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Crazy #1
What Looks Like Crazy
From Book 1: She's had hit after hit with Janet Evanovich.
Now this New York Times bestselling author begins a series that readers will go crazy for.
Psychologist Kate Holly's own life has become the stuff of intensive therapy. She's divorcing her gorgeous firefighter husband, she has an eccentric secretary, her mother and aunt have erected a vaguely sexual sculpture in her front yard, and her psychiatrist ex-boyfriend won't stop calling to find out what color panties she's wearing. Now, Kate's being bombarded with mysterious threats, and the only person who can help her is the one man who always makes her lose her mind-and heart.
Now this New York Times bestselling author begins a series that readers will go crazy for.
Psychologist Kate Holly's own life has become the stuff of intensive therapy. She's divorcing her gorgeous firefighter husband, she has an eccentric secretary, her mother and aunt have erected a vaguely sexual sculpture in her front yard, and her psychiatrist ex-boyfriend won't stop calling to find out what color panties she's wearing. Now, Kate's being bombarded with mysterious threats, and the only person who can help her is the one man who always makes her lose her mind-and heart.
261 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2008
118 people are currently reading
5210 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Hughes
68 books330 followersCharlotte Hughes published her first category romance in 1987, a Bantam Books’ Loveswept, titled Too Many Husbands, which immediately shot to #1 on the Waldenbooks Bestseller list. She went on to write almost thirty books before the line closed in 1998.
Although Charlotte is widely known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, she went on to pen three Maggie-Award winning thrillers for Avon Books in the late nineties, before resuming her first love, funny stories about people falling in love. She thrilled readers with her hilarious books, A New Attitude and Hot Shot, the latter of which won the Waldenbooks Greatest Sales Growth Achievement in 2003.
Her books received so many accolades that she was invited to co-author the very popular Full House series with mega-star author Janet Evanovich.
With that series behind her, Charlotte began her own, starring psychologist Kate Holly; What Looks Like Crazy, Nutcase, and High Anxiety, creating a list of somewhat kooky but always loveable and funny ensemble characters.
Charlotte is currently launching Tall, Dark and Bad, starring Summer Pettigrew and bad boy Cooper Garrett. She is writing a series set in the Lowcountry that is a WIP.
www.readcharlottehughes.com or her blog at http://blog.readcharlottehughes.com"
Although Charlotte is widely known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, she went on to pen three Maggie-Award winning thrillers for Avon Books in the late nineties, before resuming her first love, funny stories about people falling in love. She thrilled readers with her hilarious books, A New Attitude and Hot Shot, the latter of which won the Waldenbooks Greatest Sales Growth Achievement in 2003.
Her books received so many accolades that she was invited to co-author the very popular Full House series with mega-star author Janet Evanovich.
With that series behind her, Charlotte began her own, starring psychologist Kate Holly; What Looks Like Crazy, Nutcase, and High Anxiety, creating a list of somewhat kooky but always loveable and funny ensemble characters.
Charlotte is currently launching Tall, Dark and Bad, starring Summer Pettigrew and bad boy Cooper Garrett. She is writing a series set in the Lowcountry that is a WIP.
www.readcharlottehughes.com or her blog at http://blog.readcharlottehughes.com"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
July 14, 2008
Psychologist Kate Holly's life is anything but normal. Besides dealing with the craziest of certifiable clients, she is divorcing her gorgeous firefighter husband, Jay, and his bone-melting blue eyes. Her eccentric secretary, Mona, is offering free manicures to new clients and planning all sorts of odd promotions as Kate's self-proclaimed publicist. Her mother and aunt erect a "vaguely sexual sculpture" in her front yard as a house-warming gift that nearly creates a riot with a local church. Kate's life is further complicated by a pregnant dog, death threats, her unfortunate ability to lose various articles of clothing all over Atlanta and her colleague/former boyfriend, Thad, who will only give her advice in exchange for the color of her panties.
