The Trouble With Mary

by Millie Criswell

Book Overview

From award-winning author Millie Criswell comes a palate-pleasing contemporary rom-com about two people with nothing in common--except their undeniable attraction.

Hilarious . . . Romantic comedy has a new star and her name is Millie Criswell.--Janet Evanovich

THE TROUBLE WITH MARY IS . . .

She's unemployed. Her huge Italian family is driving her crazy. Her love life is nonexistent. In fact, she needs a life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345484819
• ISBN13: 9780345484819
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A delicious treat! Very highly recommended

Sophie Russo has an opinion about everything, especially her daughter, and never hesitates to point out problems, always beginning with the phrase, "The trouble with you, Mary, is..." A healthy Italian, daughter, Mary's learned to cope with her mother's advice quite well, usually with the help of chocolate. Like the day her boss, whom she loved as a favorite uncle, committed suicide, taking both their friendship and her job. While Sophie accuses of Mary of having no will power, she simply drowns her troubles in her latest creation -- chocolate cannoli. At thirty-five, Mary decides its time to take a real chance, and opens her own restaurant. And she's a smashing success.Then Dan Gallagher writes a review of Mama Sophie's. Granted, it has been a bad week. He wanted the promotion to Sports Editor, but the boss' nephew got the plumb. Dan has been appointed the Food Editor, while the current editor is out on maternity leave. Worse, Dan hates Italian. So he takes his frustration out on the newest Italian restaurant in town. Dan's scathing review inspires Mary's personal rebuttal. And when she storms out of Dan's office, having given her a colorful piece of her mind, he can only admire her fiery temperament. The trouble is...now he's gotta find a way into her heart and learn to like Italian.If you are craving a fun, witty, off the wall romance, THE TROUBLE WITH MARY by Millie Criswell will fill the bill perfectly. The lively characterizations, especially the kleptomaniac grandma, earn this tasty treat top billing! With perfectly sinful recipes, Italian stereotypes, and her own ingenious style, Criswell's contemporary romance will have readers laughing right to the very end! Very highly recommended!

There's something troubling Mary Russo...

It's not her large Italian family. It's not her new restaurant. It's a certain food critic who obviously has no taste buds! After all, what does an Irishman know about Italian cooking? She's not going to let his gorgeous green eyes distract her from the fact he's a pain in her well-rounded butt!Dan Gallagher, ex-sports writer turned food critic, has annoyed Mary Russo. But as she reads him the riot-act, he realizes annoyance looks good on her. Lucky for him just about everything he does annoys her even more. Why, when he finally proposes, she's more annoyed than ever. Women! Who can figure them out?? Certainly not him.The Trouble With Mary is a delightful family portrait. You'll fall in love with the Russo clan, from their opinionated mama, to their shoplifting grandma. And you'll know that Dan and Mary are a match made in heaven. The Trouble is...once you pick up the book you won't be able to set it down until it's done! I can't wait for What to do About Annie!!

The Trouble with Mary? None!

She's delightful.....which I was optomistic she would be since the book has a great endorsement from none other than Janet Evanovich, the queen of one liners and sexual tension between the sexes. The only thing I had a hard time grasping is how anyone.... even if it is Dan Dallagher, the heart stopping hero, could hate Italian food! I didn't know it was possible to turn ones nose up at cannoli. Anyway, back to the subject of this book, it's funny, romantic and just a wee bit off kilter compared to your average leading character with a riotious Italian family. I loved the characters and can't wait to get my hands on another Millie Criswell book.

Just the Thing for the Winter doldrums

Have post-holiday letdown? Grab yourself a copy of Millie Criswell's THE TROUBLE WITH MARY, and you won't be down for long. I'd only read a chapter or two before I realized *this* was *my* kind of book. It reads fast, has lots of dialogue, humor, and lovable, quirky and sympathetic characters. I'm sure many of us know people like Mary Russo: approaching the 40 mark, not married, a virgin, and still living with their family [in this case, a large extended Italian family]. Armed with courage and a fledgling spirit of independence, Mary decides to move out of the family home and open her own restaurant. This does not amuse her mother, a staunch matriarch who loves nothing better than to cook and plot out her children's lives. Enter Dan Gallagher: Irish, single dad, sports writer and fill-in food/restaurant critic with a vocal aversion to Italian food. His 'review' of Mary's restaurant, "Mama Sophia's," throws the two together for the first time as Mary decides to pay the tastebud-less critic a visit to set him straight. What it does is set off a chain of events the formidable Sophia and the whole Russo family are powerless to stop. I'm from a very small family and just the thought of getting involved with a family as large, vocal and nosy as Mary's gives me hives. Dan not only perseveres, but he and his son, Matt, thrive in an atmosphere painted with compassion and [by the author's admission] accuracy. It's so darn gratifying to read a contemporary novel with slightly older hero and heroine in which the couple can have spirited banter without the woman coming off as an airhead and the guy as one step above a fruit fly in IQ. I simply refuse to read about Neanderthal heroes with testosterone overload, who think it's jolly good fun to rattle off obscenities, treat the heroine like dirt, and indulge in endless tasteless humor. Those of us who prefer a sophisticated brand of humor will appreciate THE TROUBLE WITH MARY, a blue-ribbon winner for Millie Criswell.I'm already anticipating Annie's book in August 2001.

Millie Criswell has made her mark in romantic comedy

The trouble with this book is that I couldn't put it down. The Trouble with Mary actually had me laughing out loud (while my poor husband was trying to sleep!). I think every woman can relate to Mary's struggle to maintain her independence and have a relationship as she also copes with her crazy dysfunctional family (thank God for chocolate!). Speaking of chocolate, I must have gained ten pounds just reading this book. The recipes printed at the beginning of each chapter were such a clever idea. Millie Criswell has certainly found her niche in romantic comedy. I can't wait for What to Do About Annie.