Review: More Shabby Than Chic by Heather Hunt

Welcome to Manhattan #2

Book Cover and Synopsis:

Lily Bridgewater has always been just a hair on the wrong side of acceptable. Living in the small, southern town of Manhattan, Georgia, hasn't helped things, either. But Lily, an interior designer and bargain shopper extraordinaire, is bent on improving her lot in life. When the opportunity arises to bid on the renovation of the city's Arts Center, she finds herself in the unenviable position of working with the city's notoriously autocratic mayor, A.C. Anderson.

With his booming voice and relentless work ethic, A.C. is a force to be reckoned with...and a man who has never imagined that a pair of leopard-print T-strap pumps...or the pint-sized woman wearing them with such adorable grace...would bowl him over.

When the two begin to tangle in a series of newspaper editorials, it is clearly more than a battle of the sexes. The question is: Who will survive?

My source for book: Personal Library

My Thoughts:
This second installment of the "Welcome to Manhattan" series focuses on Lily Bridgewater (the self proclaimed "bargain fashionista"), and on A.C. Anderson, Mayor of Manhattan...Georgia, not New York! I really liked the nicknames these two had for each other, with Lily often playfully calling A.C. by his title of "Mayor", just to annoy him. And in turn, A.C.'s nickname of "Sugar" for Lily was also something that I found charming just because it was so typical and right-on-the-money for his robust personality.

I have to admit that after reading the first couple chapters, I actually contemplated not going any further, simply because A.C. rubbed me so completely the wrong way. Thankfully I pressed on, soon surprised to find myself really enjoying the story. Though A.C. continued to occasionally spout off his "male chauvinism" (as Lily described it), he slowly but surely began to grow on me, starting when the fun family dynamics between him and his siblings were on full display. And after the heart-breaking scene about 3/4 through the story with A.C. and his dog, I was completely won over.

For a myriad of reasons, a few of the town's people look down on Lily and often try to accuse her of things. Something that really stood out to me was how A.C. readily defended Lily from her false accusers, even going so far as to say some rather surprising things in retaliation, especially considering his position as Mayor. Those people were horribly judgmental of Lily, and it felt so liberating to see A.C. put them in their place!

The blooming relationship between Lily and A.C. was certainly enough to hold my attention, but as an added bonus, the relationships going on between the supporting characters turned out to be equally as interesting. I deeply wanted more time with these supporting characters, so I was quite pleased to discover that two of them will soon be getting their own book. As of now the release date is unknown, but I am eagerly awaiting the chance to re-connect with the characters

More Shabby Than Chic is the second book in the "Welcome to Manhattan" series, and after reading the first and second back-to-back, I must say that I'm quite impressed with the high quality of the stories and characters, which is indeed rare with kindle-only books such as this. As was the case with the first book, this one also reads more like something from a larger publisher. And to top everything off, the cover design captures the story admirably, even down to the wardrobe of the couple on the front. :)

My Rating: 4 stars