This book was meant to be fun and I had a blast reading it, but it wasn't exactly original. Kate reminded me in part of Stephanie Plum, probably because the author has worked with Janet Evanovich and they are reported to be good friends. Mona, too, was hilarious, but her character smacked of Karen on Will & Grace (another gold-digger receptionist with a sarcastic sense of humor who is willing to work for free). The romance was secondary to the story. Still, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good screwball comedy and is a fan of the Stephanie Plum series. I am looking forward to the 2nd book in this series - NUTCASE. Charlotte Hughes' writing style has developed over the years and I have the sneaking suspicion she will become one of my favorite authors.
This book was meant to be fun and I had a blast reading it, but it wasn't exactly original. Kate reminded me in part of Stephanie Plum, probably because the author has worked with Janet Evanovich and they are reported to be good friends. Mona, too, was hilarious, but her character smacked of Karen on Will & Grace (another gold-digger receptionist with a sarcastic sense of humor who is willing to work for free). The romance was secondary to the story. Still, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good screwball comedy and is a fan of the Stephanie Plum series. I am looking forward to the 2nd book in this series - NUTCASE. Charlotte Hughes' writing style has developed over the years and I have the sneaking suspicion she will become one of my favorite authors.
February 12, 2017
What looks like crazy was more of a "comedy" rather than a mystery, which is what I was expecting based off of the blurb. It was quick to get through and easy to read, but I didn't love it. The biggest problem I had with the book was the fact that the main character Kate is a psychologist, but there are multiple references in the book to people in therapy being crazy/insane/mental cases, to the point where she says that suicidal patients never think about how their actions impact the people left behind and says they are selfish, etc. Personally, I feel like those statements are really offensive, especially coming from someone who is supposedly a psychologist. There is still a huge stigma against mental illness and getting help for it, and having a "doctor" talk about their patients like that doesn't help. That said, I'm not planning on reading the rest of the series because of how much negative talk there was about mental illness. This might not be as big of a deal for people who don't have personal experience with mental illness/therapy, but it hits home for me, so this just isn't the series for me.
October 18, 2009
3 1/2 stars
What Looks Like Crazy is the first in a series about Dr. Kate Holly. She's a bit like Stephanie Plum--she attracts trouble. She's nearing the finality of her divorce to the love of her life, Jay. She can't stay married to him because his job is too dangerous and she worries too much. After months of no word from him, he's made an appearance in her life and she's more confused than ever.
On top of her divorce, her patients seem to be crazier than ever, her mother and aunt have given her a statue for her front yard that is causing a stir in the neighborhood, and she's getting threatening phone calls.
Maybe it isn't Jay's job that is too dangerous, but her own.
This is a quirky and fun read. It was fast and simple--nothing too though provoking here. I wouldn't really call it a mystery because there really wasn't much of a mystery...it is just like a couple weeks in the life of a therapist with nutty patients and a nutty life. Yes, there is the wondering of who is making the phone calls, but it doesn't make for much a mystery. The formula follows Evanovich's Plum series, but isn't as good as the earlier books (the latest in that series are not nearly as good). Mona, the "sidekick," is funny, but not as good as Lulu in the Plum series. The secondary man in Kate's life, Thad, doesn't measure up to Ranger, either. I also wouldn't classify this as a romance because Jay was mentioned a lot, but not actually around very much.
I liked it as a quick, fun read. I will probably look to read the next in the series, Nutcase.
What Looks Like Crazy is the first in a series about Dr. Kate Holly. She's a bit like Stephanie Plum--she attracts trouble. She's nearing the finality of her divorce to the love of her life, Jay. She can't stay married to him because his job is too dangerous and she worries too much. After months of no word from him, he's made an appearance in her life and she's more confused than ever.
On top of her divorce, her patients seem to be crazier than ever, her mother and aunt have given her a statue for her front yard that is causing a stir in the neighborhood, and she's getting threatening phone calls.
Maybe it isn't Jay's job that is too dangerous, but her own.
