Modogamous

Which single girl among us hasn't wanted to put dating in the doghouse?

Kate Adams is five years out of college and settling comfortably into her life.  She owns her own home, enjoys her work, and appreciates the tidy order of her world.  Then her best friend Evette needs a soft place to land while suffering a bitter divorce (her hubby has knocked up another woman; sort of a marital deal-breaker).  She moves into Kate's guest room and drama ensues.  Literally.  Deciding she's had enough of men, Evette decides being modogamous beats being monogamous - so she adopts a pug, names the little dog Drama, and announces that her primary relationship will be with him.  But Evette is still a grief-stricken mess, and while she steeps herself in pity and alcohol, Kate - never a fan of dogs to begin with - finds herself walking Drama in the early morning chill.

Her tidy life upended, Kate reveals herself to be just the kind of heroine I love.  She's flawed and funny, a smartass with a good heart.  She thinks she's an excellent karaoke singer (she's not).  In a moment of weakness, she falls into bed with longtime buddy and coworker Mitch, then agonizes because she's ruined their relationship.  And then there's hunky JP...

Or has she?  Author Karen E. Martin tells the story of the love triangle - or is it a quadrangle? - that follows with a keen sense of human nature and the sharpest, snarkiest sense of humor I've found in a novel in recent memory.  Her depiction of female friendship is real and entertaining, perhaps especially because she doesn't shy away from all those naughty things we ladies discuss.  To say that laugh out loud moments abound in this book is an understatement.  And happily, there's no shortage of steamy stuff, either.

Love doesn't always come in the neatly-wrapped packages we've requested.  Okay, actually, it almost never does.  Sometimes love is a pug named Drama (I doubt it's a spoiler to say Kate's view of that little guy softens), and sometimes…  Well, just read the book.

www.kcwilder50ways.com

{Karen E. Martin is a seasoned traveler, having served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Morocco and having worked for the U.S. Department of State in Romania and Jordan, among other adventures.  Fittingly, her next work is the second in her "On the Road with Karen" series - a new travelogue, tentatively titled “A (St)roll Through South America” will follow her journey through Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina with her mother – in a wheelchair.}