BOOKS: THE SWEETEST HOURS

"Original...thoroughly enjoyable!"

THE SWEETEST HOURS: Love Stories...of a Kind
by Laura Pedersen
(BookSurge, 2006)

I've actually already said it on this book -- on the back cover:

"A terrific new voice!"
-- Sherri Caldwell, author of The Rebel Housewife [Rules]

I said that about Laura Pedersen last year, reviewing her novels BEGINNER'S LUCK and HEART'S DESIRE, featuring Hallie Palmer, a 16-year-old high school dropout, runaway, semi-professional gambler/math genius.

With THE SWEETEST HOURS, Laura Pedersen proves herself a seasoned pro, and fabulous in both novel-length and short-story format.

Pedersen's strength is in her characters, whether human or animal. She paints wonderfully eccentric, vivid personalities you can't help but like, even in silly stories -- for instance, in "Love Lucy" about a man's obsession with a dolphin. Yet even in the zaniest, most absurd scenarios -- and there are more than a couple in THE SWEETEST HOURS -- she makes it work.

Two of my favorite characters and favorite stories from THE SWEETEST HOURS:

Gus in "Gus Hunts For a Job" - a lovable big dog looking for love and work as his human kids grow up and out/away.

Muriel in "True To Her Word" - a mysterious book lady who turns her dead sister's shop into a self-serve bookstore (because she doesn't like to talk), and subsequently manages to find her own true love, and bring everybody to rights in a small town with her amazing ability to choose just the right book.

Laura Pedersen's short stories are as clever, original, and enjoyable as her Hallie Palmer novels. There is something for everybody in THE SWEETEST HOURS.