This is a quirky and fun read. It was fast and simple--nothing too though provoking here. I wouldn't really call it a mystery because there really wasn't much of a mystery...it is just like a couple weeks in the life of a therapist with nutty patients and a nutty life. Yes, there is the wondering of who is making the phone calls, but it doesn't make for much a mystery. The formula follows Evanovich's Plum series, but isn't as good as the earlier books (the latest in that series are not nearly as good). Mona, the "sidekick," is funny, but not as good as Lulu in the Plum series. The secondary man in Kate's life, Thad, doesn't measure up to Ranger, either. I also wouldn't classify this as a romance because Jay was mentioned a lot, but not actually around very much.
I liked it as a quick, fun read. I will probably look to read the next in the series, Nutcase.
July 20, 2017
A cute, funny, quick read that was a perfect balance for my other heavier reads. I'm easily annoyed by novels with MCs named Kate or Katherine and Jack or Jake. So do I give Charlotte Hughes a pass for using Kate and Jay instead?
But the story is fast-paced and puts me in the mind of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series at times. With good reason too as they have co-authored a different series together: Jamie Swift & Max Holt. (Max, another one of those names).
If you like Janet Evanovich, you'll most likely appreciate Charlotte Hughes and this quirky series as well.
Wait, didn't I say that I wasn't going to start another series this year?!!!
But the story is fast-paced and puts me in the mind of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series at times. With good reason too as they have co-authored a different series together: Jamie Swift & Max Holt. (Max, another one of those names).
If you like Janet Evanovich, you'll most likely appreciate Charlotte Hughes and this quirky series as well.
Wait, didn't I say that I wasn't going to start another series this year?!!!
March 17, 2009
Katie Holly is a shrink who could use a little time on a couch herself. She is going through a divorce from her sexy firefighter husband. She has clients who are straight up NUTS. Her mother and her aunt (twin sisters) planted a statue in her front yard as a housewarming gift that has the whole neighborhood in an uproar. (It's an Adam and Eve statue - and that ain't no fig leaf!) And did I mention her horndog ex-boyfriend (also a shrink) is still in the picture? No wonder Katie is falling apart!
I really enjoyed reading this. I really liked the characters and I wanted to know how each seperate story line was going to unravel. I did find that I knew how some of the situations were going to turn out before I read them - and normally that irritates me, but apparently I liked the story line and the characters enough to follow along. So I guess if you hate stories where you can see the plot twist well in advance of the people in the book - you might not like this book. I have high hopes for the next one in the series and suspect Charlotte Hughes may eventually be an automatic purchase for me in the future.
I really enjoyed reading this. I really liked the characters and I wanted to know how each seperate story line was going to unravel. I did find that I knew how some of the situations were going to turn out before I read them - and normally that irritates me, but apparently I liked the story line and the characters enough to follow along. So I guess if you hate stories where you can see the plot twist well in advance of the people in the book - you might not like this book. I have high hopes for the next one in the series and suspect Charlotte Hughes may eventually be an automatic purchase for me in the future.
June 11, 2020
Mon avis en Français
My Englisg review
I’ve had this novel for some time in my TBR-pile, and I was happy to get into the story without knowing exactly what it was about.
Kate Holly is a psychiatrist, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a lot of problems. In fact, between her patients and her personal life, things are going from bad to worse. She’s about to divorce the man she spent three years with, and it’s not easy. But on top of that, her patients are hard to deal with. Between a man who wants to blow her up with nitroglycerine, another who wants to jump off a building or the threatening calls she keeps getting, she has a lot on her mind. What if we add a dog who gives birth at home and a slightly clingy ex? Well, there’s plenty to deal with.
I had a really good time with this novel full of twists and turns. And what about Jay, her husband who’s as hot as they come? I loved him. Kate, on the other hand, kind of pissed me off when I found out why she filed for divorce. I understand that it’s not easy for her, but it’s also very selfish. I really wonder what it’s going to be like afterwards.
Anyway, it was a great first volume and I loved discovering all these characters a little crazy. And I really want to discover more! Kate is a heroine that we love to follow and I can’t wait to meet more of her patients!
My Englisg review
I’ve had this novel for some time in my TBR-pile, and I was happy to get into the story without knowing exactly what it was about.
