Out of the Ordinary

Jen Turano writes with wit, humor, and her characters live life at a frenetic pace.  I wonder where she gets the names for her characters:  Gertrude Cadwalader, Clementine Flowerdew, Permelia Griswold.  But, those names fit the personalities:  Gertrude is a companion for a society lady with a penchant for lifting baubles that are not hers.  It then becomes Gertrude's job to return the items to the proper owners.  Clementine is a young lady on the look out for a husband and she doesn't care who she runs over to get one.  Permelia dances with an exuberance that belies the fact that she can't dance.  At the party to celebrate her engagement to Asher Rutherford, she had the members of the orchestra running for their lives.  The title of this book, Out of the Ordinary, is apt for the contents.  There is nothing ordinary about this story. 

One thing I do like about the one main character I've not mentioned yet--Harrison Sinclair--is that he dresses with a flair that would make any onlooker reach for the nearest pair of sunglasses. What the reader is led to believe is that Harrison is color-blind.  He sees most nearly everything in shades of orange, but in reality, he might be wearing a lime green jacket with sky blue pants that have clovers all over them. 

The road to true love for Gertrude and Harrison is never smooth and easy.  His mother has Gertrude arrested.  He ruins the clothing they are wearing when he's trying to be gallant.  He nearly dislocates Gertrude's shoulder when he rides up on his horse and pulls her aboard the horse.  He doesn't realize that some of the little things he already does touches Gertrude's heart

This is a fun book to read, five stars, two thumbs up, and a garish outfit for the dance tonight.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.