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I hate when this happens.  It’s only February 3rd and I’ve already read the best book of the year.  Okay, maybe that’s not fair because it’s so early in the year but I can promise you that Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s NATURAL BORN CHARMER will top a lot of “Best of...” lists for 2007. 

Writers are a notoriously jaded and nit-picky lot so it’s rare that we’ll admit that we adore every word that comes out of an author’s mouth.  But for me, Susan Elizabeth Phillips (or SEP as she’s known to her legion of equally adoring readers) has always been that author.  I first fell in love with her work when I read FANCY PANTS, a book where she performed the impossible feat of making golf (and golfer Dallie Beaudine) incredibly sexy.  Her fabulous earlier books like HOT SHOT and HONEY MOON had equal elements of romance and women’s fiction.  In 1994 she launched her wildly popular “Chicago Stars” series with the perennial romance classic IT HAD TO BE YOU.  Since then those Chicago Stars coaches, players, and agents (Heath Champion anyone?) have been scoring regularly, both with Susan’s heroines and her readers. 

It’s only fitting that Super Bowl weekend would bring us the latest installment in the series--NATURAL BORN CHARMER.  I don’t want to ruin a single delightful surprise from this book but it does boast one of the cutest “meets” I’ve ever seen in a romance when Dean Robillard slams on the brakes of his Aston-Martin after he spots Blue Bailey stomping down the road in a giant beaver costume.  I never could resist a smart man with a smart mouth and their resulting banter reminded me of a Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant flick.  The tone of their relationship is set when she tells him, “You look like an ad for gay porn” and he tells her, “You look like a national disaster.”

Some of you may remember Dean as Annabelle’s “buddy” from MATCH ME IF YOU CAN.  As a hero, he’s a delicious study in contradictions:  a drop-dead gorgeous man who never looks at himself in the mirror; a smart man known more for his brawn than his brains; a generous man afraid to give away even a tiny portion of his heart.  He’s flawed and funny and oh...did I mention drop-dead gorgeous? 

It’s rare that you fall equally in love with the heroine of a romance but Blue Bailey is about as likeable and irresistible as they come.  Her untidy ponytail, snappy comebacks, and scuffed-up biker boots hide a keen wit and a tender heart.  When Dean asks her, “Who says you’re not pretty?” she replies with, “Oh, it doesn’t bother me.  I have so much character that adding beauty to the mix would be greedy.” And when his mother points out, “You’re not his usual type of girlfriend,” Blue zings right back with, “Once again, my three-digit IQ separates me from the pack.”

A common theme of every Susan Elizabeth Phillips book (and perhaps one of the most primal themes of the romance genre itself) is the creation of a family where there was none before.  Susan explores this theme beautifully in CHARMER as both Dean and Blue are forced to confront and lay to rest the ghosts of their childhoods.  These subplots and secondary characters enhance the romance that’s at the heart of the book instead of detracting from it.  Perhaps her greatest strength as a writer is her ability to create empathy for EVERY character in the novel.  She can write an insecure, overweight 11-year-old girl as well as she writes an embittered old woman hiding a heart of gold or a hunky football player.  She unearths a universal truth in this scene:  “As Dean gazed around the table, he saw a travesty of the American family.  It was like Norman Rockwell on crack.” Well, when it comes right down to it, aren’t ALL of our families like Norman Rockwell on crack?  It’s the fact that we love them in spite of it that makes us noble creatures worthy of a happy ending. 

As a writer, I’m in awe of descriptions like, “With her big blond wig, diamond chandelier earrings, and free floating pastel caftan, she looked like a parade float sponsored by a senior citizens’ bordello.” Susan writes smart books for smart readers and I laughed out loud several times during the book, even catching a few obscure cultural references like Blue calling Dean “Deanna” when he comes up to her and says, “You look pissed.” (That would be empath Deanna Troi for all of you non-Trekkers out there.)

You’ll have to forgive me if this blog sounds more like a valentine than a review but once again, SEP has created a cast of unforgettable characters who will live on in my heart forever.  To me, that’s the happiest ending of all. 

NATURAL BORN CHARMER won’t officially hit the bookstores until Tuesday so until then, why don’t we discuss our favorite Susan Elizabeth Phillips books? 

And make sure and join us on February 20th and 21st when Susan will be paying a very special visit to Squawk Radio!  Until then, you can visit her over at http://www.susanelizabethphillips.com