Kate Holly is a psychiatrist, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a lot of problems. In fact, between her patients and her personal life, things are going from bad to worse. She’s about to divorce the man she spent three years with, and it’s not easy. But on top of that, her patients are hard to deal with. Between a man who wants to blow her up with nitroglycerine, another who wants to jump off a building or the threatening calls she keeps getting, she has a lot on her mind. What if we add a dog who gives birth at home and a slightly clingy ex? Well, there’s plenty to deal with.
I had a really good time with this novel full of twists and turns. And what about Jay, her husband who’s as hot as they come? I loved him. Kate, on the other hand, kind of pissed me off when I found out why she filed for divorce. I understand that it’s not easy for her, but it’s also very selfish. I really wonder what it’s going to be like afterwards.
Anyway, it was a great first volume and I loved discovering all these characters a little crazy. And I really want to discover more! Kate is a heroine that we love to follow and I can’t wait to meet more of her patients!
March 24, 2019
This book sucked. In reality it is only part of a book I suspect the second book in the series and possibly the third would make one full book. But it pisses me off when authors get greedy and split one book into multiple and add a bunch of boring filler to fill the pages. Maybe the characters come into play later but there was no reason plot wise to include: the patient who was a woman trapped in a mans body, the nail stylist, or the vet beyond mentioning his diagnosis of the pups. They were all just pointless filler so that the author could justify calling one book worth of plot three and making triple the commission instead of writing one decent book and then putting in effort to come up with a new book. Ranting about cheapskate authors aside this book was boring despite having zany character which is a feat to accomplish. It’s hard to figure out what is actually contributing to the plot because it all seems like boring filler so some good bits are lost because it’s so tiresome to wade through the sea of crap to get to anything significant.
April 19, 2011
What Looks Like Crazy (Charlotte Hughes)
I liked this but did not love it. I was a bit disappointed. To me, the synopsis was not true to the story. It was more a comedy/drama than a murder mystery. I did find the characters likable, although not believable.
Kate Holly is a psychologist and she is in the midst of a divorce from her firefighter husband. She has an ex boyfriend who is in the mental health profession as well.n She is being threatened and her life is in danger. Could be anyone. A bit too much on Kate and her problems. Also I found it a bit too much to take that she has hang ups with her soon to be ex(I do not want to give away plot). But in my opinion, I feel for a mental health professional with all this emotional baggage...no way...I am just not buying it.
I liked this but did not love it. I was a bit disappointed. To me, the synopsis was not true to the story. It was more a comedy/drama than a murder mystery. I did find the characters likable, although not believable.
Kate Holly is a psychologist and she is in the midst of a divorce from her firefighter husband. She has an ex boyfriend who is in the mental health profession as well.n She is being threatened and her life is in danger. Could be anyone. A bit too much on Kate and her problems. Also I found it a bit too much to take that she has hang ups with her soon to be ex(I do not want to give away plot). But in my opinion, I feel for a mental health professional with all this emotional baggage...no way...I am just not buying it.
May 4, 2021
I bought both the kindle and audible version of this book.
The audible version leaves something to be desired. The narrator did use voices for different characters, but the non-dialogue reading was flat and as my husband noted "robotic" and made it harder to really escape into the story.
Overall this was a wacky book and entertaining. However I do NOT agree that it should be marked as a Mystery. It was a chick lit with a little bit of violence. There was so much going on, and everything was so absurd, that it was impossible to tell what was hints to something dramatic going on that was the "mystery" to be solved and what was just the craziness going on in the life of the main character. Everything was so over the top that the ending felt quick and uneventful, like the author just wanted to end it and wrapped it up.
It was not a bad book, but definitely not a great one either. May have been better to read myself instead of audio book.
The audible version leaves something to be desired. The narrator did use voices for different characters, but the non-dialogue reading was flat and as my husband noted "robotic" and made it harder to really escape into the story.
Overall this was a wacky book and entertaining. However I do NOT agree that it should be marked as a Mystery. It was a chick lit with a little bit of violence. There was so much going on, and everything was so absurd, that it was impossible to tell what was hints to something dramatic going on that was the "mystery" to be solved and what was just the craziness going on in the life of the main character. Everything was so over the top that the ending felt quick and uneventful, like the author just wanted to end it and wrapped it up.
