The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Cruise, Eileen Dreyer, & Anne Stuart

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Paranormal Romance
Pages: 391 pp
Isbn: 9780312940980
Published: June 2007
Challenge This covers #4 Read a book with an "F" in the title for the Fall 2009 Romance Reading Challenge.


First Sentence or two: Mare Fortune bounded down the stairs of the family home in her ragged blue running shorts just as the wind caught the front door and blew it open, sending coppery dust swirling in. She batted the dust away and looked out, but instead of Mrs. Elder's beat-up front porch across the street, she saw a golden sunshine beaming down on a red tiled roof and a fat laughing baby toddling in a dusty road while a tough dark haired guy chased after it, laughing, too.

Synopsis:

You’re invited to spend the weekend with three extraordinary sisters…

When she was sixteen, Dee Fortune kidnapped her two younger sisters and ran from danger. Now twenty-nine, she’s still trying to control her shape-shifting power—no easy task when Danny James shows up one Friday morning with his deadly smile and dangerous questions about the past.

Lizzie is determined to save her family from financial ruin by turning straw into gold; now if she could only stop turning forks into bunnies. Then Elric, a sorcerer, appears one Friday—annoyed with the chaos Lizzie is creating in the universe and in his heart. . . .

The youngest Miss Fortune, Mare, towers above her sisters but her telekinetic power is dwarfed by their gifts. She spends her days at Value Video!! and her nights contemplating the futility of her existence. But then a gorgeous Value Video!! VP and Mare’s long lost love turn up. . .and they all turn up the heat on a weekend that no Fortune will soon forget!

Random Thoughts -I'm not sure if I can entirely explain it. SOMETHING, was lacking. What I am not sure of, I can't seem to put my finger on it. I had to force myself to sit down and read this book on many occasions. It literally took me 4 days to get it read. I could of finished it easily in a day if it were a page turner. I thought about giving up on the book a couple times but kept thinking....NO I really wanna see what Mare will do or say next. I wanted to see who she would end up with. Her sisters were cool too just not as "out there" as she was. I loved Mare! So I trudged on and am glad to say I finished the book and know what happens to them. I don't know that I will read another collaboration like this. I think that somehow the different hands on this project didn't make it flow. Maybe "too many cooks in the kitchen" so to speak.

Favorite Scene - I think any with Mare at the video store. I also got a huge kick out of a scene with Lizzie & Elric. He transformed her clothes to a silk nightgown. She looked down and furious, she transformed her clothes into a nuns habit. He looked at her then transformed Lizzie's clothes again this time to a skimpy panty set that could of been from victoria secrets. She grumbles then transforms her clothing into a set of armor. Then she almost fell over from the weight of it. The more he kept trying to get her naked and the more she refused the funnier and funnier it got.
Favorite Quotes-
Mare to a guy customer-"The thing about chick flicks," Mare said to Algy, "is that chicks like them." She picked up Girls Gone Wild and handed it to Shawn. "Here's your dick flick. Enjoy."


Mare and a visiting vice president from the Video store as he is inspecting her unorthodox signs advertising certain movie genres......
Jude-"And the 'Cry Till You Puke' display?" Mare leaned closer trying to look confidential and trusting. "You know, weepers are not my thing. But if you're into them, you really want to go the whole way. Beaches, Terms of Endearment, Shadowlands...actually Shadowlands is a damn good movie. Anyways, you want to be pointed to the ones that are going to get you there. It's like emotional porn, you know? It isn't really the story that matters, it's getting that release."
"I see," Jude said, looking more interested.
"Because that's really what we're selling here," Mare said. "Emotional catharsis, vicarious release. You want to experience the hell of war without getting killed? We have 'Movies Your Recruiter Doesn't Want You to See.'"

Rating - 3 Stars