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Ain't Love Grand?
2005 RWA Golden Quill Best First Book Dear Mom, How’s Florida? Life in little ole Peeler, Oklahoma has been exciting. My new neighbor, big-time lawyer, Jason Brooks, has finished building his ultra-modern mansion next to my old dilapidated Victorian. The first time I met him, he knocked me off my feet—literally, right into the red dirt. I know what you’re thinking, but forget the matchmaking, Mom. A high society attorney wouldn’t go for a tree-hugging, vegetarian, health food store owner named Persephone Jones. (What were you thinking?) And by the way, the whole town is in an uproar over a proposed commercial hog farm. I’m leading the crusade against a huge corporation that wants to pollute our local environment. When I find out who’s behind this mess, I’m really going to let him have it. Gotta run, big town meeting tonight. Write soon. Love, Perse P.S. could you send me your recipe for chocolate chip cookies? I sort of promised that stuffed shirt brooks I would bake him some as a welcoming gift. Don’t get any ideas, I’m just being neighborly!
204 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
16 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Dana Taylor
28 books11 followersDana Taylor writes uplifting stories filled with inspiration and humor. Born and raised in California, she graduated from the University of Redlands. She lived for many years in Oklahoma and raised two daughters with her husband. She is a level II Reiki therapist. Her love of music is currently reflected in her work as the President of the Board of the La Mirada Symphony in Southern California.
She has been published in various magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal. She hosted the Internet radio program Definitely Dana! at HealthyLife.net. and won various contests with the Romance Writers of America, including Best First Book from the Desert Quill Awards. She has been posted on the Amazon Movers and Shakers List. Ever-Flowing Streams recently received 1st Place in the Religion & Spirituality Category of the E-Festival of Words Awards. "Jaguar Jack" was named a 2013 EPIC Award Finalist. She also runs the women's fiction blogsite www.BookLuvinBabes.com.
She has been published in various magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal. She hosted the Internet radio program Definitely Dana! at HealthyLife.net. and won various contests with the Romance Writers of America, including Best First Book from the Desert Quill Awards. She has been posted on the Amazon Movers and Shakers List. Ever-Flowing Streams recently received 1st Place in the Religion & Spirituality Category of the E-Festival of Words Awards. "Jaguar Jack" was named a 2013 EPIC Award Finalist. She also runs the women's fiction blogsite www.BookLuvinBabes.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 20, 2012
Two-haiku review:
Healing herb woman
Fights defense lawyer neighbor
To block pig farming
Rooting for their love
Great characters, scene setting
Well written romance
Healing herb woman
Fights defense lawyer neighbor
To block pig farming
Rooting for their love
Great characters, scene setting
Well written romance
March 28, 2011
Ain't Love Grand is more than a romance. It's also a story about friends and family and place and values. It's about love happening between two people with different values and lives. Jason Brooks is a divorced, fast track lawyer who barely has time for his rebellious thirteen-year-old daughter and his slightly dotty mother. Persephone Jones is an herbalist and a healer who's never quite gotten on the track.
Despite their differences - or maybe because of them - I was aching for them to realize they belong together. Maybe they don't complete each other, but they're like parts of the puzzle that fit. And it's a puzzle that includes all the important people in their lives.
I didn't want to stop reading book this book. When it was over, it left me with a warm glow inside. This is a "keeper" book that you'll want to read more than once.
Despite their differences - or maybe because of them - I was aching for them to realize they belong together. Maybe they don't complete each other, but they're like parts of the puzzle that fit. And it's a puzzle that includes all the important people in their lives.
I didn't want to stop reading book this book. When it was over, it left me with a warm glow inside. This is a "keeper" book that you'll want to read more than once.
January 17, 2018
What a fun book!
Persephone Jones is a beautiful, earnest character who embraces every bit of herself. Which is not to say she’s perfect - but she does try to be as honest with herself as possible, lives cleanly and close to the ground, and is as compassionate as they come. She’s a healer and an herbalist, living in her family home with her cat, Orion.
Enter Jason Brooks, rich, cranky, high profile defense attorney complete with angry teenage daughter and lushy, adorable, forgetful mother.
What follows is a journey of discovery, misunderstanding, a good deal of humor, and passion - for each other and for their values. This book is entwined with solid, natural spirituality, loyal friendships, and pure love, and makes the reader believe that indeed, anything in life is possible.
Persephone Jones is a beautiful, earnest character who embraces every bit of herself. Which is not to say she’s perfect - but she does try to be as honest with herself as possible, lives cleanly and close to the ground, and is as compassionate as they come. She’s a healer and an herbalist, living in her family home with her cat, Orion.
Enter Jason Brooks, rich, cranky, high profile defense attorney complete with angry teenage daughter and lushy, adorable, forgetful mother.
What follows is a journey of discovery, misunderstanding, a good deal of humor, and passion - for each other and for their values. This book is entwined with solid, natural spirituality, loyal friendships, and pure love, and makes the reader believe that indeed, anything in life is possible.
February 15, 2011
This was a very unusual romance novel, and I'm of two minds whether I think it was brilliantly unique or didn't quite hit the mark. A bit of both, probably.
