Along Came Jones by Victoria Bernadine ~ A Page Before Bedtime

Genre: Chick Lit / Contemporary Fiction

Publisher: Love of Words Publishing

Pages: 324

Synopsis | About the Author | Excerpt | My Review | Buy Now

Benjamin Ferrin Macon-Jones has it all: a luxurious lifestyle in Toronto and the love of an intelligent, ambitious woman…until that same woman refuses his marriage proposal, tells him he’s a detriment to her career, and leaves him. Unable to deal with his cantankerous family trying to be supportive, he quietly slips away into the Canadian countryside.

Lou Upjohn has problems of her own. She’s a recluse and agoraphobic, staying safely within the walls of her ancestral home in small town Saskatchewan and depending on Ike, her best and only friend, to deal with the outside world. Only Ike’s just married another woman and now he’s moving to Vancouver. Before he leaves, he hires the new guy in town, Ferrin Jones, to run her errands and do her yard work. Lou isn’t happy, but even she has to admit the stranger looks mildly interesting.

Both their lives could be changed forever if she only has the courage to open the door.

Victoria Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a "woman of a certain age". After twenty-something years of writer's block, she began writing again in 2008. Victoria enjoys reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody's guess.

She lives in Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). Along Came Jones is the second novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.

“Marry me.”

Olivia laughs.

“What?” she teases with a fond, slightly mocking smile. “Are you ‘proposing’ because you think it’s what people are supposed to do on New Year’s Eve?”

Ferrin smirks his lopsided, endearing smirk as he lowers himself to one knee and proffers the small, square velvet box he dug out of the pocket of his tuxedo.

The beautiful brunette laughs again. “Oh, Ferrin, get up—you’re being ridiculous! And the joke really isn’t all that funny.”

Read more from Along Came Jones

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Along Came Jones by Victoria Bernadine is a chick lit story about two strangers, Ferrin Jones and Lou Upjohn, who have been heartbroken by the loves in their respective lives. Over the course of two years, they develop a meaningful relationship that helps them figure out who they were and who they want to become.

I was quite intrigued by the premise of this book, and admittedly so, I enjoy a good chick lit book (as well as chick flick movie). With that being said, it's no surprise that there is an element of romance in the novel. Additionally, the author writes in such a way that evokes humor and emotional affect from the reader. The plot is well developed, and for the most part, moves the story along over a fairly lengthy time period.

I was a bit disappointed by the unnecessary foul language. It didn't really add anything to the plot, and it seemed to be included more for shock value. Similarly, some of the sexually-descriptive scenes were not needed. I began to think that was all Lou's character thought about for the first third of the book, which made sense because she didn't own a television, computer, or radio to consume media. So, what else did she have to think about? Finally, I reviewed an advance PDF copy that did not denote chapter transitions and included some minor typographical errors. I am hopeful that the final copy will address these issues.

Recommendation: This book is a fairly quick read that is light-hearted and fun. I think it would be a good read for someone looking for a quick escape from reality. If you enjoy movies on the Lifetime Network and you don't mind a liberal amount of cursing, this might just be the book for you!

Until next time ... Read on!