It was not a bad book, but definitely not a great one either. May have been better to read myself instead of audio book.
October 18, 2019
An easy read with many giggles. Perfect for a laugh.
September 14, 2020
I really liked it but the ending was sad.
March 19, 2018
Quick and enjoyable light read. Some tense moments, but it all worked out in the end. Good stress-reliever, for when you feel like reading, but you don't really have the time to concentrate on something heavier. I'm going to start the next book in the series straight away.
December 27, 2011
Kate Holly is a Psychologist whose own life needs intensive therapy. She;s divorcing her gorgeous firefighter husband Jay who is perfect. Her secretary is eccentric and lures clients wih promises of free manicures. Her mother and aunt are junk collectors who turn the junk into art and have erected a vaguely sexual sculpture in her front yard. Her ex boyfriend is a psychiatrist who refers patients to her in return for her telling him the color of the panities she is wearing that day. Kate is struggling to keep her saniity it gets harder every day. Especially when she she starts getting bombarded with mysterious threats. That could be from just about any lunantic in Atlanta. She,s treated them all. And only one man can help her and he,s the one who always makes lose her mind - and her heart
April 12, 2009
This was a funny book about Kate, a therapist who probably needs counseling herself! She has wacky patients, a soon-to-be ex-husband that she still loves and an ex-lover that drives her batty. not to mention her mother and aunt who are junque dealers and Mona, her rich friend and receptionist that believes everything can be cured with shopping therapy.
This is the first in a series and the second is called Nutcase
This is the first in a series and the second is called Nutcase
July 5, 2009
#1 Kate Holly, psychologist (Romantic Comedy series)
Oooh, this is **so much fun!**. Lively, sparkly, highly entertaining ... Kate and her friends and clients are loveable, funny, endearing, outrageous ...
I laughed and giggled all the way through this book. What Looks Like Crazy is #1 in the Kate Holly series; #2 is Nutcase.
I tell ya, this book is just like eating ice cream ;-)
Oooh, this is **so much fun!**. Lively, sparkly, highly entertaining ... Kate and her friends and clients are loveable, funny, endearing, outrageous ...
I laughed and giggled all the way through this book. What Looks Like Crazy is #1 in the Kate Holly series; #2 is Nutcase.
I tell ya, this book is just like eating ice cream ;-)
May 20, 2022
There's plenty of action here. No real mystery or suspense. It's kinda funny but seems to drag on sometimes. Can't say enough how much I hated the ending or lack thereof. Books should have endings. This just stopped.
March 24, 2015
A very fun and clever read. It was funny, sad, warm and outrageous. I'm happy to have read it. I look forward to reading more of Hughes' work.
October 19, 2014
this is a 3.5. it's a cute fun airport or beach read for fans of early janet evanovich.
March 25, 2015
I was going to use this book to count as my mystery in the 2015 book challenge but it had no mystery. Actually, it also lacked a plot.
April 5, 2015
Funny and easy to read! Good camping read.
August 29, 2016
Light hearted fluff that makes one laugh out loud at crazy family antics, nutty neighbors and the often true not so well adjusted therapists.
April 4, 2008
A few pieces were a bit slow but Charlotte's humor makes up for it.
July 19, 2018
This book to me is simply a spoof. I have mixed feelings about this book but liked it and found it funny in spots. I felt uncomfortable with some of the sexual situations but was not the overall tone which would have made me want to toss it. Dr. Holly is more of a regular person than a professional one who generally does not have control of her life or practice. In my own opinion she is treating patients she clearly shouldn't be due to Thad passing the buck. If he medicates he should be treating. I don't like Thad and don't understand Katie's response to him or to his continual sexual harassment. Katie appears to be more compatible with Thad than with Jay and treats Jay in a similar way as Thad treats her. I'm not thrilled with some of the condescending language used. I've asked myself this question several times at the observation of who actually is more "crazy" when the line blurs. This book shows I'm not the only one. I enjoyed the book. In all fairness I have encountered somewhat of a "Dr. Holly" [and I'm still really irritated when I remember] but NEVER a Thad.
