Evanovich seems to have a thing about houses. That said, it's a great (if somewhat predictable) read and the Grandma Mazur character gets an airing here. Well worth the effort.

3.5 stars

Smitten is a pre-Plum novel by popular American author, Janet Evanovich. It is the second book in the Elsie Hawkins series, on whom, Evanovich says, Grandma Mazur was modelled. Fans of the Stephanie Plum series will also be interested to know that the precursor of Uncle Sandor’s ‘53 powder-blue Buick features in this instalment: Elsie drives a virtually indestructible ‘57 powder-blue Cadillac.

Divorced mother of two, Lizabeth Kane needs a job. None of her last fourteen interviews has been successful, so now, with her Aunt Elsie looking after Billy and Jason, she’s answering an ad for a carpenter. Matt Hallahan’s partner has a broken hip and he’s snowed under with work. Lizabeth, sweet and pretty, does not fit the bill at all, but the attraction between them is immediate, and he can’t help himself. It starts out as lust but soon becomes more, on his part. For Lizabeth too, but she’s wary after the first man she picked to marry couldn’t keep it zipped around other women.

This fluffy romance has a flasher, a delinquent dog, a hunky hero, two cute kids, a nasty ex-husband, some sexy bits and plenty of laughs. A fun read.