I read the blurb on the back of Wild About You. "Oh boy," I thought, "Miss Ditzy and Mr. Stuffy meet, hate each other at first sight, then fall in love. Been there, read that, didn't like it." I was wrong. I read the book straight through and loved it. I loved the story, and I loved the characters. It's definitely going to be one of my favorite reads for 2003.

Rand Adams owns a ranch in Louisiana where he trains quarter horses. He'd like to expand his business and has his eye on some adjoining land, but the owner sells it to an out of town buyer, Celeste Landry.

Rand and Celeste meet in a scene that was a bit too cutesy. Rand thinks a bobcat is about to attack one of his foals. Just as he is about to get his gun, a woman wearing a leopard-print bikini and rubber boots comes into view calling out "Bite Me." That's not a bobcat, it's a pet lynx, and his name is Bite Me. The woman is wearing a bikini because she has to give the lynx a bath and he splashes a lot. The woman is Rand's new neighbor and she owns a motley bunch of animals including a potbelly pig, trained poodles, a llama, a donkey, a pony, a couple of goats, a monkey, and more. Celeste ran an animal shelter before she moved to Louisiana, and plans to open a petting zoo.

Celeste and Rand could not be more opposite in outlook. She is a great believer in divine providence. He never leaves anything to chance. She is warm, outgoing, and a total romantic. He is reserved and keeps his relationships long-distance. However, since they are neighbors, Rand does lend her a hand and introduces her to the members of the local Chamber of Commerce. But Celeste is running on a tight budget, and the local banker is not very helpful. If Celeste can't get her petting zoo up and running, it looks like Rand may get the land he wants after all.

Wild About You is driven by plot and (thankfully) character. Rand and Celeste's differing outlooks on life go back to their childhoods. Rand's father was a shiftless gambler who dragged his wife and son from town to town always looking for a break. When his mother died, Rand spent time in the foster care system, put himself through college, and earned money on the rodeo circuit. He believes that you have to be careful and plan everything. Love hurts, relationships are better when they are distant, and fun is not a word in his vocabulary.

Celeste grew up with a mother and father who adored each other. Her grandmother left Scotland to come to America and marry a stranger whom she fell in love with at first sight. Celeste has been surrounded with love all her life and she is sure that her own soul-mate is out there. Not even a short and unhappy marriage mars Celeste's optimism. It's hard to write a character who is so very optimistic without making her too Pollyannaish, but Robin Wells succeeds in doing so with Celeste. She is a very endearing character, a woman who would make a wonderful friend.

Wild About You has an excellent sense of place. Rand and Celeste don't live in a romantic bubble where they are the only two characters in the world. They live in a town and they actually take part in town events. They attend meetings at the Chamber of Commerce, go to dances, and eat at the local cafe. Celeste brings some of her animals to the local retirement home, and we see her and her animals at a little boy's birthday party. There's a wonderful secondary romance between Sara Overton, who has come back to town to help her father after he suffers a stroke, and George Wright, whom Sara left at the altar 25 years ago.

The book came very close to being an all-time keeper, but the author strained for humor a couple of times so hard it showed. There's one scene where Rand has to leave Celeste's home and all he has to wear are some old clown pants, but for the most part Wells balances humor and seriousness quite well.

If you want a book that truly deserves to be called a "feel-good read," I think you'll love Wild About You. Good story, lovable characters, and cute animals combine to make one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time.