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February 22, 2008

This Is How It Happened by Jo Barrett

I know you can't judge a book by its cover. And I didn't. But the cover definitely influenced my decision to pick up This Is How It Happened by Jo Barrett at the ALA Midwinter Conference - basically, I couldn't resist the sight of the brownies on the cover.

But those brownies are poisoned. The story starts with Madeline Pietro baking poison brownies in order to give them to the man who done her wrong - both romantically and in business.

For the most part, this is an entertaining read. Madeline's story alternates between the present and her relationship with Carlton Connors, whom she meets in graduate school. The story comes together very well, albeit with the occasional need to suspend disbelief at Madeline's efforts to exact revenge over the rat who ruined her life.

The one thing that truly spoiled this book for me was the epilogue, which tied up all of the loose ends in a sickeningly sweet manner. This story would have been much better if it had just ended with the final chapter.

That said, this is a fun read with more substance than most chick flick literature.

Posted by In Repair at February 22, 2008 10:37 PM

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