Crazy in Love

by Lani Diane Rich

Flynn Daly is turning thirty. And thirty is the age where she has to, gulp, get a job. Not just any job, but a job working for her real estate magnate father, a man who's tired of supporting his daughter through her many careers. So when their great-aunt Esther Goodhouse, proprietress of a historic inn nestled in Nowhere, New York, dies, Flynn finds herself smack dab in the country, contending with a hotel staff that's unsure of their new boss, a scruffy, sexy ex-policeman named Jake Turner who's convinced that Esther's death wasn't as natural as it seemed, and the ghost of Aunt Esther herself, who starts showing up in Flynn's dreams and undoing all the personal touches that Flynn tries to make to her new home.

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Contemporary, Ebooks, Humor

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Nguyễn Vũ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lâu lâu đọc romance giải trí. Điểm cộng là đối thoại hài hước, cốt truyện pha chút hình sự, khá là thú vị. Điểm trừ là hồn ma bà cô già. Mình mua truyện này vì câu giới thiệu "Và vì hồn ma bà cô già vẫn còn nhiều điều ấm ức chưa nói hết..." và mình mong đợi một hồn ma láu cá hơn.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

City girl with no skills or passion finds unexpected happiness at a rural hotel, mixed in with murder and embezzlement.

STORY BRIEF:
Flynn is 29 years old with no direction in life. She has had a variety of short term jobs, but has never really learned or achieved anything. She has no passion for anything. Her father Richard is a wealthy real estate developer. They inherited a hotel from Flynn’s great aunt Esther who recently died. Richard asks Flynn to go to the hotel to be a presence, while he finds a buyer and negotiates a sale. She knows nothing about hotel management or accounting. She is reluctant to go because the hotel is in a rural area, and she doesn’t like nature or bugs. She prefers the city. While there, Flynn is bothered by frequent visits from Esther’s ghost.

Jake is a former cop who is currently working as a bartender at the hotel. He and Flynn are attracted to each other. They end up solving some suspicious deaths and money embezzlements. Along the way Flynn discovers she cares about the people and the hotel and wants to stay and run the hotel rather than sell it.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This was an ok story, but it didn’t hold my interest as well as other books have. I had no major problem with it other than I wasn’t drawn into the characters as much as I would have liked. It’s hard to say what was wrong other than it wasn’t a good fit for me. I loved the sequel “Wish You Were Here.”

DATA:
Story length: 309 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 1, 4 pages long. Setting: current day Boston, Mass. and Scheintown, NY. Copyright: 2007. Genre: romantic fantasy mystery with some suspense.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Lani Diane Rich books, see my 4.5 star review of "Wish You Were Here" posted 11/2/08.

[Just - The romance reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read. The characters were funny, sexy and smart. Add to that, they had great chemistry, and you've got yourself a story bound to keep you interested.

I'm a huge Jennifer Crusie fan, and I found Crazy In Love reminded me a lot of Crusie's books. I know Crusie and Rich have teamed up, so it makes sense that their styles would perhaps be similar. Similar styles or not, it's a great, fun read.

[Sandi Blaylock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

I haven't read a book this fast in a long time. I had no babies today. So no tv just me the long awaited rain we needed and this book. You've GOT to read this book. If you don't luuuuuuv it you can personally call me out and say I'm crazy. Because I'm "Crazy In Love"

[Asuka Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wake the 20-year-old heart in me with all the romance dreams!!!

The plot was kinda predictable though. Halfway through I knew for sure that Annabelle was gonna be a villain. She has all,kind of innocent qualities and traits that a mentally crazy people possess. The ending though is not very satisfying in some ways...

[BCat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I loved that Flynn was a fun, quirky, ''no-guile girl'' & that Jake really liked that about her :) Also that he was a more sensitive/understanding (& super hot) guy because he'd grown up with 3 (4?) strong sisters & mom, so Not ur typical "I have to always be the one in control & in charge & always right" cookie-cutter boring romance story male :)
The private investigation business near the end made me hope there were further adventures of Flynn & Jake (& their families, loved the dynamics with Flynn's sister Freya & Jake's sisters & mom :), but alas the book isn't part of a series, sigh.
But, I would totally read them if the author, Lani Diane Rich, decides to write more books featuring Flynn & Jake!! :)

[Allison Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as an ebook. I read this after Wish You Were Here, but I think it comes first? It’s about Flynn, who was a minor character in Wish You Were Here because that book is about her sister, Freya. So of course Freya is a minor character here, and it’s nice to have that connection. It made the book seem more real, in a strange way. I think this has been one of my favorites because I love the idea of running an inn, and there was just enough suspense thrown in to make this a really interesting book I had to read quickly.