The protagonist, Persephone Jones, is a young, effectively widowed, churchgoing new-agey herbalist/healer/health food store operator in tiny Peeler, Oklahoma, just outside Okalahoma City. The Oklahoma City bombing is still pretty fresh in people's minds. The town of Peeler is struggling economically, and yet somehow Persephone's health food business still pays her bills. Just. Perse's new neighbour Jason Brooks is a buttoned-down city attorney with a 28th floor office and a profile to match, a scandalous ex-wife, a rebellious teenage daughter, and an increasingly forgetful mother. They couldn't be more opposite, and therein lies the romantic conflict. Persephone is at last open again to love, and ready to commit herself, body and soul, to love in all its untidy glory. Jason's last marriage was based on mutual ambition and business partnership, and the very idea of falling in love with someone as unconventional as Persephone makes him profoundly squirmy. As romantic setups go, it was pretty unique and interesting and quite funny.
The characters aren't always fully rounded, though the protagonists get proportionately more attention than any of the secondary or tertiary ones. We are offered information about Persephone (e.g., that she's illegitimate) that doesn't really come into play in the scope of the novel, and yet I found myself wanting more information - or context - for other aspects of her life (e.g., her lifelong conflict with nemesis Charlene).
The primary (non-romantic) conflict in the novel relates to a proposed hog farm, and although the matter was obviously thoroughly researched, the subject didn't always flow organically in the narrative. Ditto herbalism and natural healing. Swathes of text on each of these subjects, while interesting, read more like educational material than romantic fiction.
There were other glitches in the text, too, from minor lapses of tense to big, eye-roll-inducing uses of the wrong word. This may be the fault of the editor rather than the author, but someone deserves to be smacked to saying that three people in a room "presented quite a tabloid" (should be 'tableau'), or that a character who is unwell was "looking piqued again" - this may be the universe trying to balance out all the instances of "his/her interest was peaked", I suppose.
Overall, this book scores high for originality, but loses points here and there.
The protagonist, Persephone Jones, is a young, effectively widowed, churchgoing new-agey herbalist/healer/health food store operator in tiny Peeler, Oklahoma, just outside Okalahoma City. The Oklahoma City bombing is still pretty fresh in people's minds. The town of Peeler is struggling economically, and yet somehow Persephone's health food business still pays her bills. Just. Perse's new neighbour Jason Brooks is a buttoned-down city attorney with a 28th floor office and a profile to match, a scandalous ex-wife, a rebellious teenage daughter, and an increasingly forgetful mother. They couldn't be more opposite, and therein lies the romantic conflict. Persephone is at last open again to love, and ready to commit herself, body and soul, to love in all its untidy glory. Jason's last marriage was based on mutual ambition and business partnership, and the very idea of falling in love with someone as unconventional as Persephone makes him profoundly squirmy. As romantic setups go, it was pretty unique and interesting and quite funny.
The characters aren't always fully rounded, though the protagonists get proportionately more attention than any of the secondary or tertiary ones. We are offered information about Persephone (e.g., that she's illegitimate) that doesn't really come into play in the scope of the novel, and yet I found myself wanting more information - or context - for other aspects of her life (e.g., her lifelong conflict with nemesis Charlene).
The primary (non-romantic) conflict in the novel relates to a proposed hog farm, and although the matter was obviously thoroughly researched, the subject didn't always flow organically in the narrative. Ditto herbalism and natural healing. Swathes of text on each of these subjects, while interesting, read more like educational material than romantic fiction.
There were other glitches in the text, too, from minor lapses of tense to big, eye-roll-inducing uses of the wrong word. This may be the fault of the editor rather than the author, but someone deserves to be smacked to saying that three people in a room "presented quite a tabloid" (should be 'tableau'), or that a character who is unwell was "looking piqued again" - this may be the universe trying to balance out all the instances of "his/her interest was peaked", I suppose.
Overall, this book scores high for originality, but loses points here and there.
June 17, 2011
"Ain't Love Grand" pulls you right in with it's very likeable heroine, Perse Jones, who though a spinster, is definitely not a pushover and knows how to stand for what she wants. Mr. Jason Brooks, her neighbor, at first comes over as the cold calculating lawyer who would do anything to win, but slowly the author pulls back his layers and you realize this guy does have a heart. The question becomes whether Perse and Jason's hearts fit together between the fighting over the small town, his past relationship ghosts, and their personality differences. It's not an easy road, but Dana Taylor handles it superbly in an entertaining romance that's as wise as it is funny.
June 21, 2011
When hot-shot lawyer Jason Brooks moves in next door to Perse Jones their worlds are about to turn upside down. They couldn't be more different, Perse is into herbal remedies and nature, Jason is into modern and fast living, and a new hog farm coming to town makes them realize just what different values they have in life. But they can't ignore the attraction between them as Perse slowly becomes a part of Jason's life...
This is a really sweet romance - likeable characters, some great one-liners, engrossing writing, and a fun read.
This is a really sweet romance - likeable characters, some great one-liners, engrossing writing, and a fun read.
December 5, 2011
Seems romance novels aren't really my thing. I didn't expect the story to be quite so religious, I found that aspect of the book a little overwhelming & turned me off a story that otherwise I thought was quite fun.
July 18, 2011
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a light, fun-filled, heartwarming story. A great read.
Want to read
February 26, 2012Can't wait to read this one.
March 11, 2012
A free Kindle book on Amazon. Very enjoyable and a delight to read. Romance at its finest.
March 24, 2012
This book had me laughing, crying, cheering, worrying. Emotion invoking and captivating. Absolutely loved the unexpected ending. Couldn't put it down
March 8, 2015
So many LOL moments. Loved this book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews