Title: The Jinx

Author: Jennifer Johnson

Genre: Contemporary Champagne Rose

Page Length: 208 pages Spicy

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

ISBN 1-60154-291-7

Rick Braswell is a man who knows what he wants.  He is happy with his success, content running his business, one handed down from father to son, and even with his so-so love life.  That is the only area that is not in full bloom, but his current girlfriend is on the marriage track, and far too clingy for Rick’s taste.  He would not mind being married, but it is not a necessity or a high priority, and as Maggie pushes, he is moving farther and farther away.  There is not too much in life that he is not prepared for, that is until he meets Ellen Anderson.  From the first meeting, she has been nothing but trouble, and yet he can’t seem to get her out of his mind.  Being bored out of his mind, he went to her house to get a ring from a drain, and things seemed to cascade from there.  For Rick, it was a lark, a way to get back into the working side of the business instead of just seeing it from behind his desk.  He didn’t make up a bill for her because he did it just for the enjoyment.  The work was what he loved, and the act of getting his hands on the working end of a wrench was not usually dangerous, but the little mishaps seemed to follow him around.  He was not usually accident prone, maybe it was the woman.  Now it seems more than just coincidence, because every time Ellen shows up, something bad happens…

Ellen Anderson was out of her mind with worry about her grandmother’s ring, and so when the plumber from Braswell Plumbing showed up, she was quite relieved.  Of course when he turned out to be somewhat more than cranky, Ellen didn’t quite know what to do, and even stranger was the fact he retrieved the ring, but left no bill.  When she repeatedly tried to pay him, and he kept returning the money, Ellen resorts to sneaky ways to make certain she is not under any obligation to him.  From sneaking money into his secretary’s cashbox, to stealing the key and trying to hide the money in his desk, she is increasingly inventive in her quest.  But there is also something else happening.  What was merely fleeting attraction to a good looking man is becoming a whole lot more.  She would like to blame it on ideas her mother keeps trying to put in her head, but if Ellen wants to be honest, Rick Braswell is looking really, really, good in her life. She can picture him filling her life in more ways than one, for Ellen is seeing him as a friend, a lover, and possibly, heaven forbid, husband material.

Jennifer Johnson’s book, The Jinx, is a hilarious read.  Following the “courtship” of Ellen and Rick is a study in mishaps at a graduate level.  Looking at the story, you find two people drawn together almost against their will, yet when all is said and done, underneath there is a true love and attraction which is unmistakable.  These two were definitely meant for each other, and till they do finally get together, all around them is chaos, and great entertainment for the reader.  What starts out as an innocent attempt by Rick to do some hands on plumbing, the kind he misses being stuck behind the desk, turns into a series of mishaps and a contest of wills, ingenuity, and finally a path to love.  The humor is subtle at some places, can cause snickers and guffaws here and there, and then morph into downright laugh out loud at others.  This racy and most delightful take on love and relationships is found at The Wild Rose Press, and I really suggest you take yourself to their bookstore and get a copy of The Jinx by Jennifer Johnson today. 

Review by Rose

WRDF Review