The Thing about Men

by Elizabeth Bevarly

Book Overview

Three things about men: They think dinner comes in a box . . . Claire Willoughby, nationally famous lifestyle diva, knows what it takes to cook luscious meals from scratch, stencil a wall border from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060509465
• ISBN13: 9780060509460
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A bit long in the narrative, but overall a good read

Claire Willoughby is a lifestyle guru in the same vein as Martha Stewart. Except this guru is nothing more than a figurehead - in reality, she does not know how to cook and those great crafts are produced by her staff. After her #1 fan is killed in a car accident, Claire discovers that she has "inherited" the woman's child. She knows less about children than she does about crafts, but she takes the kid in until the long-absent can be found. Enter Ramsey Sage, 100% pure all-American beefcake. From the barb wire tattoo, tight jeans, Harley, and ripped t-shirts, he is not what Claire expected as the prospective guardian to this child. She is completely attracted to him, but decides to keep custody until Ramsey can prove that he is not a deadbeat. Ramsey tells her that he will do anything to get baby Annabel, even if it means getting closer to uptight Claire. But will he go as far as to divulge her secret? Turns out Ramsey has plenty of secrets of his own. The story is cute, and has a little too much narrative. Although, the narrative and introspection can be downright hilarious at times, it can also be tedious and bog down the story. But it captured my attention and I loved the way that the characters in the end got exactly what they deserved. It is a really funny and quick read.

A change of pace for this writer

I seem to recall that Elizabeth Bevarly wrote category books that were less than memorable. She certainly doesn't spring to mind when thinking about the cateorgy stuff I've encountered over the last 15-20 years. However she seems to have started producing more light-hearted, chic-lit style stuff whilst out of my line of sight. I'm giving this 4 stars although I see that others have had very divergent opinions and my reason for doing this is that I have nothing to compare it with in her current output. So, for me, the jury is out on whether she is really capable of putting out some amusing and clever books. If, indeed, she is to be compared with Susan Andersen, then I'll give the benefit of the doubt until I've read some of her other recent work. What appealed to me in this story was the hero - Ramsey Sage wasn't the usual sort of "new man" although that's exactly what he is. I liked his rough and ready attitude, his shambolic appearance and his very high moral standards. A sexy beast indeed but one wanting very much to be tamed. I loved it that of all the cars in the world he chose a Volvo estate car - typically middle-class, "home counties" as they say in England and totally unexpected; it carried some real symbolic implications! The secondary story was acceptable and the villain lawyer of the piece was an oily creep - loved it that he wound up selling shoes in Wal-Mart somewhere in deepest Missouri - revenge being best when cleverly dished out! I'll look for something else by Elizabeth Bevarly to see if this book is the gold standard or, indeed, she has something better out there.

Very FUN!

A very fun book! This story was witty, engaging, fast-paced, and a whole lot of fun. I enjoy how this author makes her sub-plots and characters as wonderful as the main characters; it's like getting two stories in one. Recommended!

Very enjoyable.

This was my first book by Elizabeth Bevarly and I enjoyed very much. There was a good mixture of humor and seriousness, and both stories complemented each other nicely. I intend to look for more books by this author.

Not my favorite by Bevarly

But still a lot of fun. Claire and Ramsey are both in keeping with Bevarly's strong characterization and their dialogue kept me chuckling. And the subplot with Olive and Davis though much more serious was really good. As always I closed the book with a smile. Definitely recommended.