Pekkanen Until You Puke Month #1: Love, Accidentally - Sarah Pekkanen

I became a fan of Sarah Pekkanen before I ever read any of her books.  You will find her hanging out on Twitter, being friendly and witty.  My trusted blogger friends love her books.  So at the end of 2011, I made a resolution to have a Pekkanen Binge in 2012, and I purchased both "Opposite of Me" and "Skipping a Beat" on 12/31 in time for the TBR Dare.  I made some comment to that effect on Booking Mama's blog, Sarah saw it, and sent me an e-mail, offering to send me an Amazon gift card so I could buy her short story "Love Accidentally". (For the record, this does not count against the TBR Dare because it was a gift!)


OK, now let's be honest.  Who does this?  How totally cool is this?  No wonder Eleanor Brown (author of The Weird Sisters) calls her Sugar Dumplin or some such thing. 


But there is more to the story.  We started a little e-mail dialogue.  I told her that anyone who writes books while sitting at Chuck E. Cheese (true story) gets my vote and forever admiration and loyalty.  That place is my worst nightmare.  She told me she would send me her newest upcoming book "These Girls", so (and I quote) "then can you can binge on Pekkanen until you throw up! And that just may be my new tag line for my books - All the Pekkanen you can read without puking!".  I swear, I laughed for 20 minutes over that one, until my stomach hurt.  I couldn't resist telling you that story.  God love her.


So here is my Pekkanen appetizer.  "Love, Accidentally" is a short story that will give you a sampler of what this fine lady is capable of, and leave you wanting more.  


Synopsis:  Love finds you when you least expect it.  Ilsa Brown never thought she would meet The One while walking through the park, but there he was, with an injured dog, and she a veterinarian.  Romance sparked immediately, and soon Ilsa and Grif are engaged.  On a trip to meet Grif's parents, though, Ilsa discovers that she has stepped into the role of fiancé on the heels of another woman. Is she rebound material or is this the real thing?  She knows she must find out before she walks down the aisle.


My thoughts:  This was a pleasant, heart-warming story.  Nobody dies.  Love isn't swept aside due to misunderstandings.  Sometimes good people find each other and make a future together.  Sometimes it is worth it to take a chance on happiness.  


Pekkanen's writing is warm and familiar, and incredibly easy to read.  It was the perfect warm-up for what is to come.  I will be reviewing my other two December 31st Pekkanen purchases for the next two Thursdays, so stay tuned.


Do I really think I could get too much Pekkanen?  Do I think I could get too much chocolate?  Uh, I think not.


4 out of 5 stars