So Into You
Grade : D+

Sandra Hill’s Viking books have been guilty pleasures of mine for years. I find her Cajun books to be more variable, and the latest, So Into You, didn’t work for me at all.

Grace O’Brien has quite the background. A promiscuous teenager, she later became a nun, then a world-class poker player, and a treasure hunter. As the story begins, is studying to be a folk healer in Louisiana with Tante Lulu, an over-the-top 90-something folk healer and general busybody. Grace wants to focus on her new career and is shocked when her best friend, Angel, proposes. She’s never thought of him in that way, and rejects him.

Angel Sabato, former Playgirl model, Navy veteran, treasure hunter, and poker player, has kept his love for Grace to himself for years. He doesn’t take her rejection well, and leaves Louisiana to head off on a treasure hunt in Germany. Still reeling, he marries a flight attendant he meets on the way.

One year later, Angel is no longer married and is back in Louisiana, determined to win Grace’s love. Grace is still studying to be a folk healer, but has also gotten involved in a scheme to help a teenager and her siblings orphaned by Hurricane Katrina.

I was actually interested in the story of the orphaned family, but had no interest in the romance between Grace and Angel. In fact, I had major problems with it. I didn’t buy that Angel and Grace were in love and even found it hard to accept that they were longtime friends. They had too few actual interactions and when they were together they seemed to be fighting. Clearly, Angel wants to have sex with Grace (although he described it in terms that are far more graphic) and I found nothing romantic about the first time they do. For two supposed best friends, I expected more. They each seemed to spend more time talking to Tante Lulu than to each other.

The book is filled with secondary characters, at least some of whom I recognized from the author’s previous Cajun romances. I had trouble keeping track of them and, after a certain point, I began to skim over their names and gave up any attempt to keep them straight. I could have done with far fewer secondary characters and more actual interactions between Angel and Grace that would have demonstrated their friendship and made their romance believable.

I almost hesitate to call Tante Lulu a secondary character as at times she seemed to have more page space than Angel and Grace. A little of Tante Lulu went a long way for me, and I tired of her very quickly. Her dialogue seemed to consist mostly of folksy sayings, and soon Angel and other characters used them too. It was too much for me.

I found So Into You to be an odd combination of an over-the-top comedic contemporary romance with lots of quirky characters and a serious story about the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina. I didn’t buy the love story, but was interested in the Katrina story. I just wish the book had a romance to match.

Reviewed by LinnieGayl Kimmel
Grade : D+

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date : August 17, 2009

Publication Date: 2009

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LinnieGayl Kimmel

My first memory is sitting with my mother on a blanket in our backyard surrounded by books and she is reading one of them to me. My love of reading was encouraged by my parents and it continues to today. I’ve gone through a lot of different genres over the years, but I currently primarily read mysteries (historical mysteries are my favorites) and romances (focusing on contemporaries, categories, and steampunk). When I’m not reading or working, I love to travel, knit, and work on various community projects.
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