[Auntie M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good read, but I could have done without The "women are crazy" stereotype. The plot could have happened without relying on the trope of Crazy Woman In Love. I usually like this author, and respect her, so the sexism was disappointing.

[Rachel Vandinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the feels

This book takes you on a bit of a roller coaster. You think their going to make it then you think they aren’t but then they do … or do they ? You should read it and find out! Perfect read for a cozy day

[lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, fun read

Love a good love story with a little mystery!
I’m not sure why I have a required amount of words to use....

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly funny exciting book. The characters were delightful and the plot was filled with humor mystery and excitement.

[Olga Godim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this quaint story, in compliance with its chic lit genre, has two main characters, Jake and Flynn, the novel’s unquestionable treasure is its female lead.
Flynn is a rebel in a family of rich overachievers. While her father and sister have been managing their real estate empire, she has been skipping through a variety of dead-end jobs. She doesn’t want to work in real estate; she wants to find her own place in the world, but that place seems to be elusive. By the time the book starts, and Flynn approaches the dreaded 30, she is disappointed in her fruitless search. She is tired of living in crappy apartments, tired of poverty, tired of rebellion.
She even doubts her own heart. Maybe there is no place for her out there? Maybe the only thing she might still be good for is to compromise her integrity and make her father and sister happy?
Insecure and convinced of her own worthlessness, Flynn is a multifaceted character. Illogical and juvenile one moment, sassy and painfully honest the next, she is charming and vulnerable in a very real way. I’d want her as my friend, and I’d never before wanted a heroine of chic lit (or any fictional story) as a friend.
When her octogenarian great-aunt Esther dies and leaves the family her old inn in a tiny town, Flynn’s sister asks Flynn to travel there for a couple of weeks to ‘represent the family.’
Flynn agrees, but when she arrives at the inn, all is not as it seems. Thrust into the tangle of human dramas and ghostly secrets, romance and embezzlement, Flynn has to grow her backbone fast and begin believing in herself if she wants to find true happiness.
Other characters dot Flynn’s way towards self-fulfillment. Among them, Flynn’s developing sweetheart Jake – a former cop, currently a bartender, striving for his own validation. The sensual attraction between them throbs between the pages.
There is also a smattering of antagonists, each with their own agenda, a bunch of good guys (and gals), and Flynn’s family, but they are all sketchy. None is fully developed as a character, but en-masse, they add verisimilitude and complexity to the story.
On the surface, this novel is a romantic comedy spiced with a detective thread and a ghostly flavor, but deep where it counts, it’s a story of Flynn’s self-discovery, enriched by her unfolding love for Jake. All the rest – the convoluted mystery line that drives the plot, the romantic line that adorns it, as well as the ghostly wrinkle that puzzles the readers – are just fluff, nowhere as essential to the story as Flynn’s transformation.
The novel is light but it raises heavy questions: of courage and poverty, of greed and acceptance.
Recommended.

[Cheryl Dennemann houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast read. The main character Flynn Daly reminded me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum in her one for the money series. Silly, in over her head but determined to succeed. Flynn takes a real job with her family In their real estate business when she believes her dad's health is failing and she feels the pressure of turning 30. Her first assignment is to go to nowhere upstate New York and assess the hotel her great aunt left to her family when she died. Throw in a hot bartender, some creepy cow statues, the ghost of her dead aunt , a few CWILs (crazy woman in love), and a possible murder or two and you have a recipe for mystery and romance.

Jake Tucker is a former cop turned bartender at the hotel his sister is the head chef at. He's obsessed with his last case and the person responsible for him loosing his job. He doesn't trust Flynn when she first arrives but can't help but be drawn to her very quirky personality. Sparks fly and he really does try to be a nice guy and do the right thing- she is the boss after all. Soon they combine forces and try to uncover the truth.

