Book Review: Told You So, by Kristen Heitzmann. Women’s fiction, Romance.
Grace Evangeline is a young, popular romance author who dreams of seeing one of her novels adapted for Broadway. So she meets with Devin Bressard, a successful playwright who writes literary, pessimistic plays. When he insults her writing, she throws her sweet tea in his face and vows to make his life miserable.
But then they are commissioned to write a play together, and the sparks begin to fly as they trade insults and slash with their verbal swords. Neither of them can deny the growing attraction between them, but the two could not be more different. Grace is optimistic, dresses in bright colors, wears high heels and perfume, and has a kind word for everyone. She sees herself as a positive role model for girls who dream of a princess wedding and a ‘happily ever after’ with their Mr. Right. She always seems to attract trouble, from elevators failing to stalkers. Devin, on the other hand, lives a quiet life, visits his ailing father and observes the failings of humanity from his New York apartment window. Abandoned as a baby by his mother, he is bitter against all women and sneers at the idea of true love. But when the two start to collaborate, they are both forced to expand their views, and something amazing begins to happen.
This is an awesome book. The dialogue is so witty and the characters are so well drawn that I could see and hear them in my head. I laughed and cried with Grace and Devin as they fought their attraction and struggled through all the challenges that came their way. The setting in New York is captured perfectly, with all the things that make New York so unique and unforgettable. The story explores the themes of growing, forgiving, and learning from your past. I loved the happy ending. I can see this book becoming a play or a movie. Kristen Heitzmann has done it again with this completely new story, Told You So. It definitely earns five stars.
Carol Nicolas 