Character Counts by Sharon Sherman

Developing the right characters can make all the difference in the success of a novel.  What do you remember from a favorite novel? The plot? The place? Or the characters? In the plot summary on the back cover, what is mentioned first and foremost? What do you want to see when you read a sequel?
  
For me, it’s the crazy characters. The mysterious Ranger or hot Joe Marino. And maybe Grandma Mazur with her less-than-normal view of life. I really like Lulu - an ex-prostitute attached to Stephanie Plum on one side, and two buckets of chicken on the other. Nothing is normal about Janet Evanovich’s characters, including Bob, Steph’s bulimic dog. While her characters are wild and crazy, there’s an implied goodness about all of them. We feel safe with them, no matter how questionable their past. We want to pack our bags and follow her characters around, just for the excitement.
 
 Not all characters are as fun-loving as Evanovich’s. Some characters we love to hate. Look at the popularity of daytime soaps. So popular were they, they added soaps to prime-time fare. Dallas was one of the first with an extensive thirteen season run, thanks in-part to its greedy, scheming J.R. Ewing. If you want bizarre  characters, look at Dark Shadows, returning with the all-time character actor, Johnny Depp.
  
Then there is the character we would love to be: the beautiful and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet or the unusually deep Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, who would keep us on the edge of our seats with their banter and thoughtful emotions.

    While a weak plot cannot overcome all the beauty or cleverness in the world, dull characters can keep you from discovering how clever the plot really is.

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evonovich and Dorien Kelly

Mss. Evanovich and Kelly weave a delightful fantasy where-smart-girl-in-trouble meets man-of-her-dreams with attraction electrifying their encounters. Inevitably, things go awry. Through cunning and pure dumb luck, everything seems to work out in the end.

While Mss. Evanovich and Kelly have colorized the characters and developed an exciting relationship between the two main characters, Kate and Matt, it is the ending rather than the story that holds the reader's interest. Being a native Michigander, I appreciated references to one of my favorite cities, Cherry Capital of the United States, Traverse City. And the craft brew lessons were informative and, may I say, a bit crafty. 

If you expect fun-loving villains that have a surprising better side, you won't find them here. The villains do show up and they do have a redeeming side, but they are neither fun-loving, nor embarrassed by their better points, but rather hide the fact that they are not what they seem.

On its own, the story is cute and cuddly, and as my friend, Joyce, says, "It's great to have a bubble bath book to read every once in awhile.

But if you are expecting the Evanovich style where there are quirky one-liners to make you smile and flirty innuendos to make you drool, you just might be a bit disappointed.