I liked both characters but didn't love jake. He was almost too much of a nice guy. Flynn is super cute and quirky and I'd want to know her. The two sisters and the ghost at times out shined the jake and Flynn they were so funny and spirited. I know it sounds silly but I just didn't like the name Flynn for a girl. It's a guys name to me and I couldn't get past it. I also didn't like that Flynn always calls him Tucker while no one else does. I think she should have called him Tucker outloud and jake in her head since she was only calling him Tucker to remind herself to keep a professional distance. After they get to know each other better she should have called him jake.

Funny, light hearted, lightly paranormal with a good mystery. I liked it.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one a while ago, and had to go back and look at it again, because I couldn't remember it from the back cover copy. The copy makes it sound like a hundred other humorous contemporary romances--and while it is...it isn't. The heroine seems like your typical ditz--can't stick with any job, has flitted from one to another unlike her workaholic sister. Now she's 30, just quit another job and, I think, broken up with another boyfriend, though she doesn't seem too broken up about it. And her sister comes to do an intervention. She wants the heroine to come work for the family corporation, and as a first step, go babysit a new property they inherited from a great aunt. It's a small hotel somewhere in New England (having never been to New England, I'm real fuzzy on the geography up there), or maybe upstate New York. (Haven't been there either.)
The hero is an ex-cop who was fired for mislaying evidence--or for allowing himself to be distracted by a female, and letting the laptop evidence get stolen. Now he's working as a bartender for the hotel inheritance. He has multiple sisters who are all worrying about his obsession with the thieving villain and trying to distract him with domestic investigations. He goes to pick up the heroine, and they do not hit it off. Except they do. There's some classic one-up-manship and some nice bonding moments. There's the ghost of the great aunt that keeps showing up in the heroine's dreams and annoying her. There's a mystery that grows throughout the story until it ends with a wild, very suspense-y climax. This is a well-told, sweet, humorous, suspenseful contemporary romance, totally enjoyable.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of Lani's books that I've read, and honestly, they just keep getting better and better. I couldn't put this one down. Started reading it last night just before bed, and got up this morning and read it until I was done. Been a long time since I read a book like that.

Great romantic leads, with immediate connection and mutual attraction, who also happen to be real people with other stuff going on in their lives before they meet. Terrific secondary characters, especially the ghost of Aunt Esther, and Jake's sister Mercy. Good story, complex plot, and the murder mystery element added an unlooked-for dimension. I had one of the baddies pegged early on, but I didn't have the whole intrigue worked out, as it turned out. In less able hands, the climax and ending could have been cheesy or corny, but Lani crafted them skillfully, and made them believable for the characters and the story.

[Aliza Tafoya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flynn is about to turn thirty. She has no boyfriend, no job, and lives in the bad side of town. What she does have going for her is that she has made it on her own, without having to rely on her wealthy father… that is until her sister convinces her to work at the little hotel their dead great aunt owned. While there, Flynn learns how little she knows about the property and hospitality business, falls in love with the handsome bartender/former-cop, does a little detective works, and receives nightly visits from the ghost of her dead Great Aunt Ester.

I loved Flynn and the relationship between her and her sister Freya (points on the name). I adore the ghostly Esther. And I love mysteries!
This was a fun book and I did enjoy it, but why did it get only three stars? It's not the greatest story. There are a few too many holes in the plot and the story felt very rushed. Also I'm a little over the whole falling-in-love-in-a-week thing.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful light read.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. I enjoyed the character of Flynn, an almost 30 something woman who's gone through life not really finding her way. She's had one dead end job after another as she looks for the one job/calling that will be 'it.'
When Flynn's father has her go to an inn that they inherited from Flynn's Great Aunt the intention is to assess the property and keep the employees happy until they sell it.
Flynn didn't count on meeting the handsome ex-cop/bartender of the inn who is trying to get to the bottom of some shady dealings. Together the sparks fly as they grow closer and closer while trying to figure out what is going on. Throw in the ghost of the great aunt, some entertaining secondary characters and you have a fun read.

