Stella's mama never should've put Stella on the church
prayer list. With Stella's twenty-seventh birthday coming up fast, Nancy
desperately wants to see her daughter married and giving her grandbabies.
Petitioning heaven seems like a surefire way to get it done. But in Cadillac,
Texas, where the gossip's hotter than the city's famous jalapeño peppers, it
isn't long before all hell breaks loose.
Heather, the bossy leader of the church's Prayer Angels,
thinks a summer ball will get Stella and the town's other single gals paired
off. But nobody can tell redheaded spitfire Stella what to do -- not her mama,
not Heather, and not even the sexy beau Stella's been seeing in secret.
Together, Stella, her best friends Charlotte and Piper, and the loyal customers
of the Yellow Rose Beauty Shop hatch a good old-fashioned scheme to sabotage
the ball. But will it wreck Stella's relationship with her mama forever? And
what will the church folk think when Stella reveals the identity of her mystery
man?
Fun book. I loved going back to Cadillac, Texas, with its
friends, family, and fun. The story opens as Nancy attends a meeting of the
"Prayer Angels" at church. She's frustrated with her daughter
Stella's apparent indifference to finding a husband, which had delayed Nancy's
chances of being a grandmother. Desperate, she asks to put Stella on the prayer
list, not realizing that she is about to create a firestorm. Heather, the head
of the Prayer Angels, and niece to self-proclaimed town matriarch Violet, has a
bit of a grudge against Stella. She takes the opportunity to both get back at
Stella and to make a name for herself in the town hierarchy by planning a
husband-finding ball.
Stella is furious at her mother for getting her into this
situation, and with Heather for using her to promote her own plans, and she
isn't going to take it lying down. Stella already has her man but has reasons
for keeping the relationship under wraps for a little while longer. Even her
best friends, Piper and Charlotte, don't know about him. But with their help,
and that of the eighty-year-old, red-headed spitfire, Agnes, they plan to make
sure that it is an event that will never be forgotten.
I love Cadillac and the depth of love and friendship found
at the heart of the relationships there. The main focus of this book is Stella,
the red-haired, wise-cracking hairdresser with a slightly tarnished reputation.
Her relationship with her mother has been a bit strained, with Nancy's constant
pressure to find a man. It takes a severe hit when Nancy goes a step too far
and puts Stella's name on the prayer list. Stella spends a good part of the
book working on forgiving her mother for opening this can of worms. I liked the
honesty of feelings here, as Stella admits that while she loves her mom, it's
going to take a while to get past the anger. I ached for Stella because she was
so worried that her reputation, combined with this new trouble, would be too
much for her man to take. I loved the viewpoint that he took, his bone-deep
support of her, and his willingness to do whatever it took to make her happy. Their
scenes together were sweet and hot, and it was easy to see that they belonged
together though I would like to have seen more of how they got together to
start with.
I loved Stella's relationships with her two friends, Piper
and Charlotte. They've been friends for a long time and can be very frank with
each other. It was interesting to see the two weigh in on Stella's rift with
her mom, and how each comes at it from her own maternal relationship. I loved
their unwavering support for each other, from their having Stella's back during
the whole prayer fiasco, to Piper's problems with her ex, and keeping Charlotte
on an even keel as her wedding to Boone gets nearer. Stella felt guilty for
keeping her secret even from them, and it was hilarious to see the number of
times they nearly stumbled over the truth. There were some terrific scenes as
their support enabled Piper to stand up to her jerk of an ex, and put him in
his place. He got what was coming to him, and I cheered right along with the
patrons of the beauty shop. Charlotte's fears as her wedding day grew nearer
were real, and I was especially moved by the way that Stella's mother Nancy,
was able to help her overcome them.
But the main focus of the story was the Yellow Rose
Barbecue Ball and the shenanigans that led up to it. Heather is one of those
women that, when she gets the bit between her teeth, is impossible to stop. It
didn't take long for Nancy to regret the impulse to put Stella on the prayer
list once Heather started coming up with her ideas. Stella knew there was no
way to stop it; her only thought was to find a way to minimize the damage. But
once Agnes got involved, the defense took on a life of its own. It was great
fun to see Agnes, Stella, and the others put their plans into motion. The anticipation
built as I watched Agnes mastermind the perfect way to sabotage Heather's plans
without damaging the reputations of her friends. I couldn't wait for the
revelation of Stella's secret, and I must say that it was everything that I
expected from a Carolyn Brown book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes between Stella and her
secret man. The chemistry between them was hot. I loved his support of her
during the process and his willingness to give up their secret to save her embarrassment.
For all of her brashness and bluntness, Stella was also a bit insecure because
of her past. I loved her worry over how her past could affect her man's job,
and her insistence that keeping their secret until things were secure. There
were some adorable scenes between them as they found ways to be together. There
were also some hilarious scenes as the frustrations of being apart come home to
roost and people would unknowingly interfere with their assignations. They had
to do some quick thinking to keep their secret as long as they did.
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