Is there anything I can offer you on Sunday that's better than chocolate, fortune cookies, and a romance? But, wait! Those fortunes are just a little off in Kevin Alan Milne's Sweet Misfortune.For twenty years, Sophie Jones has blamed herself for the car accident that caused her parents' death. Despite her two best friends, her foster mother and her foster sister, she's never opened up and allowed herself to trust anyone, even herself, after the tragedy that happened on her ninth birthday. Then, just when she thinks she's found a man to love, he dumps her just before their wedding. Only Sophie, who has lived with tragedy most of her life, can turn that heartbreak into fortune.
Sophie Jones is the owner of the chocolate shop, Chocolat' de Soph, Confections of the Heart. And, once Garrett Black dumped her, she created Misfortune Cookies, "Handwritten prognostications of gloom, doom, or pending hardships." And, they were a success. "When offered the dream of a lifetime, SAY NO! Remember, it's just a dream." "You will soon fall in love. Caution: when people fall, something usually breaks." It's not difficult for Sophie, who sees herself as a realist, to write those pithy comments.
But, what happens if Garrett can change Sophie's attitude? When he comes back, wanting to explain why he left, she refuses to listen. Unlike Sophie, Garrett believes in happiness, so she promises she'll let him explain, once he publishes an ad in the newspaper asking for people to define lasting happiness. And, she'll meet with him after she has one hundred acceptable letters of happiness. But those one hundred letters need to be acceptable to Sophie Jones, who has only had a bittersweet life for the last twenty years.
Granted, Sweet Misfortune revolves around a series of coincidences. But, what romantic story doesn't? Milne has given us a mixed assortment of characters, with a few nuts included. Add in some laughter, a few tears, and sprinkle with charm and chance. My prognostication? An afternoon of enjoyment with Kevin Alan Milne's Sweet Misfortune.
Kevin Alan Milne's website is www.kevinamilne.com
Sweet Misfortune by Kevin Alan Milne. Center Street, ©2010. ISBN 9781599952970 (hardcover), 281p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this book from the publisher so I could read and review it.