[The Reading Hammock | Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was one of the better romance novels I've read recently. Not too sappy, only slightly unbelievable at times, but gave you a good laugh here and there. I wished some of the side characters had been fleshed it a bit more, like hassles sisters--especially Mercy. She seems like she'd be a riot!

***SPOILER ALERT***

One big thing that annoyed me is when Freya shows up, about three quarters of the way through the book and starts taking charge, the Flynn who was finally getting herself together, finally feeling confident in herself just clams right back up. I wanted to just reach into the story and shake her telling her to leave her little pity party behind and stand up for herself! But even despite that part, it was still a good book.

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun. I enjoyed it very much. I feel that it's style is similar to that of Janet Evanovich and Katie MacAlister, with a quirky heroine, Flynn Daly, and a gorgeous, brave, hero, Jake Tucker. Flynn is pulled into the family business against her will by her sister, Freya. She has held many jobs over the course of the past several years never sticking with one for more than a few months. She has been trying to find her niche. She is sent to "Shine Town" to her deceased great aunt's hotel to evaluate it and keep the employees from assuming the property will be sold and they'll be out of a job. There's a little bit of a mystery and intrigue in the town and Flynn gets drawn into it with Jake. There is a little haunting going on as well.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun, with engaging characters and a good mystery. Flynn is coerced out of her unsettled, directionless lifestyle by her older sister and guilted into taking on a job for their father, temporarily managing a hotel they've inherited until the property can be sold. Turns out the property contains the elderly relative's ghost and a staff that is used to doing things their way. Flynn would have enough on her plate trying to be a grown-up for once in her life and dealing with an old lady ghost, but there's this hot bartender who used to be a cop. Pretty soon there's a mystery, too. And a body.

[Betsy Tsukada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always us Amazon to recommend books for me... I read the reviews and request them online from the library. It's very handy that way. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the author I've been enjoying lately (Lani Diane Rich) is technically a ROMANCE NOVELIST! I was shocked! I was also alarmed at how much I had enjoyed them. They won't grow you any new brain cells or even strengthen the ones you do have in any way... but, (nervous giggle) I liked them.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute, but, to me, there was a lot missing. There could have been more focus on the Inn and the workers since that was Flynn's job to "be a presence." A lot of the secondary characters were just floating in and out when it was convenient as well (no pun on Esther's ghost!). I liked Flynn and Jake and their chemistry, but even parts of their story seemed...off (hello, cabin scene). The ending, as assumed, was exciting and a bit predictable.

We'll go 3.5 on this one.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok This was as super fast read for me, read almost the whole book in one sitting. I just couldn't stop at the end of the chapter and go to bed. I really liked the characters and setting of the book. The ghost was a great addition, have read a few other books with a ghost and I really enjoy that vibe. This was a great mystery, chick lite love story. I will be on the look out for more by this author.

[Susan Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It was a fast read; but I came to care about getting Flynn and Jake together. I did figure out some of the plot way in advance, but that was ok. If you're looking for a chick lit romance with mystery, murder, and mayhem, this could be the book for you.

[SJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If romance is your thing, I really would recommend Lani Diane Rich. I've read several of her books now (this is a 'prequel' to Wish You Were Here) and I have always found them to be an enjoyable read. The characters are reasonably complex, no caricatures in sight and the 'getting together' component is always pretty believable. This is a quick and fun read.

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story. It was a little slow in spots but rallied along nicely. Flynn Daly was a great, genuine character. Jake was believable. But it was Aunt Ester who I loved best. Even if she was a ghost.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since reading the wonderful debut by Lucy March, I have been tracking down all books written under her other name, Lani Diane Rich. I certainly don't regret the investment - they've all been fantastic!

[Tina Axell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read A Little Night Magic by Lucy March and was disappointed to find it was the only one. Until I discovered she is aka Lani Diane Rich. I love that she infuses mystery and magic into her chick lit. I really enjoy reading her books, they make me feel good!

[Matu Nila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some interesting twists. And one way too fast "i love you" announcement. I liked the way the hotel was described and I would love to taste some of Mercy's cookings!

I liked the writing and the characters.