November 10, 2017
To be honest I wasn't keen on this book to start with, for some reason from Chapter 1, the relationship & banter between Kate & Thad irritated me -I should have probably given up reading there....but I didn't.
While it did improve I'm sorry I haven't anything better than to say other than it was okay. I wouldn't class it as a mystery, it's certainly not romantic suspense & while it is in parts reasonably humorous it doesn't quite pull it off for me...but hey, that's only my humble opinion! The other thing I found hard to believe was the fact Kate left her firefighter husband of six months as she's afraid of him getting hurt - ?!!....but maybe that's because I've been married to a firefighter for over 30 years!
While it did improve I'm sorry I haven't anything better than to say other than it was okay. I wouldn't class it as a mystery, it's certainly not romantic suspense & while it is in parts reasonably humorous it doesn't quite pull it off for me...but hey, that's only my humble opinion! The other thing I found hard to believe was the fact Kate left her firefighter husband of six months as she's afraid of him getting hurt - ?!!....but maybe that's because I've been married to a firefighter for over 30 years!
November 2, 2020
UGH DNF at 71%
I struggled through a heroine who is a psychologist with more issues than one human being should be able to contain. She is still taking referrals from her psychiatrist ex who won't discuss any of these patients without her describing her underwear to him. She is divorcing her firefighter husband that she loves because he won't quit his job to keep her from worrying. When I gave it up, she slept with the ex husband then is giddy when another good looking man is flirting with her.
Oh, and there doesn't seem to be an advancing plot just random days of why her life is so terrible.
I struggled through a heroine who is a psychologist with more issues than one human being should be able to contain. She is still taking referrals from her psychiatrist ex who won't discuss any of these patients without her describing her underwear to him. She is divorcing her firefighter husband that she loves because he won't quit his job to keep her from worrying. When I gave it up, she slept with the ex husband then is giddy when another good looking man is flirting with her.
Oh, and there doesn't seem to be an advancing plot just random days of why her life is so terrible.
July 14, 2018
First book I remember reading from this author. I thought it was really good. The main character Dr, Kate Holly who is a psychologist is a bit of a hot mess. She is in the process of divorcing her hot firefighter husband Jay and we get to meet her dysfunctional family, receptionist who works for her for free, her bible thumping neighbour Bitsy and several of her somewhat crazy patients. A book worth the read if you are looking for something a little lighter than drama, murder and mayhem!!
January 11, 2022
My kind of book!
When I chose to read a book, I want it to take me away! Unless it's uncomplicated and fun, I don't want to have to figured out who done it! I don't want to learn a major history or geography lesson! I prefer a light, interesting story with a little romance and a touch of humor! This book was perfect for me, and I'm looking forward to reading more like it from Charlotte Hughes!
When I chose to read a book, I want it to take me away! Unless it's uncomplicated and fun, I don't want to have to figured out who done it! I don't want to learn a major history or geography lesson! I prefer a light, interesting story with a little romance and a touch of humor! This book was perfect for me, and I'm looking forward to reading more like it from Charlotte Hughes!
January 26, 2022
The voice of this story reminded me a lot of Janet Evanovich, which I then learned that this author and Janet have written books together. I found the book cute in the way that I enjoy some rom-coms where I can breeze through without too much investment or anxiety in the characters, but find each one charming and their story entertaining. If I bump into book #2, I’ll pick it up.
November 17, 2024
A light comedic romance. MC psychologist Kate had little insight into her own issues and behaviours. She’s divorcing Jay because his job is too dangerous, but she loves him and can’t imagine being with anyone else. Downside: The book makes light of mental illness and makes fun of those who are suffering. But I should have expected that with the title.
October 17, 2019
I liked and didn’t like this book. I thought it was funny but I really wish she didn’t have the whole husband / soon to be ex husband. Her reasoning for not wanting to be with him is crazy to me and makes me think less of her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews