimes looked down at people who didn't have good paying jobs, but that was just the way she was raised. Elsie was hilarious and their dog Ferguson was just like the dog in A Christmas Story when it came to stealing food! Quite a few laughs, and a quick read as well.

Tons of Tenderness I found the character of Matt plausible and fascinating. He just suddenly woke up and realized he had no family and that he wanted one. Men go through this generally at the age of 25 in our U.S.A. culture. The key part is that a man wanting to marry needs feel charmed by his potential mate. I actually liked the character of Matt as flawed. Yet he wanted to learn and earn Lizbeth and her sons trust. I’ll also know “love” makes us crazy sometimes. The thing I liked about Matt‘s character and pulled me in was his relationship to her children. Other reviews never mentioned his openness, playfulness, and attention. Matt arrives with baggage from loss of his mother when he turned seven. Matt lives alone, a boy who never experience a loving parent. Matt gives Lizbeth’s boys want he wanted from his coal miner, alcoholic father. I know a real life romance, which reflects the truth in this story. A divorced woman meets her future forever husband at a friend’s wedding party. But she can’t talk to him and excuses herself as going home to her children. This true life couple have been mates and raised children together to mutual success and joy.So the character of Matt intrigued me and built a verisimilitude for me as a reader.

a great read with characters and lol funny moments. If you have just came off of a heavy read and need something light then Smitten is for you. Lisabeth Dane is desperate to find work to care for her children's needs so she goes to a construction site looking for a job. there, she meets matt Hallahan and sparks fly immediately. He tries to protect her from the hard jobs but she doesn't like his overprotection. meanwhile Aunt Elsie hawkins has come to stay for the summer and she is a real hoot. A flasher is on the loose and Elsie doesn't want to miss any of the action. This and many more anecdotes make Smitten a fast read. Highly recommend for a lighthearted read on a warm spring day.

Light and breezy with a little romance and mystery thrown in. Delightful summer read.

Hot MessThe house is falling apart, but the home is coming together nicely when Matt falls for his beautiful new employee.

This was a good book. I think I read it before because parts of it sounded familiar.

Knowing she needed to find a way to support herself and her children, Lizabeth Kane made the rounds applying for jobs. Majoring in history was not a big help, so she took a chance and decided to apply for a job as a carpenter at Matt Hallahan’s construction site. Matt knew she wasn’t qualified or built for the job, but he couldn’t find it in himself to tell her no. He quickly found himself completely consumed by her, her kids, her frustrating dog Ferguson, and even her ever observant Aunt Elsie. The presence of a neighborhood ‘flasher’, that seemed to take special interest in Lizabeth, gave Matt the excuses he wanted to become more a part of her life.Classic early Janet Evanovich, sweet and touching while still fun and sexy (and I am not talking about the flasher). Just the right combination of macho garbage and sissy stuff that make these characters realistic enough to be any ones neighbors. The addition of the sons (10 and 8), was also well done, sometimes kids don’t get written in the right age group, but these did (I have a 10 and an 8 yr. old), right down to their reaction to Matt’s kitchen ‘re-model’ project.

This is such a good, cute and funny book. A book to pick you up if your down. Enjoyed this book alot.

This fun and cozy romance is definitely a beach read --- I do enjoy Evanovich's early romances, lol. And while they're in the Elsie Hawkins series, Elsie is not the focus, but she is one heck of a spark!

Single mum Lizabeth Kane is looking for work when she see a job ad for construction worker as she needs money to pay for the bills. She a mother to Jason and Billy who 10 and 8 years. She has never picked up a hammer but is willing to do anything for a job.Matt Hallahan is busy building other people's homes when Lizabeth applies for the job and can't say no to the beautiful woman in front him. So he gives her the job letting paint the houses at first and then given her a promotion to office manager as need help with his office as his partner is out of action Matt finds himself overwhelmed at work and falling for Lizabeth. Lizabeth Aunty also comes to stay for the summer to help care for the boys. Her ex husband Paul arrives to take the boys away for two weeks and she finds herself missing them. There also the situation with flasher to solve. Lizabeth also finds herself falling in love with him but she feels she is not ready for marriage either until she see him with her children that she decides to take a chance on love.